Category: Singapore

Parliamentary Question on 19 January 2015

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Manpower given a recent instance of a foreign worker being repatriated for a Dependency Ratio Ceiling violation whereby the ruling was subsequently reversed on appeal but the foreign worker was not able to return as a work permit holder, what provisions are in place to ensure processing of appeals prior to repatriation or to allow for the reversibility of rulings post-repatriation.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Business employers are required to keep within their Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) when hiring foreign workers. The DRC is calculated based on the company’s local workforce, as reflected via its CPF contributions to its employees. When a company reduces its local workforce or fails to make its CPF contributions on time, its Dependency Ratio will exceed the DRC.

MOM will then request the company to rectify the situation by either increasing its local workforce or cancelling some work passes so as to keep within the DRC. In such instances, employers are given a choice as to which work pass holders to retain and which to let go. Employers are given ample opportunity to take remedial action before MOM cancels any work passes. We will also take in appeals from employers if the situation is rectified before the workers are sent home. Employers may still re-hire the workers if they have sufficient room within their DRC.

To avoid unnecessary disruption to business operations, employers should ensure that they maintain sufficient local workers to keep within its DRC.

Parliamentary question on 19 January 2015

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Department of Statistics can publish income and expenditure statistics by individuals in addition to by households so as to provide more precise measurements on poverty since individuals in a household may have different access to the household income.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The Department of Statistics provides detailed statistics on households’ monthly expenditure and income based on the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).

Data from the HES is analysed on a household basis, and not on an individual basis, to reflect the sharing of goods and services as well as income resources within the household. Many expenditure items including food, utilities and household goods are shared among members of a household, and it would not be feasible to attribute a specific share of the household’s expenditure on each item to individual household members. In addition, income resources are commonly pooled to support household members who are not earning an income, such as children, the elderly or a non-working spouse. Similar to the case for expenditure, it would be difficult to ascertain how much income resources each household member has consumed.

The use of the household as the basic unit of analysis for the HES is in accordance with international best practices recommended by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and is also adopted by other national statistical offices such as those in Australia, Hong Kong and the United States.

Typically, HDB rental flats are allocated to only families which do not already own a flat. However, families waiting for their BTO flats to be completed — which could be several years — will still need to find a place to stay. This question was to ascertain if it is possible for them to still be allocated a rental flat if they meet the income criteria.

Parliamentary question on 19 January 2015

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development whether families with a monthly household income of $1,500 or less who have booked a 2-room HDB BTO flat and are awaiting the construction of the flats are eligible to rent a flat under the Public Rental Scheme.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: We can consider their application, but they will have to compete with other needy applicants. We will give priority to those who have no other housing option and no family support. One option is for them to rent a flat under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme, especially if they do so jointly with another family, so as to further reduce their rental expenses.

Parliamentary Question on 19 January 2015

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development since March 2012, how many families with a monthly household income of between $1,000 and $1,200 (inclusive) have (i) applied for and subsequently booked or (ii) been invited but failed to book 2-room or larger HDB BTO flats.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: For BTO exercises between March 2012 and July 2014 where selection has been completed, 744 families with monthly household income of between $1,000 and $1,200 booked a 2-room or larger BTO flat. Over the same period, 655 other families in the same income bracket were invited to select a BTO flat but they did not proceed to book one.

Parliamentary Question on 19 January 2015

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development given that the Government grant to Gardens by the Bay increased from $23 million in the November 2011 to March 2013 period to $27 million in the April 2013 to March 2014 period, whether the Government plans for Gardens by the Bay to be commercially self-sustaining eventually and, if so, by when.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Gardens by the Bay (GB) is a national public garden for Singaporeans. It is a people’s garden meant for all to enjoy. Except for the Conservatories, GB’s recreational garden spaces and facilities, which make up 90% of the site, are free and accessible to the public. The Government grant to GB is used to offset the operating expenses incurred in the upkeep of this as well as to support GB’s active community programming.

