GE2025: Workers' Party calls for GST exemptions, minimum wage and wealth tax in wide-ranging manifesto

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Thursday (Apr 17) unveiled its manifesto for Singapore's General Election in May, calling for GST exemptions, minimum wage and a wealth tax among other measures.

The wide-ranging manifesto was split across five sections, including affordability and cost of living concerns, economic growth and opportunities and issues of inclusion and equality. 

Singapore's largest opposition party also outlined issues of accountability and democracy as well as security and geopolitics in the manifesto titled "Working for Singapore". 

WP announced the 122-page document at its headquarters at 701 Geylang Rd on Thursday, with head of policy research Gerald Giam saying it sets out the party's vision for a more resilient, inclusive and democratic Singapore, in his opening remarks. 

A panel of three members, comprising Mr Giam, Associate Professor Jamus Lim and Ms He Ting Ru, then took the media through the different sections of the manifesto.

Among the 125 policy proposals were also suggestions to abolish the office of Mayor, repeal the Internal Security Act and to introduce a Freedom of Information Act. 

In a written message to open the manifesto, WP chief Pritam Singh said that Singapore’s political system was designed to host an opposition presence in parliament – a loyal opposition  – that works in the interests of the country.

"To reiterate: this is by design," he wrote. "A loyal opposition exists to remind us that any Singaporean can legitimately host a different view to the PAP (People's Action Party). And there is nothing wrong or disloyal about that."

He added that "there remains much work to be done", for example, to catch Singaporeans who risk falling between the cracks and to advance innovative policy ideas to accommodate the aspirations of a more diverse Singapore.

The party's manifesto is a "modest contribution" towards that endeavour, Mr Singh said.

It comes days after the dates for Nomination Day and Polling Day were announced as Apr 23 and May 3 respectively. 

WP, which had eight MPs in the House prior to parliament's dissolution, responded by launching its campaign slogan "working for Singapore".

It then pointed to 15 policies which it claimed it had advocated for and which were later adopted "in some form" by the government. These were in the areas of unemployment benefits, housing, healthcare, scams, the justice system and energy needs among others. 

A political expert described this as a move to "facilitate a supportive reception" of its manifesto.  

Its manifesto launched on Thursday also includes pages linking previous party proposals to policies subsequently enacted by the government, including the issue of wearing tudungs at the workplace, having flexible work arrangements and shared parental leave among others.

WP DOESN'T "TAKE REFERENCE" FROM THE PAP: GIAM

At the last General Election in 2020, the WP's manifesto was 39 pages long, and contained suggestions such as to scrap a goods and services tax (GST) hike, introduce a national minimum wage and allow Build-to-Order (BTO) flats for singles aged 28 instead of the current 35. 

Several proposals in this year's manifesto repeat the suggestions from 2020 as well as what the WP has raised in parliament in the intervening years.

Mr Giam said this was simply because the policies they have yet to be implemented. 

"What we have today is a refined version; an enhanced version ... (where) we build upon the proposals that we have raised in 2020," he added. 

During the press conference, media also asked how the party formulated its policies, and how they are distinguished from the ruling party given the "PAP-lite" label sometimes levelled at the opposition party.

"When we put forward our policy proposals, we don't take reference from what the PAP does and say, 'okay, let's make a different policy from the PAP'," said Mr Giam, adding that the WP instead listens to feedback from its constituents.

"If there are gaps then we'll put forward the policy proposals, and if they happen to align with the PAP's, well, we make no apologies for that," he said, also claiming that the WP has been "leading" the PAP in many of these policies. 

KEY POINTS FROM MANIFESTO

In the section on cost of living, the WP proposed alternative revenue channels to GST. It described its proposals as "less regressive revenue options" which would be "sufficient to close the gap in anticipated increases in health and aged care costs".

As part of five levers proposed, WP suggested imposing a net wealth tax of between 0.5 and 2 per cent on the assets of the top 1 per cent of wealth holders in the country, and to implement a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent. 

The party also suggested ways to maintain the affordability and accessibility of public transport, such as by establishing a national transport corporation, which would be a publicly-owned, non-profit, multi-modal land transport entity that oversees the planning and operation of the network in Singapore. 

Under proposals for economic growth, WP called for the statutory retirement age to be abolished, to allow older workers to continue to participate in meaningful employment, improving their mental and physical health.

"Older workers bring about a wealth of skills, experience and diversity to the workplace, and should be supported. Having older citizens who choose to remain in meaningful employment also promotes their well-being and benefits the economy and our society," WP's manifesto stated. 

The party also recommended refining Central Provident Fund (CPF) policies in part by enabling the co-investing of CPF savings with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. 

"Higher returns are even more important when inflation is high. CPF interest rates have not made up for the rate of price increases, resulting in negative real returns," said WP. 

Giving people the option to co-invest a portion of their CPF savings with GIC in a dynamic portfolio, will enable them to enjoy higher returns without incurring high management fees, it added. 

As part of measures catering to inclusion and equality, WP repeated its call to establish an official poverty line, which it said would accurately identify and support those in need. 

What Singapore have now is a "dizzying array of qualification thresholds" applied by different agencies, which causes a lot of confusion and complicates the application of social assistance programmes, WP said. 

The party also reiterated its call for singles to be allowed to apply for BTO flats at 28 instead of 35 years old.

In the section on accountability and democracy, WP said to do away with the office of the Mayor. It noted that mayors head the Community Development Councils (CDCs) established in 1997 to coordinate grassroots bodies and community programmes. 

In practice, the assignment of mayors align with existing political divisions and they are invariably MPs from the governing party, WP said. 

"Many roles that were previously handled by the CDCs under the respective mayors have since been devolved back to other organisations, such as the Social Service Office. The reduced role of mayors does not justify a salary of about S$660,000 a year," WP said. 

The party also proposed a Freedom of Information Act, similar to what's implemented in the United States, where citizens should be able to request for information from public agencies at the level of detail they need. 

Currently, the Singapore government "retains control over the release of information to domains of its choosing, and often at a level too coarse for reasonable scrutiny", WP stated. 

"This impedes access to publicly-generated information that should be made publicly available, and reveals a fundamental lack of trust in our citizens being able to draw their own conclusions."

In its final set of proposals, to do with security and geopolitics, the WP argued for the Internal Security Act (ISA) to be repealed and replaced with a new anti-terrorism law permitting swift detention for a limited time.

It noted that the ISA allowed for indefinite detention without trial, which limited suspects’ legal recourse. WP said this would allow a rogue government to deploy ISA for purposes other than national security, such as suppressing political dissent or silencing the opposition.

The party also called for the state of Palestine to be recognised. "We support a negotiated two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live in peace within secure and recognised borders," WP said. 

"Singapore should formally recognise the state of Palestine, even before negotiations on a two-state solution are concluded. Such recognition would lend legitimacy to our two-state position," it added, while noting that many Singaporeans cared deeply about the pain and suffering of those involved. 

Asked about this on Thursday, Mr Giam said it was important for the party to put forward its position to help "advance" the peace process.

"It's important that there is a conversation on this in Singapore as well, and we hope that this will also spark small discussions."

In response to media queries on the issue of recognising the Palestinian state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said later on Thursday that Singapore had "consistently supported the right of the Palestinian people to a homeland based on a negotiated two-state solution".

"We will recognise the Palestinian state at an appropriate time," said an MFA spokesperson. 

"This position is also in line with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, which seek to enable Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace and security."