SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party (WP) on Monday (Aug 19) welcomed the policy shifts announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his maiden National Day Rally speech, but also called for deeper reforms on singles buying Housing Board Build-to-Order (BTO) flats.
From the middle of 2025, singles will be included in schemes that give priority to those applying for BTO flats to live with or near their families.
Housing was highlighted as an area of concern among Singaporeans in Mr Wong’s first National Day Rally speech, as he pledged to press on with efforts to make public housing affordable and accessible.
On Sunday, Mr Wong said he had asked the Ministry of National Development (MND) to see what more can be done to allay housing concerns among singles.
He acknowledged that while major near-term changes would be difficult as the government continues to ramp up the supply of new flats to catch up with demand, the extension of priority access to all parents and their children - married or single - was a move that can be implemented soon. Other details of the scheme have yet to be released.
WP noted the extension, referencing its 2020 manifesto, which calls for the eligibility age for singles to apply for a BTO flat to be lowered from 35 to 28.
Currently, singles aged 35 and older can buy new flats from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) but this only applies to two-room Flexi flats.
Sengkang GRC MP Louis Chua elaborated on WP's stance during a parliamentary speech in September 2022.
He said then that most Singaporeans "would have been in the workforce for a few years and have begun to lead more independent lives" aged 28.
Mr Chua suggested the lowering of the eligibility age would go a long way towards HDB’s stated aims for Singapore’s public housing to be "inclusive" and to "reflect the diversity of our society".
He also stressed any lowering of singles’ eligibility age for BTO flats would "not detract from marriage and family formation", citing data from past exercises that show they are not in competition with young couples and families for the same type of flats in non-mature estates.
In its statement on Monday, the WP called on the government to "make this deeper policy reform sooner than later", so as to "more comprehensively allay concerns among singles regarding housing access".
ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu also noted on Monday that while the extension decision should be "well received", it remains "challenging" for singles to currently secure a BTO flat, with the first-timer singles application rate between 2.6 and 7.0 per flat for the June 2024 sales exercise.
On the introduction of a new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, WP said it was in agreement with Mr Wong that losing a job can seriously destabilise workers and their families.
The new scheme gives lower- and middle-income workers who involuntarily lose their jobs temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 for over up to six months.
WP cited its 2016 policy paper that called for the implementation of a redundancy insurance scheme.
Its proposal aims to ease the financial pressure on workers who are made redundant, to provide them with a longer runway to find suitable re-employment and to minimise the toll of unemployment on the health and well-being of their families.
The opposition party said it reiterated the call in its 2020 General Election manifesto as well as during the Budget 2023 debate in parliament.
According to WP's manifesto, retrenched workers would receive a payout equivalent to 40 per cent of their last drawn salary for up to six months.
The payout would be capped at S$1,200 per month with a minimum payout of S$500 a month to benefit low-wage workers. Payouts after the first one would be conditional on the worker actively seeking a new job or undergoing re-training.
WP added its redundancy insurance scheme was "designed with a view to be funded mainly by premiums paid by workers while they are employed, rather than by taxpayers".
The party also welcomed Mr Wong's announcement that parents of newborns will get an extra 10 weeks of shared leave.
Parents will have a total of 30 weeks of paid leave when a new shared parental leave scheme is fully implemented on Apr 1, 2026.
Referring again to its 2020 manifesto, the WP said its proposal entitles parents to 24 weeks of government-paid leave. It is shared between mothers and fathers as they choose, but with a minimum of 12 weeks to be granted to the mother and four weeks to the father.
WP said Mr Chua as well as fellow Sengkang GRC MP and Associate Professor Jamus Lim had repeated this call during the parliamentary debate on the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development in April 2022.
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From the middle of 2025, singles will be included in schemes that give priority to those applying for BTO flats to live with or near their families.
Housing was highlighted as an area of concern among Singaporeans in Mr Wong’s first National Day Rally speech, as he pledged to press on with efforts to make public housing affordable and accessible.
On Sunday, Mr Wong said he had asked the Ministry of National Development (MND) to see what more can be done to allay housing concerns among singles.
He acknowledged that while major near-term changes would be difficult as the government continues to ramp up the supply of new flats to catch up with demand, the extension of priority access to all parents and their children - married or single - was a move that can be implemented soon. Other details of the scheme have yet to be released.
WP noted the extension, referencing its 2020 manifesto, which calls for the eligibility age for singles to apply for a BTO flat to be lowered from 35 to 28.
Currently, singles aged 35 and older can buy new flats from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) but this only applies to two-room Flexi flats.
Sengkang GRC MP Louis Chua elaborated on WP's stance during a parliamentary speech in September 2022.
Related:
He said then that most Singaporeans "would have been in the workforce for a few years and have begun to lead more independent lives" aged 28.
Mr Chua suggested the lowering of the eligibility age would go a long way towards HDB’s stated aims for Singapore’s public housing to be "inclusive" and to "reflect the diversity of our society".
He also stressed any lowering of singles’ eligibility age for BTO flats would "not detract from marriage and family formation", citing data from past exercises that show they are not in competition with young couples and families for the same type of flats in non-mature estates.
In its statement on Monday, the WP called on the government to "make this deeper policy reform sooner than later", so as to "more comprehensively allay concerns among singles regarding housing access".
ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu also noted on Monday that while the extension decision should be "well received", it remains "challenging" for singles to currently secure a BTO flat, with the first-timer singles application rate between 2.6 and 7.0 per flat for the June 2024 sales exercise.
Related:
WP'S REDUNDANCY INSURANCE, PARENTAL LEAVE PROPOSALS
On the introduction of a new SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, WP said it was in agreement with Mr Wong that losing a job can seriously destabilise workers and their families.
The new scheme gives lower- and middle-income workers who involuntarily lose their jobs temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 for over up to six months.
WP cited its 2016 policy paper that called for the implementation of a redundancy insurance scheme.
Its proposal aims to ease the financial pressure on workers who are made redundant, to provide them with a longer runway to find suitable re-employment and to minimise the toll of unemployment on the health and well-being of their families.
The opposition party said it reiterated the call in its 2020 General Election manifesto as well as during the Budget 2023 debate in parliament.
According to WP's manifesto, retrenched workers would receive a payout equivalent to 40 per cent of their last drawn salary for up to six months.
The payout would be capped at S$1,200 per month with a minimum payout of S$500 a month to benefit low-wage workers. Payouts after the first one would be conditional on the worker actively seeking a new job or undergoing re-training.
WP added its redundancy insurance scheme was "designed with a view to be funded mainly by premiums paid by workers while they are employed, rather than by taxpayers".
The party also welcomed Mr Wong's announcement that parents of newborns will get an extra 10 weeks of shared leave.
Parents will have a total of 30 weeks of paid leave when a new shared parental leave scheme is fully implemented on Apr 1, 2026.
Referring again to its 2020 manifesto, the WP said its proposal entitles parents to 24 weeks of government-paid leave. It is shared between mothers and fathers as they choose, but with a minimum of 12 weeks to be granted to the mother and four weeks to the father.
WP said Mr Chua as well as fellow Sengkang GRC MP and Associate Professor Jamus Lim had repeated this call during the parliamentary debate on the White Paper on Singapore Women’s Development in April 2022.
Continue reading...