Since its opening, GB has run a wide range of non-ticketed programmes and activities to reach out to our local community. Major festivals and events such as the Mid-Autumn Festival @ The Gardens and the recently concluded Christmas Wonderland were well-received by Singaporeans.

There is no plan to make GB self-funding.

Parliamentary Question on 4 November 2014

CREDENTIAL CHECKS ON FOREIGN PROFESSIONALS SEEKING EMPLOYMENT IN SINGAPORE

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Manpower what are the Government’s plans to facilitate credential checks on foreigners coming to work in Singapore in light of cases of foreigners on employment passes who are revealed to have used false credentials.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin: Our Employment Pass (EP) eligibility framework is based on a range of factors, such as the applicant’s salary level, qualifications and experience, to identify individuals that are likely to possess expertise and capabilities to contribute to our economy. Hence, possessing acceptable qualifications alone does not guarantee that the EP application will be approved. Conversely, not possessing acceptable qualifications does not automatically rule one out of being eligible for an EP.

In 2012, we tightened our legislation and increased penalties for making false statements or submitting false documents in support of work pass application, including those relating to academic qualifications. Offenders may be fined up to $20,000 and/or imprisoned up to two years. Since 2012 to the first half of 2014, we have successfully prosecuted about 150 foreigners for false credentials. All were sentenced to imprisonment terms and subsequently had their work passes revoked and were barred from working in Singapore.

We have also taken a risk-based approach to improve and strengthen our credential checks, including supplementing these checks with third-party overseas screening agencies, verifying the authenticity of certificates directly with the issuing educational institution, and requiring the applicant to upload proof of diplomas and higher qualifications authentication.

MOM will take strong actions against those who make false declarations in work pass applications. If members of the public know of such offences, they should report the matter to MOM.

Parliamentary Question on 3 November 2014

BREAKDOWN OF DATA IN HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether the Household Expenditure Survey data can be broken down to quantify (i) the income and expenditure profile for the bottom 10% of households by income and (ii) the respective types of home ownership among the bottom 20% of households who spend more than what they earn.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Based on the results of the Household Expenditure Survey (HES) 2012/13, the average monthly income of households in the first income decile was $1,043, while their average monthly expenditure was $1,844. About 55% of their income was derived from work, while the remaining 45% was from non-work income sources such as investment income and regular transfers from the Government. The stronger reliance on non-work income by these households could be attributed to the fact that around one-third of the households in this group were retiree households. Detailed data on the expenditure patterns of households in the first income decile can be found in the HES 2012/13 report on the Department of Statistics’ website.

Information on home ownership by dwelling types and income quintiles has also been published in the HES 2012/13 report. Specifically, more than eight out of ten households in the bottom income quintile owned homes. Among those who lived in HDB flats in this group, 81% owned the flats that they occupied. The ownership rate for those residing in condominiums and other apartments, and in landed properties was higher at 88% and 95% respectively. However, specific data on the home ownership of households who spent more than they earned is not available from the HES.

Parliamentary Question on 4 November 2014

IMPACT OF LOW LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY ON SINGAPORE’S ECONOMIC GROWTH

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Government is satisfied with labour productivity growth of 2.2%, -1.4% and -0.2% in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively vis-à-vis its stated target of 2-3% per year from 2010 to 2020; (b) what is the impact of this low productivity performance on overall economic growth; and (c) how much longer the Ministry expects it will take for 2-3% productivity growth per year to be achieved.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: In 2010, we set a target of 2-3% annualised productivity growth over the decade starting from 2009. This ambitious target was set because productivity growth had been weak in the decade before 2009, at 1% per year, and we had assessed that there was significant room for improvement. Tracked against this target, we have achieved an annualised productivity growth of 2.9% so far[2].

