Mr Speaker, I wish to register a few observations and expectations from the perspective of workers and families who rely on a strong and sustainable social service sector.
If NCSS is to take on a stronger role as a sector developer, we must be clear that sustainability cannot be measured solely by service outcomes but also by the well-being, skills, and retention of the social and care workforce.
Sir, I will focus my remarks on what “sector development” must mean for workers on the ground.
A Sector Developer Must Mean “Good Services” and also “Good Jobs”
Sir, as we support this Bill in principle, we must be clear: a sector cannot be sustainable if its workforce is not.
When we talk about social services, we often focus on clients and programmes, and rightly so.
But the people delivering this work are our social and care workers, broadly defined: those on the ground doing casework, community support, caregiving, befriending, counselling, outreach, and operational coordination.
They are often under high emotional load, high caseload pressures, and in a space where outcomes are not immediate and solutioning can be quite complex.
If NCSS is to be successful and a well trusted sector developer, it must go beyond ensuring service delivery and pay close attention to the workers’ needs, wages, skills, welfare, employment prospects, and of course, their well-being.
It must also recognise that implementing this may increase service delivery costs, and it must fulfil its duty to acquire appropriate skills to work with the relevant ministry to right-size funding support for the sector, so that the sectors employers can do right by the workers.
The Bill explicitly empowers NCSS to promote competencies and professional standards, and to establish and maintain standards and guidelines for sector members.
I would urge the Ministry and NCSS to interpret the “sector developer” role as explicitly workforce-centred, with real accountability.
What I hope to see are three “worker outcomes” to be developed alongside service outcomes.
First, clear skills and progression pathways. Our social and care workers need structured development, entry pathways, bridging routes, advanced practice tracks, leadership development, and supervision standards that protect both client outcomes and worker well-being.
Second, fair and comprehensible wage standards. It is difficult for any sector to recruit and retain talent when wage signals are unclear or comparability across sub-sectors is poor.
Today, we see differences in how wage guidelines are expressed, for example, one using basic wages while another using gross wages.
This creates confusion for workers and makes it harder for employers to benchmark responsibly.
Third, well-being and workplace protection. The social service sector is emotionally demanding and draining.
Worker well-being is not a “nice-to-have”; it is a prerequisite for quality service.
We should treat supervision quality, psychosocial safety, manageable caseloads, and respect in the workplace as part of sector development, because staff burnout and turnover ultimately harm the very clients we aim to support.
Specific Points and Requests to The Minister
Sir, please allow me to make a few constructive requests.
Partnership With NTUC and Unions as part of Sector Development
Since NCSS now has a stronger sector-developer mandate and standard-setting role, can the Minister clarify how NCSS will institutionalise regular engagement with NTUC and the relevant unions so that worker outcomes are not incidental but are designed into the sector roadmap?
In particular, I hope NCSS will welcome a discussion with NTUC on workforce standards and job quality, because workers’ issues are often first raised through unions, long before they become visible in system-level indicators.
Harmonise Wage Guidelines By 1Q 2026, Then Move Towards Accreditation
At a recent dialogue, the unions proposed to harmonise community care and social services wage guidelines and recommendations, precisely because inconsistent approaches, such as “basic versus gross”, can distort benchmarking.
I understand that the goal discussed was to have harmonisation in place by 1Q 2026, before moving into accreditation, not just for Community Care Organisations but also for Social Service Agencies. Could the Minister confirm:
A. whether 1Q 2026 remains the intended timeline for wage-guideline harmonisation; and
B. whether NCSS will play a facilitative role, given its new function to establish and maintain standards and guidelines for sector members?
On being “direct” about wages, Sir, I think we can do both: keep the principle high-level to strengthen wage competitiveness and clarity, and also set a clear milestone through the harmonisation by 1Q 2026.
We owe social and care sector workers that level of seriousness, while giving agencies and employers room to manage implementation responsibly.
Accreditation as an Employer Mark, Tie Recognition to Wage and People Practices
The Healthcare Services Employees’ Union or HSEU, shared a proposed accreditation framework for the community care sector, the Community Care Progressive Employer Mark (CCPEM), with tiering (Bronze/Silver/Gold) to recognise employers who commit to wage benchmarks, workforce development, productivity improvements, and progressive employment practices.
