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Grace Fu: Govt studying paper
By Janice Heng
Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013
SINGAPORE - Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu responded to the Workers' Party's (WP's) population paper on Facebook on Sunday night.
The Government was "studying the paper", she said. She noted that the report appeared to be a collation of what the party had raised in Parliament. Many points had been responded to.
She noted the WP's agreement with the Government on the need to make marriage and parenthood a priority, increase productivity and raise labour participation among older Singaporeans and women.
"These are priorities that the Government has been pursuing vigorously for some time," she said.
The key difference was in approach, she added, with the WP wanting to freeze foreign workforce numbers immediately, whereas the Government wants to tighten inflows but give businesses time to adjust.
The WP's stance on foreign labour "will cause great hardship to Singaporeans and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)". Health care and the construction of flats and train lines will also be badly affected, she added.
Ms Fu also asked how adding women and senior citizens to the workforce, as WP proposed, could fill the need for foreign workers "where we need them most - such as construction and cleaning/ maintenance".
As for the WP paper's look at South Korea as a model for fertility policy, Ms Fu said the Government studied many countries before coming up with its policy package.
She noted that South Korea's recent total fertility rate was 1.23 and Seoul's 1.02, "lower than Singapore's despite having implemented the package since 2005".
By Janice Heng
Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013
SINGAPORE - Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu responded to the Workers' Party's (WP's) population paper on Facebook on Sunday night.
The Government was "studying the paper", she said. She noted that the report appeared to be a collation of what the party had raised in Parliament. Many points had been responded to.
She noted the WP's agreement with the Government on the need to make marriage and parenthood a priority, increase productivity and raise labour participation among older Singaporeans and women.
"These are priorities that the Government has been pursuing vigorously for some time," she said.
The key difference was in approach, she added, with the WP wanting to freeze foreign workforce numbers immediately, whereas the Government wants to tighten inflows but give businesses time to adjust.
The WP's stance on foreign labour "will cause great hardship to Singaporeans and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)". Health care and the construction of flats and train lines will also be badly affected, she added.
Ms Fu also asked how adding women and senior citizens to the workforce, as WP proposed, could fill the need for foreign workers "where we need them most - such as construction and cleaning/ maintenance".
As for the WP paper's look at South Korea as a model for fertility policy, Ms Fu said the Government studied many countries before coming up with its policy package.
She noted that South Korea's recent total fertility rate was 1.23 and Seoul's 1.02, "lower than Singapore's despite having implemented the package since 2005".
