Workfare Scheme for Middle income groups as well?

Top up retirement accounts of older workers as Workfare becomes permanent: NTUC

SINGAPORE: The labour movement has called on the government to consider topping up the retirement accounts of older workers while not forgetting the middle-income workers when reviewing the Workfare scheme to make it a permanent feature of Singapore's social safety net.

69-year-old Maggie Teo earns about S$1200 a month as a cleaner at this hawker centre.

She qualified for the Workfare bonus earlier this year and received half a month's salary.

She is also likely to benefit from the permanent Workfare scheme, details of which will be announced by Second Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Budget Day next February.

The National Trades Union Congress hopes more will be done to help older workers like Maggie.

"What we do expect to see in the package is a combination – Workfare bonus as a cash payment to incentivise people to look forward to getting something in cash after a certain period when they've worked, and also payment in other areas, for instance, in the CPF account, the Medisave account, Edusave accounts of children," says Halimah Yacob, Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC.

"I think that will be good also, if the government could consider topping up the retirement accounts."

The labour movement is also concerned about workers, who fall within the sandwiched or middle-income group, especially with the proposed rise in the Goods and Services Tax. This is a group that makes up half of the working population.

Mdm Halimah, who is also the MP of Jurong GRC, says: "The 50 percent must also get support, assistance because they also feel the middle-income squeeze. They also felt the impact of globalisation.

"Some of them are affected by job losses. Starting afresh, they also need help and attention. It may not be in the form of Workfare bonus but it could be in the form of the equivalent of Economic Restructuring Shares the Government introduced when GST was increased in 2003, 2004."

The labour movement lauds the Government's move to make Workfare permanent as the right strategy. This move is also viewed as a recognition that there will always be workers caught in the poverty trap due to globalisation, whether the economy is doing well or not.

The Workfare scheme aims to help low-wage workers get out of the poverty trap and prevent another generation of low-income workers in the future. - CNA/so