Channel News Asia 2 May 2007
SINGAPORE : Unionists have said they like the idea of having a draw
to encourage the self-employed and informal workers to contribute
to their Medisave.
Many have also supported Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call
during his May Day Rally for constant upgrading to prepare
themselves for new job opportunities.
Love, friendship and camaraderie were the themes of the first-ever
May Day musical by Young NTUC members. And such a message got the
Prime Minister and union leaders on their feet, in a show of
support.
The musical is about how the Singapore labour movement overcame the
challenges and struggles since it was founded in 1961.
But issues such as helping workers stay employed remain relevant
till today. And this is why PM Lee has urged all workers to opt for
continuing education.
He singled out 36-year-old Max Chan, who went for re-training to
pursue his dreams.
Max started as a glass artist after completing his N-Levels.
10 years later, when the glass industry declined, Max switched to
selling cakes for a living.
But to hone his professional skills, Max took up a Diploma in
Multimedia Production, and later went for a 3D animation programme
run by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and Media Development
Authority.
This helped Max overcome his disadvantage of not being proficient
in English.
Today, Max works in a local 3D animation production house and his
films might soon be shown all over the world - if his company
succeeds in bringing their films to Cannes later this year.
Max said, "I've been interested in animation since young. But
animation wasn't a viable career then. Then I took the WDA course,
which gave me a chance to learn digital animation."
G Muthu Kumar, General Secretary, Amalgamated Union of Public Daily
Rated Workers, said, "PM says these people must go for training,
upgrade their skills...(it) doesn't mean you must have the
education, or language...You have the experience, you have the
talent, you can survive. So that encourages us (not to) just stay
behind. (People should) go for a course, whatever course you can
do."
Mr Lee said the best solution for Singaporeans was to stay employed
longer.
Of particular concern are the self-employed and informal
workers.
Mr Lee said the tripartite partners are now discussing ways to
ensure that low-wage workers save for their CPF.
The Prime Minister's plan to introduce a Medisave Contribution Draw
drew much laughter at the Rally.
But union leaders understand that the underlying intent is
serious.
Albert Ong, President, TransCab Operators' Association, said, "I
think that will encourage more taxi drivers to contribute their CPF
and Medisave. I think most of them, especially taxi drivers,
contribute very little to Medisave.
"So if there's a draw, everybody likes lucky draws, so I think it
will encourage more people to participate in this. That means
they'll try to save, maybe themselves contribute S$100 to
Medisave..."
The man who first mooted the idea in Parliament said he hopes the
CPF Board would roll out the Draw early next year.
Seng Han Thong, Assistant Secretary-General, National Trades Union
Congress, said, "For low-wage workers, what they need is money in
cash. So we want to get them to save for Medisave. At the same
time, if you save more, you have more chances to get cash, to top
up your Medisave, why not?
"I didn't expect PM to really go into it seriously. But I must say
it's good news for low-wage workers, because they need cash, and
why not if they are encouraged to save, and there's more cash for
them to top up their Medisave account which is for their medical
and old age. It's a good idea.
"I hope there'll be many cash prizes, to encourage people to save.
These are low-wage workers, if on top of cash prizes, we can also
have some prizes in kind, like household appliances, like iron,
rice bowls, to signify you have job, you're secure, why not?"
Wrapping up the May Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee's message was
clear - change, work hard as a team, and everyone will have
something to sing about. - CNA/ms/yy
seriously, if they stopped taking from the medisave account with
useless insurance such as eldershield.... the people will have more
money. they should consider one and only insurance that covers all
rather than coming up with useless idea such as medishield,
eldershield and other useless insurance
