The Workers' Party

[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Fair Consideration Framework:
"I would also like to ask Minister how many companies have been advised or investigated by the Ministry thus far, and how many have been deemed to be in breach of the framework. In addition, which industries have most to do in adhering to the Fair Consideration Framework. Does the Ministry plan to increase the penalties under this framework and what does the Ministry’s plan to do to engage firms that are not doing enough to hire and develop Singaporean PMEs." - Pritam Singh





COS 2015 Debate: MOM – Fair Consideration Framework (MP Pritam Singh)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] The Fair...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On CPF for Freelance and Part-time Workers:
"I would like to request the Ministry to consider educating and stepping up awareness among temporary, ad-hoc and part-time employees as well and to allow them to file reports against employers who refuse to make CPF contributions especially since the risk of CPF inadequacy in their later years would be very acute for freelancers and part-time workers. " - Pritam Singh





COS 2015 Debate: MOM – CPF for Freelance and Part-time Workers (MP Pritam Singh)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Madam...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Sectoral Minimum Wages:
"I urge the Government to look into introducing sectoral minimum wages under the Progressive Wage Model to more domestic-oriented industry sectors, so as to ensure that Singaporeans in those sectors are paid wages that are enough for themselves and their families to live on." - Gerald Giam





COS 2015 Debate: MOM – Sectoral Minimum Wages (NCMP Gerald Giam)
By Non-Constituency MP, Gerald Giam [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Mdm Chair,...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Wealth Inequality:
"According to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Data Book, the top 1% of Singapore’s wealthiest people hold 29% of the country’s wealth, and the top 10% hold 60%. Wealth inequality in Singapore fell slightly during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, but since the economic recovery, it been showing an uptrend again.
Of course, complete equality of income and wealth are both unrealistic and undesirable. However, reputable studies have shown that in advanced economies, greater income inequality is associated with diminished social mobility and less equality of opportunity.
Does the Government share my concern about wealth inequality in Singapore, and if so, what are its strategies and plans to narrow this gap?" - Gerald Giam







COS 2015 Debate: MOF – Wealth Inequality (NCMP Gerald Giam)
By Non-Constituency MP, Gerald Giam [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Sir, Much has been discussed in recent years about income inequali
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Corporate Retirement Plans:
"The Singapore Actuarial Society has observed that CPF aside, retirement schemes are a missing item in the typical Singapore employee benefit program when compared to many other countries. I hope we can further explore the use of supplementary retirement provisions as additional options for Singaporeans." - Yee Jenn Jong, JJ (余振忠)





COS 2015 Debate: MOF – Corporate Retirement Plans (NCMP Yee Jenn Jong)
By Non-Constituency MP, Yee Jenn Jong [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Sir, given...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

"There are many security and privacy mechanisms that can be put in place to prevent unauthorised access by both outsiders and insiders. Just because a network is owned by the Government does not, in and of itself, make it more secure than if it were owned by private entities...
I am not sure if these reasons justify the cost to the public purse of building a dedicated network.
Can the Minister share what is the estimated cost of building this dedicated telecoms network?" - Gerald Giam





COS 2015 Debate: MCI – Dedicated Government Telecoms Network (NCMP Gerald Giam)
By Non-Constituency MP, Gerald Giam [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Sir, Last...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Greater Scrutiny of Bills in Parliament:
"According to the parliament website, “select committees are mostly set up to discuss the details of a Bill which affects the everyday life of the public”. Over the last year, the Workers’ Party and the SPP through Mrs Lina Chiam proposed two Bills in particular for committal to a select committee. In both those cases, the Government rejected the calls as the consultation process through the Government feedback channel or REACH was deemed to have been sufficient. I would like to request the Government to consider committing more Bills to select committees in future. " - Pritam Singh





COS 2015 Debate: Parliament – Greater Scrutiny of Bills (MP Pritam Singh)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Pritam Singh [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Madam...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Cyber Security Agency:
"I would like to ask the Minister for an update on the transition to the CSA and how it plans to safeguard cyber security in Singapore, as well as how it proposes to train and nurture talent in the cyber security industry. I would also like to ask how the CSA would interact with the rest of our security framework, such as the National Security Coordination Secretariat, to ensure that our cyber defence systems are well-coordinated and threats do not slip through the cracks." - Low Thia Khiang





COS 2015 Debate: MCI – Cyber Security Agency (MP Low Thia Khiang)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Low Thia Khiang [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] MCI...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On SkillsFuture:
"I hope that the SkillsFuture council will educate both local and foreign companies about how they can draw on Singaporean talent from our educational institutes using schemes like Learn as you Earn, as well as the various benefits of hiring Singaporeans, such as 90% subsidy for training for employees above age 40." - Low Thia Khiang





COS 2015 Debate: MOM – SkillsFuture (MP Low Thia Khiang)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Low Thia Khiang [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] The SkillsFuture initiative has the potential to transform our hu
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Premium Service Providers:
"The Code of Practice for provision of Premium Rate Services (PRS) rightly placed the bulk of the responsibilities on the providers of such services to comply. However, this Code left the duties of billing network operators, namely the Telcos, with minimal obligations although they are providing the all-important payment gateway for these PRS providers. Surely the Telcos cannot be absolved of any responsibility when they are actually running a commercial service that unscrupulous PRS providers can exploit to collect exorbitant payments for products and services downloaded by the young, elderly, and illiterate." - PNG ENG HUAT





COS 2015 Debate: MCI – Premium Service Providers (MP Png Eng Huat)
By MP for Hougang SMC, Png Eng Huat [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 9 March 2015] Sir, More...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Singaporeans with Foreign Spouses:
"We know today with the cost of living, it is very hard for a family with children to manage on a single income. Many of these foreign spouses would like to work and help support their Singaporean spouse and family, but they are not able to because they are on short-term visit passes...
I understand the need for caution and that we don’t want to encourage sham marriages in exchange for benefits. However, no Singaporean should be unduly penalized for his or her choice in a marriage partner based on social status or income level. The current criteria for applications – regardless of long/short-term passes, PR, or citizenship – should be made more transparent." - Lee Li Lian （李丽连）





COS 2015 Debate: PMO – Singaporeans with Foreign Spouses (MP Lee Li Lian)
By MP for Punggol East SMC, Lee Li Lian [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Today in...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Parenthood Package:
"I acknowledge and agree that the care and development of the child is the responsibility of the parents. However a PQ reply on 7th July 2014 showed that only 48% of the total number of CDAs in the birth cohort of 2006-2013 saved to the maximum co-savings cap. To account for lower-income households with less disposable income available to divert into savings, I would like to recommend a system of ratio of dollar for dollar matching from the government....
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COS 2015 Debate: PMO – Parenthood Package (MP Lee Li Lian)
By MP for Punggol East SMC, Lee Li Lian [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] The...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Parenthood Provisional Housing:
"Based on the HDB website, I note that more than 60% of the 3-room PPHS flats to be made available will come from only one location in Jurong West. While I understand the constraints of finding eligible vacated SERS flats for adoption into the PPHS, I hope that the Ministry can make more efforts to spread out the number of such flats throughout the island.
Next, I would like to propose to the government to study the feasibility of pegging these rental charge to median income of those applying for the same class of flats rather than to the market rate." - Lee Li Lian （李丽连）





COS 2015 Debate: MND – Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (MP Lee Li Lian)
By MP for Punggol East SMC, Lee Li Lian [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] During...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Parking Lots for Heavy Vehicles:
"To earn more income, many drivers prefer to drive bigger vehicles but are unable to afford the parking charges for private lots and are stuck on the wait list for public lots. They often have to resort to parking at open air car parks or along the roadside at night...
One possible solution for this is for HDB and URA to take over private heavy vehicle parks and expand the number of public lots, especially those private heavy vehicle parks situated close to estates where the population has increased sharply in recent years in the Central, North and Northeast regions." - Lee Li Lian （李丽连）