However, a large part of this was due to the strong recovery in 2010. Annualised productivity growth since then has been weaker, at 0.2%. Nevertheless, we were still able to record good overall economic growth during the 2010 to 2013 period. Annualised GDP growth was 4.1%, which is within the 3-5% projected for the decade.

Some sectors have also done better than others. From 2010 to 2013, productivity grew 2.1% annually in the export-oriented sectors like Wholesale Trade and Financial Services. Such sectors make up just over half of the economy. Being globally competitive, they are able to transform and adjust processes quickly to changing market conditions.

In comparison, domestic sectors like Construction and Retail performed more poorly, with an annualised growth rate of -0.3%. The National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) is focusing its efforts on measures that will significantly uplift productivity in these sectors. For example, we are taking more aggressive upstream measures in the construction sector. These promote greater use of pre-fabrication and other high-impact technologies to enhance productivity. It will take some time for these efforts to be reflected in the productivity numbers.

Overall, we have made progress in our productivity drive, but more remains to be done. Economic restructuring is a long-term process and we will press on with it.

[2] This refers to our productivity performance from 2009-2013.

Parliamentary Question on 4 November 2014

MEDICAL DISCIPLINARY CASES WHERE COURTS REDUCED LEGAL COSTS TO BE PAID BY LOSING PARTIES

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Health (a) of all the unsuccessful legal challenges by medical doctors to disciplinary committee proceedings brought against them by the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) in the past three years, how many of such cases have had their legal costs that the losing parties are ordered to pay reduced following the court’s taxation of the bill of costs; (b) what has been the total quantum of costs taxed down; and (c) whether these have resulted in SMC paying the full quantum of costs that have been taxed down.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: For the 44 SMC disciplinary proceedings that concluded between 2011 and 2013, taxation has been completed for seven cases, of which six had a proportion of the bill reduced after taxation. In these cases, between 37% to 78% of the costs were recovered after taxation and the cumulative amount that was taxed down amounted to about $926,000. The remaining bill was eventually undisputed. These taxation cases do not include cases which are pending cost negotiations and outcomes of appeals. In each of the cases taxed, SMC paid the legal fees that were incurred.

Taxation is a procedure that determines the proportion of the costs of the winning party that the losing party is made to bear when the costs are disputed. It must not be confused with whether the legal fees incurred were reasonable, and as the Law Society explained, the taxation framework is such that there is usually a considerable difference between what a losing party eventually pays and the costs incurred by the winning party in the disciplinary proceedings. For that reason, most cases that undergo taxation would result in the winning party not being able to recover a proportion of the costs incurred.

Invariably, the legal expertise required and the costs of the disciplinary process increase with the complexity of the cases. SMC must carry out its public duty to ensure that patients’ interests are protected. If it fails to pursue such cases due to financial considerations, there will be a loss of confidence in its ability to safeguard the interests of patients and in the integrity of the medical profession. SMC will continue to ensure that the legal fees of the law firms engaged are reasonable and commensurate with the work done.

Mr Deputy Speaker,

Human trafficking is a gross human rights violation and a moral atrocity. According to International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates, there are at least 2.4 million trafficked persons around the world at any given time, with 56% of these in the Asia-Pacific region. Yet there are only a few thousand convictions of traffickers every year. Most victims are not identified and consequently never receive justice for the damage and hurt inflicted on them. Disturbingly, human trafficking remains a low-risk enterprise with high returns for traffickers. The ILO estimates that profits generated from human trafficking are as high as US$32 billion every year.

The United Nations (UN) points out that almost every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. The US State Department said in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report that Singapore is a destination country for women and girls from China, India, and parts of Southeast Asia who are victims of sex trafficking, and a transit country for Cambodian and Filipino men subjected to forced labour on fishing vessels that stop at Singapore ports. The report stated that many foreign workers here have assumed large debts to recruitment agencies in both Singapore and their home countries, making them vulnerable to forced labour, including debt bondage. The report further said that some foreign workers reported confiscation of their passports, restrictions on their movement, illegal withholding of their pay, threats of forced repatriation without pay, and physical and sexual abuse, which are all potential indicators of trafficking. The Government has responded to this report, saying that it remains of the view that the US needs to adopt a more objective methodology in future reports.

