Director also convicted for hampering MOM investigations

To meet strong labour market demand

Record Employment, Higher Wages & Fewer Low-Wage Workers

The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower is conducting the Labour Force Survey from 23 Nov 2007 to 7 Jan 2008.

In line with the revision of Annual Values (AV) of properties from 1 January 2008, the AV criterion for older low-wage workers to qualify for the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS) will also be adjusted.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has prosecuted Mr Lim Meng Eng, the general manager of Starprint Production Pte Ltd, for making false declarations of salaries while applying for S Passes1.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked the licences and forfeited the security deposits of three employment agencies (EA) - Ms Bushra Employment Agency, CM Manpower Centre Pte Ltd and Angel Maids Agency.

A Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) employer, Tang Cheong Kim, was convicted and fined $4,000 in Court on 6 November 2007 for failing to provide a safe working environment for her FDW.

The Government is introducing the Medisave Contribution Draw (MCD) to encourage low-income self-employed persons (SEPs) and informal workers to contribute to their Medisave accounts. 

The Strong Labour Market Performance Last Year has Continued into the First Half of this Year

The Ministry of Manpower will require employers to purchase and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of foreign workers from 1 January 2008.

Employers Continued to Achieve Tangible Benefits from Training

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has prosecuted a company and its general manager for illegal employment and illegal deployment of foreigners to the conservancy sector.

Mr Tan Pheng Hock, currently the Deputy Chairman of the WDA Board, will succeed Ms Yong Ying-I as Chairman of the Board from 1 September 2007.

The Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) scheme was announced by the Government in February 2007 to encourage older low-wage workers to remain employed and improve their retirement adequacy.

Many significant changes to the CPF system have been announced. Today, I will reiterate and clarify changes and answer queries but more importantly, I wish to explain how the changes will help elderly Singaporeans.

The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower is conducting the Labour Force Survey from 24 August 2007 to 07 October 2007.

Petra Security Agency Pte Ltd, a security guard agency, was fined a total of $11,000 on 3 August 07 for 22 charges under the Employment Act. Another 17 charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The Ministry of Manpower has stepped up enforcement to deter abuse of the workmen's compensation system. This year, four workers were prosecuted for making fraudulent claims under the Workmen's Compensation Act (WCA).

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister of State for Manpower and Education is leading a delegation to attend the International Labour Organisation Asian Regional Forum (ILO ARF) on Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Beijing, China from 13 to 15 August 2007.

Continued Record Employment Growth with Sharp Fall in Unemployment

A key finding of the Ministry's `Report on Wages in Singapore, 2006' is that jobs requiring professional and specialised training continued to command higher starting salaries in 2006.

Maint-Kleen Pte Ltd was convicted and fined a total of $7,500 in Court on 26 June 2007 for failing to provide acceptable accommodation for their foreign workers.

The Ministry of Manpower has formed a "Tripartite Committee on CPF and Work Related Benefits for Low-wage Workers" (TriCom).

The Labour Market Continues to Tighten as Demand for Manpower RisesEmployment prospects continued to strengthen, attracting more people to enter the labour market which in turn resulted in a rise in unemployment.

The last day for declaration of income to qualify for the second and final portion of the Workfare Bonus Scheme (WBS 2007), for work done in 2006, is 30 June 2007.

Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence, is leading a tripartite delegation to attend the 96th Session of the International Labour Conference from 12 - 14 June 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Attesting to the importance of continual education and training, mature workers in their 40s and 50s remain employable mainly due to their relevant skills and work experience.

 The United Nations (UN) has conferred the 2007 United Nations Public Service Award for "Improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the Public Service" to the Singapore agencies responsible for delivering the Progress Package.

 The Government has accepted the National Wages Council (NWC)'s wage recommendations for 2007/2008.

Economic and Labour Market Performance in 2006In 2006, the economy grew strongly by 7.9%, up from 6.6% in 2005.