COS 2015 Debate: MND – Parking Lots for Heavy Vehicles (MP Lee Li Lian)
By MP for Punggol East SMC, Lee Li Lian [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Parking...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Home Improvement Programme:
"First, the scope of the repair work could be extended to cover some basic repair to the internal walls inside the flats especially the wall where the bin chute resides. It does not make sense for HIP workers to do spalling concrete repair to the ceiling of a flat and leave the same problem at the adjacent walls untouched. Alternatively, HDB could arrange for HIP contractors to offer such non-standard repair works at discounted prices for residents since the estate is undergoing HIP. Second, the replacement of the pipe sockets with an imposing and clunky rack for clothes drying purpose needs a rethink." - PNG ENG HUAT





COS 2015 Debate: MND – Home Improvement Programme (MP Png Eng Huat)
By MP for Hougang SMC, Png Eng Huat [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Sir, The...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Car Park Safety:
"In the design and upgrading of open car parks, I urge HDB to work closely with NParks to plant trees that do not pose such safety concerns for residents living in the area. Although regular maintenance can mitigate the safety concerns of such car parks, there is only so much a cleaner can do." - PNG ENG HUAT





COS 2015 Debate: MND – Car Park Safety (MP Png Eng Huat)
By MP for Hougang SMC, Png Eng Huat [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Sir, Many open car parks have large trees scattered around the perime
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Information Declassification System:
"One of the current problems researchers have raised is that the researcher still needs to get approval from the relevant ministry or agency to access the document...
One possibility to make the process more efficient would be to have a structured de-classification system for materials. When documents are transferred to the National Archives after the 25 years limit, can we have documents categorised as “Restricted” and “Confidential” to be automatically unclassified. At the same time, materials marked as “Secret” will still be subject to requests and approval by the relevant Minister. Such secret materials can also be subjected to extended closure." - Low Thia Khiang





COS 2015 Debate: MCI – Information Declassification System (MP Low Thia Khiang)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Low Thia Khiang [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Mdm, as...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Lease Buyback:
"One of the barriers holding back seniors from taking up this scheme is concern on their part that their children would not be able to inherit the flat from them and hence would not enjoy the financial benefit to help them cope with potentially higher property prices in the future...
My suggestion is that the LBS could be modified to give the children of the deceased the option to buy back the portion of the lease that has been sold to HDB, provided of course that they qualify to own a HDB flat. And they could be allowed to buy this back at the price of the unit valued at the time the LBS was executed by their parents." - Chen Show Mao





COS 2015 Debate: MND – Lease Buyback (MP Chen Show Mao)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Chen Show Mao [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Madam, Budget 2015 includes key measures to improve retirement ade
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Outsourcing of Call Answering Services:
"The report stated that the Ministry had engaged People Advantage, a subsidiary of Certis CISCO Security, to help it to field public calls from Certis’ call centre at Paya Lebar...
Could the Ministry clarify:
(a) What led to the decision to outsource call answering?...
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COS 2015 Debate: MinLaw – Outsourcing of Call Answering Services (MP Sylvia Lim)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Sylvia Lim [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Three...
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[sengkang]

The Workers' Party

On Nurturing Singaporeans in Finance Industry:
"I appreciate that foreigners with experience and expertise contribute to the development of our finance industry. We must remain open to talent and we must give companies some degree of latitude to run their businesses successfully. The price of failing to do so would be dis-investment and job destruction. However, we should ensure there is a level playing field for Singaporeans. I have heard that many Singaporeans who work in financial services perceive that foreign financial services institutions tend to hire foreigners into senior level positions even when seemingly equally-qualified Singaporeans are available." - Sylvia Lim





COS 2015 Debate: PMO – Nurturing Singaporeans in Finance Industry (MP Sylvia Lim)
By MP for Aljunied GRC, Sylvia Lim [Delivered in Committee of Supply on 10 March 2015] Financial...
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