The proposed framework is structured around four pillars:
A. Wage Benchmarks referencing MOH salary guidelines,
B. Workforce Development & Skills Enhancement aligned to AIC skills standards / Skills Framework,
C. Manpower Productivity, including job redesign and use of grants, and
D. Progressive Employment Practices in which Tripartite Standards and fair employment practices should be in place
I welcome this direction, because it sends a clear signal: being a good care provider must also mean being a good employer. If NCSS is to be the sector developer, then I would ask:
A. can the Minister share whether NCSS will support an accreditation approach that includes wage benchmarks and workforce development as central pillars; and
B. whether this can be extended beyond community care to social service agencies, in line with the earlier discussion?
Encourage Progressive Workplaces, including use of the CTC Grant
We should also encourage employers in the social services sector to access support for job redesign, training, and transformation. Where appropriate, I welcome employers to work with NTUC to explore schemes such as the Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant, so that productivity improvements translate into better job quality rather than simply higher workloads.
Safeguards And Implementation: Do Not Over-Burden Smaller Organisations
Sir, I would also like to address implementation.
The Bill introduces sector members and requires compliance with prescribed standards, including those for cooperation with NCSS. This is understandable if NCSS is coordinating the sector more actively.
Could the Minister clarify how NCSS will ensure that standards and reporting requirements are proportionate, particularly for smaller agencies and charities that may not have the same administrative capacity?
We must avoid a situation where smaller organisations spend more time “servicing the system” than serving clients.
Relatedly, the Bill also allows NCSS to consider whether an organisation’s aims, objects, and activities are contrary to the public interest, public order, or national harmony when deciding whether to appoint or revoke a sector member.
This is a serious evaluative ground.
I would ask the Minister to elaborate on the safeguards and due process in place, to ensure decisions remain fair, transparent, and consistent, especially given that sector member status will likely be important for participation and sector coordination.
Sir, please allow me to continue in Malay.
Malay Executive Summary
Saya menyokong Rang Undang-Undang (Pindaan) NCSS ini secara prinsip, namun pelaksanaannya mesti benar-benar mencerminkan peranan NCSS sebagai “pembangun sektor”.
Bukan sekadar memastikan penyampaian perkhidmatan, tetapi membangunkan tenaga kerja sosial dan penjagaan yang menjadi tulang belakang ekosistem dengan sokongan masyarakat kita.
Sektor sosial bukan hanya “membantu” ekonomi; ia ialah sebahagian daripada infrastruktur ekonomi dan sosial Singapura.
Apabila keluarga mendapat sokongan tepat pada masanya, pekerja boleh terus bekerja, menjaga produktiviti, dan bangkit semula daripada kesusahan.
Dalam masyarakat yang semakin menua, sokongan penjagaan komuniti untuk orang tersayang juga menjadi kunci agar pekerja tidak terpaksa memilih antara kerja dan tanggungjawab keluarga.
Sebagai pembangun sektor, NCSS perlu memberi tumpuan yang lebih tegas terhadap kualiti pekerjaan: pembangunan kemahiran dan laluan kerjaya, kejelasan dan daya saing gaji, serta kesejahteraan dan keselamatan psikososial di tempat kerja.
NTUC mengalu-alukan usaha untuk mengharmonikan garis panduan gaji antara subsector, termasuk menyelaraskan definisi seperti gaji asas dan gaji kasar, dengan sasaran yang jelas, sebelum bergerak ke arah akreditasi majikan progresif yang mengiktiraf amalan pekerjaan adil, latihan, produktiviti dan perlindungan pekerja.
Ringkasnya: untuk memastikan perkhidmatan yang lebih baik kepada rakyat, kita mesti terlebih dahulu memastikan sektor ini menawarkan pekerjaan yang baik kepada mereka yang memikul amanah menjaga masyarakat kita.
Closing: Our Measure of Success
Mr Speaker, I hope we remember the spirit behind it: strengthening NCSS as a sector developer is ultimately about strengthening the whole ecosystem, services, organisations, and the people who do the hard work behind the scenes.
If we get this right, we will not only improve service delivery. We will also:
A. help workers stay in the workforce because their livelihoods and families are continually supported,
B. strengthen community care for loved ones as our population ages,
C. protect national, mental and physical well-being through upstream support, and
D. strengthen our social safety net so that people have a real chance to bounce back and thrive.
And crucially, we will create a sector where social and care workers, central in my speech, can build meaningful careers with fair pay, progression, and well-being, because that is what a truly sustainable sector looks like.
Sir, with these observations and requests, I support the Bill.
