Introduction
Mr Speaker Sir, time really flies, it seems only yesterday when I delivered my maiden speech in Parliament. But five years have since passed, and it has certainly been a very eventful and heartwarming five years for me. I recall my maiden speech, like many in the house, was about kindness and I shared about the childhood days I spent in the 80s, in the Holland Drive neighbourhood where my father had his clinic. It was about the friendships we had with our neighbours, many who I still remember vividly. Uncle Mohammad and the magazine and stationery store he used to run – it was called PMS and I remember 8days picked it up as a most noteworthy name; Aunty Siew Ying, a Malaysian turned Singaporean who ran a snazzy Jantzen hairdressing salon – that’s where I got my first professional haircut after years of grandma’s home bowl haircuts; and I still remember vividly, the excitement my sister and I had tasting our first very adult, very grown-up “XO Fishhead Bee Hoon” from Uncle Chang who opened that innovative new stall in the coffeeshop right next to my dad’s clinic.
The fondness I had for the neighbourhood was all about the kindness that the community had for one another, we knew each other by name, my parents trusted our neighbours enough that my sister and I could always run around the neighbourhood unaccompanied, we shared news about our lives and families, and most importantly, we counted on each other to seek and give help openly. I know that these values ring true in many fellow Singaporean’s hearts, because in the days that followed from that maiden speech, I had Punggol residents and volunteers who came up to me and asked if I was Dr Yeo’s daughter, as he used to be their family doctor, and that they recall that neighbourhood I grew up in and all its residents there with fondness. One of them even recalled me and my sister hanging out in my father’s clinic in our school pinafores, and honestly, that made me feel very warm. But I am particularly heart-warmed that one of our Punggol residents who remembered my father well, eventually also had her daughter, Chloe, who is now studying to be a doctor, volunteer with us, and she is now a loved young community leader. Indeed, kindness begets kindness, and that is the true virtuous cycle of life!
Mr Speaker, I believe that when you call out to the Universe, the Universe will answer you, and over the past five years, I have seen much kindness in our communities. It might seem to be a very distant memory, but COVID-19, Dorscon Orange, Circuit-Breaker, contact-tracing, vaccinations, isolation, PETs, swabbings only ended and went away into the endemic phase just some 30 months ago. I remember I spent the first three years of my time as an MP in a mask, dealing with COVID-19 community matters, assuaging fears, comforting distress, dispelling disinformation, and getting residents who were new to me to place their trust in me, even in a mask, and to place trust in our Government’s policies. It was only with the kindness and fortitude of our trusty community volunteers and leaders that we were able to do what we did. My community leader, Patrick, was with me when we delivered our first care packs in the middle of the night to residents who had COVID; Kathryn was with me when we allayed the fears of residents who saw cleaners in full PET kits cleaning up the Punggol Plaza “COVID Cluster”; Cristine was with me, when we identified and set up rest areas in Punggol coffeeshops to allow our delivery riders to rest and eat between their delivery rounds; Winston and Charles were with me when we set up our first counters to distribute handmade face masks and care vouchers. To the Chloes, Patricks, Kathryns, Cristines, Winstons and Charles, and all our brave community leaders, this is a Motion of Thanks, and it is most appropriate that we remember what you did. Thank you, our Grassroots, our Volunteers for being the kind bedrock of our community and doing what you did for Singapore.
Championing Workers’ Interests
Mr Speaker, in these five years, the kindness I have seen extends too into the realm of workers, many whom I have had the honour of representing through my work at the National Trades Union Congress. At this point, Mr Speaker, I declare that am the Executive Secretary for the National Transport Workers’ Union; Advisor to the National Taxi Association, National Private Hire Vehicles Association, National Delivery Champions Association; and the Director of the NTUC’s Women and Family unit.
Mr Speaker, as I was saying, our workers keep Singapore running, and they do this in unseen, quiet ways. Indeed, this is the “Secret Lives of Workers”, and I believe that should more Singaporeans have a glimpse into this world, they would appreciate the kindness and sacrifices of our workers, and in turn, appreciate why we at the Labour Movement continue to fight for better protection and progress for our Singaporean workers. Sometimes, all we need to do is to take a short pause from our own busy-ness, take a look around, have a short chat, and to unveil these secrets.
For most Singaporeans, taking a bus is part of their daily commute, and I think it is wonderful that many commuters have made friends with our Bus Captains, and our Bus Captains told me that commuters have shared snacks and drinks with them to show their appreciation. However, did you know that for the vast majority of our Bus Captains, their lunch breaks are only 25 minutes, and in between runs, their breaks can be as short as 6 minutes? In fact, an often-shared life hack amongst Bus Captains is not to drink water during service times, as many don’t even have the chance at a toilet break! Many start their day at 4.30am when the first bus leaves the depot, and the day ends for many at 2am when the last bus reaches the depot. Our Captains can drive up to 16 runs in a day, with the longest uninterrupted run being 2 hour 45 minutes. I remain appreciative to the dedication and hard work our Bus Captains put in to ensure a safe and comfortable commute for all of us, and I hope that everyone can encourage our bus captains and our public transport workers with an appreciative nod and a nice smile the next time you see them!
Mr Speaker, our Union Leaders are a critical part of our workforce as they are the voice of the ordinary worker, and play a unique role between workers and management, negotiating for better protection, privileges and progress while ensuring that there is reasonable sustainability for businesses. Articulate, charismatic, nerves of steel, quick on their feet and excellent mediators they are. They make for natural leaders, but did you know, that for many of our Union Leaders, because of the construct of their collective agreements, they choose to forgo promotions and choose to remain in rank-and-file executive positions so that they can continue to represent fellow workers without worries of conflict of interest. Indeed, it is a calling to be a Union Leader, and our Big Brothers and Sisters, 大哥大姐们, serve their working lives out in dedicated service to their fellow workers, never seeing their choices as sacrifices, but as choices of care and service.
