Dialogue with Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) & Minister of
State for Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
(MICA)
The dialogue with Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for MCYS was organized by the
OTCi. Held at One Marina Boulevard NTUC Centre on the 15 March 2012, it was
attended by more than 150 union leaders.
NTUC President Diana Chia opened the dialogue session and very quickly followed by
a series of questions from our union leaders on various key issues. Union leaders shot
questions ranging from caring for the elderly and those with special needs, having
enough during retirement, to the recent hot issue on weekly off day for maids. All of
which were effortlessly and eloquently addressed by Mr Chan.
Picture: Dialogue session with Mr Chan Chun Sing and our union leaders
Care for those Special Needs
Brother Francis Lim from UWEEI observed that there are homes and day care centres
catering to the needs of the aged. However, that there are few avenues for those who
with special needs. To address Brother Francis’ concern, Mr Chan replied that MCYS
will be increasing the focus on those who are disabled through early intervention to
detect disability, and care for them right up to their old age. Mr Chan shared that the
disabled are also living longer, thus they may out-lived their care-giving parents. During
that stage in life without their parents as care-givers, support is still needed to care for
the disabled from the Government. Mr Chan further shared that one of MCYS’
challenges is to get enough healthcare workers to take care of those with special needs.
With the exception of Grace Haven, a residential home, Mr Chan observed that all the
other homes he had visited are highly dependent on foreign workers.
Picture: Brother Francis (UWEEI) asking Mr Chan a question during the Dialogue.
On the issue of depending on foreign workers to take care of our elderly, Mr Chan
shared the 7/10 and 10/13 model that was adopted by Japan vis-à-vis that of
Singapore. Japan adopts a 7/10 approach that has 7 working Japanese and 3 nonworking Japanese to take care of their elderly. On the other hand, Singapore adopts a
10/13 approach where all 10 Singaporeans are working and we employ 3 lower paid
foreigners to take care of our elderly. This way more income is available for the
Singapore family.
Mr Chan went on to explain that there is no perfect solution or
answer and each model has its own merits and drawbacks. While the Japanese has
lesser dependency on foreign workers to take care of their elderly, Singapore is able to
enjoy a higher economic growth with more people working in our population.
Weekly day off for Maid
One unionist raised his concerned about the increased risk of maids getting pregnant
when the weekly day off for maid is implemented and if employers will lose their security
bond when this occurs. Mr Chan exclaimed light heartedly that the employer will not be
held responsible if he is not the culprit to the pregnancy. On a serious note, Mr Chan
explained that Singapore is no longer the choice destination for maids. Singapore has to
vie with other countries such as Hong Kong, thus it is important that we maintain a good
reputation and competitiveness by treating our maids ‘humanly’ and ‘humanely’, that is
by giving them their weekly deserved day off. He added that the government will be fair
to employers if maids were to get into trouble through no fault of the employer.
Saving for old age
Sister Rozanah Bte Ahmat (HSEU) asked about the need for CPF Life when there is
already a retirement account. She was concerned that Singaporeans do not have
enough cash during retirement. Mr Chan shared that one of his main worries is that
Singaporeans are not saving enough. In a simple analogy, he explained that we work
for 40 years to support ourselves for 60 years, with the assumption that we start working
at age 20 and live till 80 years old. Thus we need to save at least a third of our income.
He emphasized the higher need for medical assistance when we are older and this will
translate to higher expenses. One way to ensure that members with long lives continue
to have an income during old age is to stretch the minimum sum pay out duration over,
say 30 years. The CPF Life ensures that CPF members have income for life.
Picture: Sister Rozanah Bte Ahmat (HSEU) posing a question on CPF to Mr Chan.
Lasting Power of Attorney
Another unionist enquired if he can make the decision to use this mother’s CPF to pay
for her stay in an old age home since his mother has dementia and does not have the
mental capacity to decide. Mr Chan explained the importance of having a Lasting Power
of Attorney ("LPA") before we lose mental capacity one day. A Lasting Power of
Attorney ("LPA") is a legal document which allows a person who is 21 years of age or
older ('donor'), to voluntarily appoint one or more persons ('donee'), to act and make
decisions on his behalf as his proxy decision maker if he should lose mental capacity
one day. In this particular case, since the mother had nominated her beneficiary when
she was well, it will be difficult to change her decision.
The Dialogue session ended with Mr Chan’s endeavor for an inclusive society in
Singapore, a society that embraces a collective ownership of problems and works
together to overcome the challenges.
By Alvin Yeo
Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute