Pritam Singh on cost of living crisis

Restructure water tariff tiers to more accurately reflect household usage and reduce bills for those that conserve water. Couple this with a graduated water conservation tax regime so that households which consume more cross-subsidise those who consume less. Consider a tiered regime for businesses too, instead of the current flat rate with a lower water conservation tax than the top tier for domestic users. This could better support SMEs and incentivise them to use less water if possible. Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh made these proposals in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 7) when he moved a motion calling on the Government to review its policies to lower cost of living pressures on Singaporeans. He said the House “must leave no stone unturned because, for some Singaporeans, this has become a cost-of-living crisis”. Mr Singh elaborated on the Workers’ Party’s view that there is now a “chasm” between headlines that inflation is stabilising and the reality that price rises continue to hit Singaporeans hard. Giving examples of businesses that have adjusted policies beyond one-time support measures for workers, he said the Government “certainly can do more too” in a heightened inflationary environment. He suggested a shift in weightage of the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) to give low-income workers a bigger cash payout as well as allowing seniors with healthy MediSave balances to deploy the money for their own use beyond what is allowed today.