Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, employers of work permit holders have been sounding the alarm bells on surging costs of workers’ accommodation. Ministry statistics show that median monthly rentals for a bed hit $420 at the start of last year, up from $280 four years before. That is an 11% annual inflation rate, which isContinue reading “Adequacy of Workers’ Dormitories”
Category Archives: MPs
Predatory Employment Contracts
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis: Chairman, I wish to raise the issue of predatory employment contract terms, which many Singaporeans, especially of a younger disposition, may be unknowingly entering into. To better protect our Singaporean workers and educate them on their rights to fair employment and rein in errant employers who make use of unfairContinue reading “Predatory Employment Contracts”
CPF Ordinary Account Reform
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Chairman, I would like to once again repeat my call for us to reform the long-outdated and archaic formula in which OA interest is computed. This was last changed in 1999, when the ratio of fixed deposits to savings was updated from 50-50 to 80-20 to reflect the longerContinue reading “CPF Ordinary Account Reform”
Enhancing CPF Returns
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Chairman, I would like to once again take the chance to raise concerns that I have previously voiced out in Parliament over the past three years and also earlier this year, during the debate on our reserves. There are already certain financial instruments available for members to invest their CPFContinue reading “Enhancing CPF Returns”
Pernicious Non-competes and Junior Workers
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim: Non-compete clauses are included in many modern labour contracts and impose restrictions on a worker joining or otherwise doing business with a rival firm even after employment with the firm in question is over, usually for a specified period of time. Many companies sign non-competes in the name of protecting proprietaryContinue reading “Pernicious Non-competes and Junior Workers”
Leave for Singles and Family Care
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim (Sengkang): Currently, under the Child Development and Co-Savings Act, working parents are eligible for up to six days of paid childcare leave a year. While I suspect that many parents find this insufficient, especially if they have multiple children – each with unique contingencies that could keep them out of school, IContinue reading “Leave for Singles and Family Care”
USE OF DIFFERENT DEVICES OR CARDS WHEN ENTERING AND EXITING BUSES AND MRTS, AND CLAIMS FOR REFUNDS
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport in 2023 (a) what is the number of times public transport commuters who were charged twice for the same bus or MRT trip because they used a different SimplyGo device or card for their entry and exit; (b) what was the total amount charged; (c) how manyContinue reading “USE OF DIFFERENT DEVICES OR CARDS WHEN ENTERING AND EXITING BUSES AND MRTS, AND CLAIMS FOR REFUNDS”
Funding for SPH Media Trust
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Chair, the first tranche of public funds was disbursed to SPH Media Trust in March 2023. Over four Ministerial Statements in this House, the Government has put out its reasons for making the taxpayers subsidise the running of SPH Media Trust or at least, partly subsidising the running of SPH MediaContinue reading “Funding for SPH Media Trust”
Funding for Bilingual Education
Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Chairman, bilingual education is a cornerstone of our education policy. In the early 1990s, the Government moved to allow Indian students to sit for five non-Tamil Indian languages, or NTILs, at major examinations, such as the “O” levels. Separately, and in recognition of the status of Tamil as an official IndianContinue reading “Funding for Bilingual Education”
SPED Schools
Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Sir, a couple of weeks before the Budget Statement, I received an email from one of my residents, Mr X, who shared his plight of not qualifying for a subsidy for the SPED school fees for his child as he did not meet the per capita income criteria. HeContinue reading “SPED Schools”
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 