7 March 2025
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) welcomes the key measures announced at the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Committee of Supply Debate, aimed at driving workforce transformation, supporting senior employment and enhancing opportunities for lower-wage workers. These initiatives demonstrate the Government’s commitment to ensuring that Singapore’s workforce remains agile and highly-skilled to support businesses in a more competitive global economy.
Review of Employment Protections and Benefits
2 SNEF welcomes the upcoming review of the Employment Act, which as the Minister said in his speech, should continue to strike the right balance between protection for workers and operational flexibility for employers. Therefore, review of the Employment Act should primarily be aimed at safeguarding basic protections to employees and not inadvertently mandate progressive employment practices that may reduce flexibilities for employers and undermine business competitiveness. For example, there was a suggestion in Parliament that the law should require employers to give a reason when they terminate the contract of an employee so that it would be easier to file wrongful dismissal claims. However, this may not be practical for businesses and risk making employers more cautious about offering permanent contracts to workers. Furthermore, MOM’s statistics showed that about 75% of wrongful dismissal claims lodged in 2022 were assessed to be unsubstantiated at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. We look forward to the tripartite discussions on this review.
3 SNEF is of the view that increasing the number of public holidays and leave provisions to improve work-life balance or help employees meet their personal needs like care-giving would add to business costs and yet not be practical or sustainable. SNEF remains committed to promoting flexible work arrangements which would help employers and workers find the right balance in human resource policies and practices to manage work and personal commitments. Fostering a culture of trust, cooperation and flexibility in the workplace will better enable both employers and employees to meet their needs while maintaining productivity and business continuity.
Extending the Productive Longevity of the Workforce
4 SNEF thanks the Government for accepting our proposal to extend the Senior Employment Credit (SEC) and CPF Transition Offset (CTO) schemes which will offer crucial support to employers in hiring and retaining older workers. They will provide much needed relief to employers, making it more viable for businesses to continue extending meaningful employment opportunities to older employees. SNEF had also advocated for a new multigenerational grant during the Budget 2025 feedback to support succession planning, leadership renewal and fostering of cross-generational collaboration within the workplace. We hope the government will consider this recommendation to help businesses better manage the challenges that arise in multigenerational workplaces.
5 The upcoming Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment and Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers are timely to address the challenges of an aging workforce. We look forward to working closely with our tripartite partners to co-create solutions to ensure that seniors remain productive in the workforce and support their employers in delivering good business outcomes which would in turn provide good jobs for the employees themselves.
Driving Enterprise Workforce Transformation
6 SNEF strongly supports the new Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package (EWTP) as a pivotal step in enabling employers to drive productivity-led growth through workforce transformation. We are particularly encouraged by the introduction of the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (WDG), which will make it easier for employers to navigate and tap on the various support schemes offered by the Government.
7 Since 2020, SNEF has been managing the Productivity Solutions Grant for Job Redesign (PSG-JR), working closely with appointed consultants to help companies redesign jobs for greater productivity and attractiveness to Singaporeans. With significantly higher job redesign funding under the WDG, SNEF believes that it will spur more companies to take up job redesign to support their workforce transformation and make a real impact to employees and business outcomes. SNEF looks forward to continuing our anchor role in job redesign under the new WDG and supporting the broader business community in their transformation journey.
Uplifting Lower-Wage Workers
8 SNEF supports the enhancement of Workfare Skills Support (WSS) to help employees in reskilling and upskilling via a wider catalogue of long-form courses as well as a greater coverage of multiple bouts of training across various career stages. The higher training allowance for long-form training helps offset some expenses of employees as they continue to prepare themselves for higher skilled jobs. Employers would also benefit indirectly from the enhanced WSS with a better trained workforce that is better able to meet their business needs.
9 SNEF is a strong supporter of the national agenda to uplift lower-wage workers through the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and other related initiatives. We welcome enhancement in the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS) which will provide financial relief for employers who have to comply with higher wage requirements under PWM. However, SNEF would like to emphasise that over the long term, wage increases in PWM need to be matched by improvements in productivity for business sustainability.
Adjustments to Foreign Workforce Policies
10 SNEF appreciates that MOM has kept the third step of S Pass Qualifying Salary increase to the minimum of $150 as announced previously. However, we would like to emphasise that even though the S Pass quota is proportional to the workforce, the impact could still be greater on some employers, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or businesses that are already struggling with other cost pressures and market uncertainties. With today’s announcements, the third step of the S Pass salary increase has been completed. MOM also has not made any changes to the EP Qualifying Salaries which would be welcomed by employers. However, for greater certainty to employers for workforce and business planning purposes, SNEF recommends that MOM provide employers with a 3-5 year forward plan for major shifts in foreign workforce policies. Given the tight labour market and the slower growth of our workforce, businesses would appreciate a clearer, future operating picture as they draw up workforce plans to support the next bound of business growth.
11 Employers would appreciate the expansion of the NTS Occupation List and sources as these measures will help ease manpower tightness in the Manufacturing and Services sectors. The additional flexibilities would also complement the raising of S Pass Qualifying Salaries as employers could consider hiring some employees on work permit instead. SNEF also supports the enhancements for the M-SEP scheme. Extending the support period beyond the current two to three years and expanding the eligibility criteria will better assist businesses undergoing transformation.
12 As with a suggestion made in Parliament, SNEF would recommend extending additional foreign manpower flexibilities (quotas or bonus points under the Complementarity Assessment Framework) to companies that adopt progressive employment practices in line with national imperatives, such as flexible work arrangements, shared parental leave or senior employment. This would further encourage employers to adopt progressive employment practices without worrying about their manpower needs.
Conclusion
13 SNEF appreciates MOM’s support for businesses through key initiatives that provide relief for business costs and foster a more resilient workforce. Singapore’s economy is evolving, and we encourage employers to remain flexible, invest in workforce development, and drive innovation. SNEF is committed to supporting our members in adapting their workforce and workplaces to meet future demands. We will also continue to collaborate closely with our tripartite partners to develop solutions that balance the interests of employers and employees, ensuring a sustainable and successful future for all.
Hao Shuo
Chief Executive Officer
Singapore National Employers Federation