Last year, there were 53 reported cases of sex trafficking and 49 reported cases of labour trafficking in Singapore. Of these, only seven have been prosecuted, while investigations for most of the other cases are ongoing.

Human trafficking is covered under UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The Protocol came into force in 2003. Singapore is neither a signatory nor party to this Protocol, although it has ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which is the parent convention to this protocol.

Singapore currently does not have a dedicated anti-trafficking law; this Bill will be the first. Currently, human trafficking is covered by several different pieces of legislation such as the Women’s Charter and the Children and Young Persons Act.

This Bill represents progress in acknowledging the problem of human trafficking in Singapore instead of conflating human trafficking with other crimes such as human smuggling or illegal migration as used to be the case. It also makes an attempt to move beyond the perception that the bulk of human trafficking offences are related to sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, and acknowledges that labour trafficking is also a problem.

The main focus of this Bill is to criminalise trafficking by imposing penalties, and stepping up enforcement efforts to weed out traffickers. There are also some provisions for victim protection and assistance.

The Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons was set up in 2010, and is co-chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Manpower. The Taskforce came up with the National Plan of Action in 2011 which aims to combat human trafficking through the “4Ps” framework of prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership.

In this Bill, of the 4Ps, prevention and prosecution feature strongly; protection of trafficking victims is provided for but is lacking in some areas; while partnership is largely absent. My speech will focus on the victim protection and assistance measures in the Bill.

Trafficking victim assistance and protection

The Bill has some provisions for protection and assistance to victims. Clause 18 protects victims of sexual exploitation by providing for in camera court proceedings, and a publication gag order to prevent the identification of victims. Clause 19 empowers the Director of Social Welfare to provide victims with assistance, including temporary shelter and counselling services, as he or she considers “practicable and necessary” in the circumstances of the case. However these are provided administratively at the discretion of the Director.

Sir, the provisions for victim protection and assistance in the Bill need to be strengthened further. There are two key reasons why this is necessary. First, it is the right thing to do for victims of human trafficking. Many victims would have suffered horribly in the hands of their traffickers, and may be in a state of shock, misery and disorientation in a foreign land. As a developed country, Singapore should do all it can to lessen their physical, mental, emotional and financial burdens while they assist in investigations and await the trial of their victimisers.

Second, strengthening the protection and assistance framework would encourage more trafficking victims to come forward to report their plight to the authorities. As human trafficking is a clandestine activity, there is often no paper trail and the prosecution relies heavily on the cooperation of victims to report and testify against suspects. In the absence of a strong victim protection and assistance framework, trafficking victims may decide that they are better off suffering in silence or may be reluctant to cooperate fully with authorities. This will make it harder for the authorities to hunt down traffickers and for prosecutors to secure convictions. Traffickers will then be able to brazenly continue with their evil deeds, and harm even more innocent victims.

There are several ways the victim assistance and protection framework can be improved. First, in addition to shelter and counselling, Clause 19(1) should also mention that victims should be provided with food and healthcare.

Second, victims should be allowed to work during the time their case is ongoing. Most foreign workers who leave their home countries and come to Singapore, do so to seek better work opportunities. The fear of not being able to carry on working while they undergo a lengthy court case, which may last up to three years, could discourage victims from coming forward, as most have families back home relying on their remittances and many would have incurred hefty debts to come to Singapore. While temporary employment is currently permitted where merited, this is done on a case-by-case basis. There is no public mention of the criteria and merits used to determine this. This will result in a degree of uncertainty for victims who are deciding whether or not to report trafficking.

