Grow economy, revenue instead of cutting spending: NTUC chief
Labour chief Lim Swee Say. Today File Photo
SINGAPORE — Amid concerns over the country’s rising social spending and its impact on the Republic’s fiscal sustainability, outgoing labour chief Lim Swee Say said yesterday that a better solution is to grow the economy and government revenue, instead of reducing expenditure.
And in order to achieve that, companies and workers here need to raise their game. Noting that the Republic is at full capacity in terms of utilising manpower, the next step has to involve higher productivity and innovation, he said.
Mr Lim noted that this would be his last speech in a Budget debate in his capacity as labour chief and pointed out that, from his experience, it was “always easier to secure more for workers when there is a growing pie”.
“This same reality applies at the national level, too,” said Mr Lim, whose position as NTUC secretary-general is expected to be taken over by Social and Family Development Minister Chan Chun Sing later this year. Mr Chan was appointed NTUC’s deputy secretary-general in January.
On the second day of the Budget debate, 26 Members of Parliament (MPs) spoke on a range of issues, including concerns over the plight of small and medium enterprises as well as the need to do more for single mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Mr Ong Teng Koon (Sembawang GRC), echoing the concerns raised by MPs on Tuesday, highlighted the need for sustainable public spending. He noted that several European countries had been spending beyond their means and that “there will be payback time”.
In his speech, Mr Lim pointed out that if Singapore keeps growing its economy and employment, it “will not end up becoming a welfare state”.
To encourage future economic growth, he highlighted three areas that had to be addressed.
First, there is a need to expand capacity for future growth, including raising labour productivity and innovation. Productivity growth will prevent wages from going down and stop rising unemployment, he said.
Second, it was important to optimise the full potential of the local workforce. Mr Lim applauded the SkillsFuture Earn and Learn apprenticeship scheme, announced in the Budget statement on Feb 23, as a means for job entrants to pursue new careers in new industries without being hampered by their lack of academic qualifications or experience.
Third, Mr Lim urged society to embrace the future and “turn challenges of today into opportunities of tomorrow”.
He also urged employees to make use of SkillsFuture Credit — which offers cash credits to those in the workforce to upgrade their skills — to re-skill themselves in order to remain employable in the future.
The SkillsFuture initiatives were also on the minds of the MPs during the six-hour debate yesterday.
Ms Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC) felt there should be intensive communication to educate Singaporeans on the virtues of learning, so that they do not view training as simply a means of getting monetary rewards.
She also asked the authorities to ensure that the initiatives remained inclusive. “(Special needs adult learners) should not appear only in the footnotes or worse still, be left out of the SkillsFuture master plan,” said Ms Phua.
Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar (Ang Mo Kio GRC) asked whether stay-at-home mothers could tap the SkillsFuture credits of spouses as these women require more intensive training before they return to the workforce.
She also suggested that the Earn and Learn programme be extended to stay-at-home mothers, possibly on a part-time basis, to help them make the transition to the workplace. University students should also be part of the programme to increase their employability, Dr Intan said.
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC), noting that the SkillsFuture framework involves huge investments, suggested tracking the outcomes of the initiatives in raising productivity.
He also called for the implementation of a regular review framework to correct those efforts that do not produce favourable results.
