Singapore must ensure its people are given a chance to age with purpose and dignity, stay healthy and connected, and be financially stable to look forward to their years ahead.
This was the parliamentary motion filed by Nee Soon GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Henry Kwek on 2 February 2019. He had support from five fellow MPs, including Dr Lily Neo (Jalan Besar GRC), Joan Perera (Tanjong Pagar GRC), Tin Pei Ling (Macpherson SMC), Rahayu Mazham (Jurong GRC) and Cheng Li Hui (Tampines GRC).
The motion was discussed at length in Parliament on 13 February 2019, and a few Labour MPs weighed in on the issue.
Let’s take a look at what they had to say, with some ideas on how to go about achieving the objectives:
Mr Tay believes that Singapore can stay competitive through maximising the potential of its human capital, even with an ageing workforce.
“Our mature workers, who are able and want to continue to contribute in the workplace, are treasure troves of experience and expertise, and more must be done to ensure that they are not overlooked or passed over due to ageist perceptions and discrimination,” he said
To encourage active and productive ageing at the workplace, Mr Tay called for all stakeholders to consider work, workers and workplaces.
On work, employers need to recognise that experienced and skilled mature workers can help them gain a competitive edge. He also called the Government to enhance and extend existing schemes such as the Special Employment Credit.
On workers, he urged employers to continue to upskill mature workers, so their skills are aligned to industry and business transformation.
Meanwhile, workplaces must be age-friendly to allow mature workers to continue to contribute as they progress in their years, said Mr Tay.
Many elderly workers work in the outsourced sectors such as cleaning, security and landscape. However, there is a glaring absence of proper rest areas in many buildings for them, according to Mr Zainal.
In his speech, he called for the Urban Redevelopment Authority to review and waive the Gross Floor Area charges imposed on building owners for spaces specifically set aside as rest areas for these workers.
“With part of the cost managed, building owners will be more inclined to implement this for their outsourced workers,” said Mr Zainal.
He also shared that employers can tap on the age management grant to implement good age-management practices, build an age-friendly workplace and assimilate their older workers within their organisations.
In his speech, Mr Yong called for the Government to review the current funding model for nursing homes.
“The current model requires bidders to compete primarily on price. As a result, Voluntary Welfare Organisations [VWOs], and social enterprises like NTUC Health, have to bid low to secure the tender. But this is an unsustainable race to the bottom. Many operators are losing money, and the VWOs have to raise funds to cover the deficit regularly.
“With a rapidly ageing population and the need to increase the number of nursing home places in the years to come, the charity money may run dry. Losses will mount, and the current funding model is likely to unravel at some point in time,” he said.
Mr Yong also touched on the support for caregivers, calling for more to be done to recognise and support caregivers.
To incentivise Singaporeans to take up caregiving as a career, he recommended a Progressive Wage Model for professional caregivers.
Alongside good career progression, there must also be strong support groups for professional caregivers, he added.
For home caregivers, Mr Yong called for more workforce support from employers by giving flexibility to parent care leave and flexible work arrangements.
He also called for the support of the community for caregivers and the elderly.
As a means of training caregivers, Mr Yong said that online platforms should be used to provide bite-sized training to caregivers.
“This would address the common feedback that caregivers don’t have the time to attend formal training,” he said.