Third, genuine victims should be assisted to safely return to their country of origin without unreasonable delay after the conclusion of the trial. One of the initiatives proposed in the 2011 National Plan of Action (NPA) by the Inter-Agency Taskforce was to “facilitate the re-entry and return of victims to their home countries” after conducting a review of provisions to allow this. The review was due to be completed in 2013 , but this provision is nowhere to be found in the Bill. May I ask if the review been completed and what its conclusions are?

Fourth, victims should also be given access to legal aid and representation. They should also be provided with information on the criminal and administrative proceedings related to their cases, including advice on pursuing civil action against their traffickers to obtain compensation.

Fifth, the courts should study if it is possible to allow victims of human trafficking to attach civil claims to the criminal case, as many will not have the means to take out separate civil lawsuits. As brought up by Ms Sylvia Lim in this House earlier this year, traditional criminal proceedings are aimed at punishing the offender, while the victim usually receives no compensation for injuries or losses from the crime. I would like to suggest that Singapore could consider a scheme practiced in the Netherlands, which allows trafficking victims to attach a civil claim to a criminal case, so that the criminal court can decide on claims at the sentencing stage.

And sixth, with respect to victim protection, the Bill should clarify that trafficking victims will not be prosecuted for offences committed by them, if such offences are a direct consequence of their situation as trafficked persons. Without an assurance that they will not suffer repercussions for speaking out, many may opt not to report their abuse.

Some may argue that providing strong victim assistance and protection could incentivise false reporting. I think this fear is overstated. As a matter of principle, we should not compromise the interests of the vast majority of genuine victims in our attempt to prevent a small minority of false reporters.

A clear definition and guidelines of what constitutes trafficking will help prosecutors and investigators correctly classify trafficking cases based on their circumstances. Genuine trafficking victims should be spared from prosecution. To provide the necessary deterrence, those who engage in wilful false reporting should be prosecuted. This is already provided for under Clause 20 of this Bill.

Other suggestions

Apart from victim assistance and protection, I have several more suggestions on how this Bill and its subsequent implementation could be enhanced to better meet its objectives.

First, after this law is enacted, there needs to be sufficient public education provided to foreign workers, employers and members of the public who may come into contact with trafficked victims. This is so that they will all be more aware of their rights and responsibilities under this law, and report violations when they occur.

Second, the penalties for human trafficking under Clause 4 of this Bill should be enhanced further, given the terrible nature of the crime and the fact that human traffickers often make a tidy profit off their victims. Clause 4 specifies a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment, a 100,000 dollar fine and caning for the first offence. In comparison, under Proposition 35 which was passed in the state of California in the US to enhance penalties for human trafficking, the maximum fine is 1.5 million US dollars and prison sentences of 15-years-to-life.

Third, the Government should reveal how it plans to measure the success of anti-trafficking efforts following the passing of this Bill. The Government should conduct benchmarking studies every few years to measure the scale of the problem, and how effectively we are rooting out trafficking. The methods, data, and findings should be made available to the public.

And lastly, the fourth “P” in the anti-trafficking framework – partnership – is not mentioned at all in the Bill. Partnership with civil society and cross-border cooperation is a key tenet of a broader anti-trafficking strategy. Human trafficking is a problem that has to be tackled simultaneously on different fronts, and there has to be effective collaboration between different organisations and governments for this to succeed.

Conclusion

Mr Deputy Speaker, this Bill is a step forward in tackling the serious and extensive problem of human trafficking in the world. However, in order for the Bill to achieve its intended objective, the 4P’s of prevention, prosecution, protection and partnership need to work hand-in-hand. We cannot over-rely on prevention and prosecution. Greater protection and assistance to victims of human trafficking is both a moral obligation and a practical imperative to securing more convictions.

The key success indicator of this legislation is if it enables the authorities to identify more victims, to prosecute and convict more culprits of human trafficking, and lower the incidence of this heinous crime. Once this Bill is passed, I urge the Government to expeditiously sign and ratify the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

Sir, I support the Bill.