On 18 August, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong introduced the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme, which offers up to S$6,000 over six months to unemployed lower- and middle-income workers.
In his 1st National Day Rally Speech, PM Wong outlined that the scheme provides financial aid to lower- and middle-income workers who have lost their jobs. Recipients are required to actively participate in training, career coaching, and job-matching services to qualify for the support.
While some countries have unemployment insurance, PM Wong noted that the experience has not always been positive. Generous benefits can sometimes incentivize individuals to remain unemployed rather than return to work.
In response to PM Wong’s announcement, the Workers' Party (WP) on Monday expressed support for the policy changes but reiterated their call for a Redundancy Insurance scheme. The WP had previously proposed this in their 2016 policy paper, reaffirmed it in their 2020 General Election Manifesto, and discussed it during the Budget 2023 debate in Parliament.
The WP suggested that retrenched workers receive a payout equivalent to 40% of their last drawn salary for up to six months. This payout would be capped at S$1,200 per month, with a minimum of S$500 per month to benefit low-wage workers. Subsequent payouts would be conditional on the worker actively seeking a new job or undergoing retraining.
This is not the first time the People's Action Party (PAP) has rejected the idea of redundancy insurance.
In March 2021, during the Committee of Supply debate in Parliament, then-Manpower Minister Josephine Teo dismissed WP MP Jamus Lim’s call to institutionalize redundancy insurance.
Assoc Prof Lim said the scheme should be self-financing, heavily supported by workers' contributions with some government top-up, and noted that such a system would require recurring revenue.
In her response, Minister Teo acknowledged that while redundancy insurance could provide useful income relief, it cannot replace efforts to help people return to work. She defended the substantial support already available and argued that insurance payouts might not match the allowances provided by the government.
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