Mr Speaker, the quiet secret work that our workers put in have undoubtedly driven me to continue to fight for our workers interest and I note with appreciation, what President Tharman said in his Speech – “Progress means recognising the value in every job – in the trades, crafts, and services, no less than in offices and boardrooms – and ensuring that everyone who contributes to society earns respect, and can build a good life”.
I cannot agree more. Building on this vision and our Labour values, I call on the Government to continue their good work with tripartite partners to ensure that every worker is recognised and valued for their contributions at work and at home. In particular:
a. Securing fair pay and a just future for our platform workers;
b. Ensuring good jobs for our public transport workers; and
c. Supporting our women and caregivers to thrive at home and at work.
I shall speak more on platform workers today. For the past decade or so, NTUC and our Platform Work Associations (PWAs) have pushed for the Platform Workers Act to secure better protections for our platform workers. Today, thanks to the efforts and cooperation of our tripartite partners, our platform workers now have rights to full CPF contributions, mandatory work injury compensation, and representation by our PWAs. Since the Act was implemented in January 2025, our Platform Work Associations have gone on to secure critical recognition from Grab, ComfortDelGro Zig, Lalamove, GoGoX, TADA, and Trans-cab’s Smile Ride. This means that:
a. Recognition strengthens our PWAs’ ability to negotiate with individual platforms to secure better Wages, Welfare and Work Prospects for our platform workers;
b. Bilateral negotiations between PWAs and Platform Operators are definitely an important means for us to secure better outcomes for platform workers. And indeed, our negotiations have already started to yield success for us with Grab, and we successfully negotiated for incentive changes after feedback from our drivers, as well as secured priority shift bookings for our food delivery platform workers in high-demand areas.
Most recently, NTUC and our PWAs initiated a senior-level trilateral workgroup to tackle illegal practices that unfairly undercut our platform workers’ jobs and earnings. I am glad that the trilateral workgroup has yielded concrete outcomes that make a difference to our platform workers.
a. Over 70 foreign registered vehicles have been caught offering illegal ride services with most vehicles being impounded;
b. 4 foreigners were arrested for working illegally as delivery riders without valid work passes.
Mr Speaker, the PWAs will continue to work with the relevant Government agencies to strengthen enforcement levers to better deter and detect illegal practices.
While these measures have made a difference, our work is still far from being done. Platform workers continue to face challenges such as unpredictable and unclear earnings, as well as variable incentives that can require them to work excessive hours to unlock targets.
Mr Speaker Sir, our platform workers deserve to earn fair pay so they can, by working hard, earn a decent living for themselves and their families. As a society, we must make progress in recognising and respecting the contributions of our platform workers where it matters most – in how they are paid and treated for work that they have done.
This is where I am heartened by the progress that our PWAs are making with our platform partners.
a. Our PWAs and 9 Platform Operators, including major platforms like Grab, Foodpanda and Deliveroo, have agreed on a set of principles to ensure fair earnings and safe incentive schemes for our platform workers.
b. Arising from these principles, the Platforms have committed to:
i. Consult drivers and PWAs on ways to ensure fair and transparent earnings;
ii. Proactively engage PWAs prior to major changes to incentive schemes; and
iii. Monitor their platform workers’ online hours and adjust incentive programmes where necessary to ensure that they do not encourage overwork.
c. As an update to our platform drivers and riders, do know that our PWAs are in close discussions with the Platform Operators to operationalise these principles in the context of individual platforms’ policies.
Beyond these immediate concerns, we must also work to ensure a Just Future for our PHV, Taxi and Bus Drivers – especially amidst:
a. the planned rollout of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs);
b. the upcoming RTS Link; and
c. discussions with Malaysia to expand cross-border transport opportunities.
The Labour Movement recognises the benefits of this technology transition for Singaporeans, especially in augmenting transport networks for travels including across the border to Malaysia. But for our drivers, these announcements are concerning. They worry – what will happen to me? Will I still be able to make a living?
Mr Speaker, this is where – as the President aptly put in his address, “the trust built through many years of tripartism gives us an edge. It enables us to move faster in deploying technologies…while managing disruptions to the workforce and generating new job opportunities.”
This is why NTUC and our PWAs are working very closely with the Ministry of Transport and through committees such as the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles – to bring our drivers’ concerns to the table. Amidst the roll out of AVs, the upcoming RTS Link, and discussions to expand cross-border transport – our drivers must be assured of a Just Future – that there will be jobs for them; and they will be given the support and time they need to transit to these jobs.
Mr Speaker, the last area that I would touch on is supporting our women and caregivers to thrive at work and at home.
The Ministry of Manpower has provided that as of 2023, close to 90% of full-time employees of working age were provided at least one scheduled FWA they required. I think we need to understand what the picture is like for FWAs since 2023. From the Labour Movement, there have been more reports of employers requiring workers to return to the office fully and to follow standard working hours. Caregivers, through our unions, have also told us that they remain concerned that they will be overlooked or sidelined at work due to demands at home. As such, the NTUC is committed to normalise FWAs in the workplace, and to ensure that workers on FWAs are treated and compensated fairly in performance appraisals and promotions.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, as I round up my speech, I circle back to the intrinsic value of being kind. Let us measure our progress on how we have moved as a society to improve the livelihoods of our workers, and the lives of the people around us. Speaking with kindness, acting with kindness, thinking with kindness – I trust that these will continue to be foundations of our treasured Singapore values.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion with kindness, thank you.
