SDP’s Chee says he will push for retrenchment insurance if elected
Dr Chee Soon Juan campaigning at a market in Bukit Batok. Photo: Don Wong
SINGAPORE — Retrenchment insurance to help laid-off workers tide over periods of unemployment is a measure Dr Chee Soon Juan will push for in Parliament if he wins the Bukit Batok by-election, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief said on Sunday (April 17).
Citing retrenchment as the “number one concern” among the area’s residents, Dr Chee said that under the proposed scheme, retrenched workers would receive three-quarters of their last-drawn salary – capped at the prevailing median wage – for the first six months of unemployment.
Workers still unemployed after half a year would receive half of their last-drawn salary for the next six months. This would be further reduced to a quarter of their last-drawn wage if they are subsequently still out of a job.
This, he said, would provide temporary respite to workers, giving them “sanity” and allowing them to find jobs without panicking.
“Whilst your income stops, your bills don’t. They continue to pile up. You still have the kids to feed, the school fees … (and) your electricity bills to take care of. And (for) many of (the residents), there are elderly parents to take care of as well,” Dr Chee told reporters after a morning walk at the Bukit Batok Nature Park, where he was joined by a cadre of party members and his wife, Dr Huang Chih-Mei.
The idea of retrenchment insurance is not new. In the parliamentary debate on the Ministry of Manpower’s budget earlier this month, Member of Parliament (Aljunied GRC) Sylvia Lim had suggested the need for redundancy insurance.
Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said in reply that the priority was to help workers re-enter the workforce through available schemes. And with more layoffs expected among white-collar workers amid the gloomy economic climate, the Government also announced it would expand existing schemes to help such workers should they lose their jobs.
For example, the Career Support Programme will be expanded from next month to include unemployed professionals, managers, executives and technicians below 40 years old if they have been jobless for at least six months, among other changes.
Meanwhile, Dr Chee said his party was gearing up for “phase two” of its campaign on the ground, which will see it being “a little bit more targeted” in its approach.
This includes reinforcing the party’s message to residents the team has already met. The SDP will also “double up” on meeting residents they have not reached out to, including those who return home late at night.
“We might just concentrate more on the weekends, so the chances of catching them (are higher),” said Dr Chee.
On the social programmes the party was drawing up for Bukit Batok residents – which it first mentioned three weeks ago – Dr Chee said the party was in the final stages of ironing out the details and would announce them “probably sometime this week”.
These will focus on the elderly in the area, Dr Chee said, noting that he has seen during his house visits some “very tragic” cases of seniors being left alone. The party has heard such residents voice concerns about having only enough for three meals a day, with nothing else to do, and wants to look into their quality of life.
“It takes a toll on them, and they deteriorate very quickly,” he added.
Asked about Friday’s announcement by the National Solidarity Party that it would not contest the by-election, Dr Chee said the party was glad to have a “one-to-one contest” with the People’s Action Party (PAP).
“We’ve done our part as well in the past to ensure that the Opposition doesn’t split the votes and then let the PAP candidate squeak into Parliament,” he added.
The by-election is set to be a straight fight between Dr Chee and lawyer Murali Pillai from the PAP.
The Bukit Batok seat was vacated following the resignation of PAP MP David Ong last month over an alleged extramarital relationship with a grassroots volunteer.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said a by-election will be called “in due course”, but no date has been announced yet.