 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will introduce a Work Holiday Programme (WHP) from 1 December 2007 to allow undergraduates and graduates from overseas to experience living and working in Singapore for a short period.

 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has prosecuted a Bangladesh national, Abul Basher Md Khabiruddin for abetting the illegal employment and deployment of foreign workers.

Tripartite Committee Recommends Extensive Package of Measures to Intensify Efforts to Enhance Employability of Older Workers

 The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower is conducting the Labour Force Survey from 21 May 2007 to 31 Jul 2007. 

Driven by gains in SMEs and non-unionised establishments, wage restructuring made further progress in 2006.

With effect from 1 July 2007, the training and certification requirements for workers in the construction, ship-building and ship-repairing industries will be revised.

The Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC), together with the Austrian Business Association (ABA) welcomed the STF leaders for a luncheon and dialogue session on 4 May at the Orchard Hotel.

The TAFEP has issued the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices that identify fair and progressive HR practices in areas such as job applications, interviews, progression, grievance handling, and so forth.

The economy continued to grow at a healthy pace, generating strong employment gains in the first quarter this year. 

The re-employment prospects of retrenched residents improved to a nine-year high in 2006, amid increased job opportunities available.

Fifty-nine Ministries and Statutory Boards gathered to sign the Employers' Pledge of Fair Employment Practices on 12 April 2007.

A'Land Express Pte Ltd was convicted and fined in Court on 25 Jan 07 and 6 Mar 07, for failing to pay salaries to 7 of its workers, totaling some $26,232 in arrears. 

The National Wages Council (NWC) chaired by Prof Lim Pin, Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, will commence its deliberations on wage and wage-related guidelines for 2007/2008 in mid-April 2007. 

The date, 28th October 2008, for Deepavali needs to be checked against the Indian Almanacs when they become available towards the end of 2007.

 The strong economy generated record employment gains which led to an improvement in the unemployment rate to an eight-year low in 2006. 

Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence, is visiting Vietnam from 14 to 17 March 2007.

Unique Security Services Pte Ltd, a security guard agency, was convicted and fined $27,000 on 22 February 2007 for multiple offences under the Employment Act.

Singapore will be honouring Mr Lee R. Raymond, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation; and Dr Heinrich von Pierer, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG, with the 2006 Honorary Citizen Award for their valuable contributions to Singapore.

Benefiting from the strong economic performance, a record high proportion of the older population are in the labour force and in employment. 

MOM restructures the CPF system and institutionalises Workfare to enable all Singaporeans to benefit from economic growth

 The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower is conducting the Labour Force Survey from 23 Feb 2007 to 7 April 2007. 

Disregard for worker safety and health in spite of repeated warnings at two Greatearth Construction worksites has led the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to freeze its Man-Year Entitlements (MYE)1 for access to foreign construction workers.

Unemployment Rate Dropped to Pre-Asian Crisis Level Amid Continued Strong Employment Creation

Employment The strong economy continued to generate record employment gains. Preliminary estimates show that total employment grew by 48,800 in the fourth quarter of 2006, considerably higher than the gains of 35,300 in the same period a year ago, and up from 43,000 in the third quarter of 2006.

The Workfare Bonus Scheme (WBS), to be given out in two portions, was part of the Progress Package announced by the Government in 2006.

Amid the robust economic expansion over the past two years, the labour force expanded by 5.2% p.a. from June 2004 to 2.59 million in June 2006, well above the average growth of 2.5% p.a. over the decade. 

The rate of return for tertiary education tends to be higher compared to non-tertiary education.  Professional and more technical fields of study at university degree level also have higher rates of returns than less technical ones. 

To support the adoption of fair employment practices, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) will be implementing the revised Tripartite Guidelines on Non-Discriminatory Job Advertisements recently released by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP).

"Work-Life Work$", a documentary series featuring award-winning companies and their Work-Life initiatives, will premiere this Thursday evening (11 Jan) at 8.30pm.