On 29 August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave his National Day Rally speech. This year, we have had to postpone our National Day Parade, and on the back of fighting COVID-19, this speech is made all the more significant.
In this article, we summarise 6 things business owners can take away from National Day Rally 2021.
#1 We Must Be Open For Business
Today, 8 in 10 people in Singapore are already fully vaccinated. As many more people are protected against COVID-19, this is an appropriate time to open up our economy.
PM Lee highlighted 3 key thrusts in sustaining longer-term growth:
i) Preserving Singapore’s status as business hub
Our business hub status has been advantageous in growing the economy and providing good jobs. Many MNCs use Singapore as a regional base, and if our borders stay closed for too long, it will make Singapore less useful as a regional hub.
PM Lee goes on to reiterate that “it is important for us to open up soon and allow more people to travel in and out of Singapore, in a safe way”.
Singapore has already introduced the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) with Germany and Brunei, and this means we can expect more destinations to be included and/or more travel lanes to be implemented.
ii) Attracting more foreign investments
PM Lee also says that Singapore must continue to remain attractive to investors. For example, Pfizer has had a presence in Singapore for a long time. It’s vaccine partner, BionTech will also be setting up shop in the country.
GlobalFounderies, a semiconductor manufacturer, already has five wafer fabs in Singapore. It is now building its sixth one.
Zoom – which gained widespread adoption during the pandemic – has opened its first Southeast Asia R&D centre in Singapore.
PM Lee said that these and more projects in the pipeline will create good jobs for Singaporeans.
iii) Growing local companies and entrepreneurs
To remain competitive and make a mark globally, Singaporeans businesses must also have global presence. PM Lee highlighted Carro, SecretLab and Carousell as homegrown companies that have become global names.
He said that Enterprise Singapore is supporting more entrepreneurs to follow in the footsteps to seize new business opportunities and expand.
#2 Progressive Wage Model (PWM) Will Be Extended To More Sectors
Singapore’s Progressive Wage Model works like a minimum wage for several sectors. It also has a pathway for career progression and skills development, which ultimately means higher salaries for workers.
In his address, PM Lee talked about the need to support low wage workers. In the government’s support schemes during COVID-19, more were allocated to low wage workers.
One of the key policies in Singapore to uplift low wage earners in Singapore is the Progressive Wage Model (PWM). PWM currently covers cleaners, security, landscaping workers and lift maintenance workers.
The government will be extending the PWM to more sectors. PWM will also be covering retail, food services and waste management. PWM will also cover specific occupations such as administrative assistants and drivers.
#3 Pay All Locals a Local Qualifying Salary (To Be Allowed To Hire Foreigners)
As part of the plan to uplift lower wage workers, businesses that hire foreign workers have to pay all their local employees a Local Qualifying Salary. This is not an entirely new scheme. A Qualifying Salary of $1,400 already exists for some of the employees in these businesses. This scheme will be extended to cover all local employees.
#4 Businesses Need To Consider The PW Mark
Also as part of the framework to uplift lower wage workers, a Progressive Wage Mark or PW Mark will be introduced. This will accredit companies that are paying all their workers Progressive Wages.
The PW Mark tells consumers and other businesses that you are paying your employees a decent wage.
Not only that, PM Lee says that the public sector will only purchase from businesses that have incorporated the PW Mark.
Higher wages is a cost that has to be incurred by someone. Consumers, businesses and the government has to share in this cost. At the same time, upskilling workers to become more productive will benefit all as well.
#5 More Security For Delivery Workers
PM Lee paid special attention to delivery workers, showing a short film. He noted that delivery workers from online platforms such as Food Panda, Grab and Deliveroo have been working hard and have also become an increasingly common sight in the aftermath of COVID-19. However, most earn a modest income.
PM Lee mentioned that delivery workers are “just like employees”. He reasoned that the online platforms set the price, determine the jobs assignment and manage performance, including imposing penalties and suspensions.
PM Lee highlighted that these delivery workers do not have employment contracts. As such, they lack workplace injury compensation protection and CPF contributions.
This looks to be a precursor to recognising delivery workers as employees.
#6 Giving TAFEP More Teeth To Fight Workplace Discrimination
PM Lee also brought up workplace discrimination. In particular, he singled out the practice of job advertisements requiring people to speak Chinese. He says it isn’t always clear whether it is a genuine necessity or just a polite way to signal that employers are more comfortable hiring Chinese workers.
To deal with workplace discriminations, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) will be given more teeth – as TAFEP guidelines will be put into law.
TAFEP has laid out clear guidelines on fair treatment for both Singaporean and non-Singaporeans employees. The model will continue to encourage conciliation and mediation first. Only as a last resort will legal address be utilised. The matter will go to a Tribunal to arbitrate and decide the case.
This will protect discrimination based on nationality, women will get better protection, and discrimination based on age, race, religion and disability will be disallowed.
* This post originally appeared on dollarsandsense.sg