Budget 2025 debate: MPs discuss investing in local workforce and fiscal 'marksmanship'

SINGAPORE: Legislators on Thursday (Feb 27) discussed measures to help local talent stay competitive, support for vulnerable Singaporeans in and out of the workforce, and the government’s budget “marksmanship”.

Over seven hours, 22 Members of Parliament, one Non-Constituency MP and three Nominated MPs spoke on the second day of the Budget debate.

With several labour MPs speaking, there was heavy discussion of issues affecting workers, including the needs of students and fresh graduates, mid-careerists and senior workers who are in different stages of their careers.

MPs also continued debating the significance of successive budget surpluses, following Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh’s criticism of the government’s “fiscal marksmanship” on Wednesday.

INVESTING IN LOCAL TALENT

Budget 2025 included various enhancements to the SkillsFuture lifelong learning movement to encourage skills upgrading, career conversion and business transformation.

MPs welcomed these measures and discussed what more could be done to help local talent and enterprises make strides.

Young people increasingly feel compelled to stack internships, but their experiences vary widely, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Desmond Choo (PAP-Tampines) noted.

He called on the government to boost funding support for quality internships, and to establish a national internship standard to protect young people from exploitation or “meaningless work” while ensuring they build real skills.

He also proposed extending more training support to younger workers, such as opening up the S$300 (US$223) monthly SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance to workers under 40.

Mr Xie Yao Quan (PAP-Jurong) called for more resources to be invested in Institute of Technical Education (ITE) students, while Ms Cheryl Chan (PAP-East Coast) asked if students who are not academically inclined could be enrolled in ITE earlier, such as at 13.

For people already in the workforce, Ms Chan suggested creating global job rotation programmes with multinational corporations (MNCs), where Singaporeans are hired and placed in roles around the world to gain international experience.

The government would need to subsidise the cost of such programmes as MNCs will not automatically hire more Singaporeans, but this should be viewed as an investment in the local talent pool, she said.

Labour MP Desmond Tan provided an update on NTUC’s Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative, which puts in place training opportunities for jobs likely to be disrupted by industry transformation.

CTC grants got a S$200 million top-up in Budget 2025. Since the initiative started in 2019, more than 3,000 CTCs have been formed and 480 transformation projects approved.

More than 7,000 workers benefited, either receiving an average 5 per cent wage increment, or benefiting from career development plans or skills allowances, according to Mr Tan.

"I hope the employers should not be afraid to lose an employee because the employee is better trained," said the NTUC deputy secretary-general.

"It is essential to look beyond the short-term disruptions or losses, and invest in the long-term growth and development of all our workers and employees, which ultimately will benefit the entire industry and our economy as a whole."

Some groups of workers were singled out for more training and career conversion support.

Mr Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) noted that professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) faced pressure from technological changes, and were more affected by long-term unemployment than non-PMETs.

He called for more structured and targeted job placements to help mid-career PMETs transition to high-demand industries in Workforce Singapore’s Career Conversion Programme (CCP).

“The CCP requires the employers to hire the workers before they can receive training, presenting the same barriers for jobseekers who are already struggling to get past the initial job screening process,” he said.

He suggested that specialists in the chosen field review the applications and resumes of mid-career job seekers in the CCP, and match and recommend them to employers to increase their chances of securing a placement.

Labour MP Heng Chee How (PAP-Jalan Besar), who is an NTUC deputy secretary-general, called for more concerted efforts to help older workers in their 50s and above.

While welcoming the raised Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for workers aged 55 to 65, he said the road ahead would be bumpier as policy levers had already harvested the low-hanging fruit for this group of workers.

The inherent vulnerability of older workers was likely to be put under pressure by the expected increase in nativist and protectionist behaviour in the international business environment, he said.

Mr Heng therefore welcomed the new Tripartite Work Group on Senior Employment to take stock of these developments.

There was also discussion on changes to foreign manpower policies so that local businesses can recruit the talent they need. 

Nominated MP Mark Lee suggested expanding the list of non-traditional source countries for work permit holders, especially for manufacturing, and the list of occupations that can be hired from non-traditional sources.

He also sought greater flexibility for the cross-deployment of migrant workers, particularly for skilled roles, arguing that current manpower restrictions prevent businesses from optimising workforce allocation.

BETTER SUPPORT FOR WORKERS

NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay (PAP-Pioneer) called for more worker protections. 

When retrenchment is unavoidable, he urged the government to take a firmer stance in ensuring that employers not only give early notification to unions and affected workers and compensate them fairly, but also prioritise Singaporeans for job opportunities and career support.

“Foreign manpower can help fill critical skill gaps and support sectors facing labour shortage, but we cannot over-rely on external labour,” he said. “We must also take a concerted effort to build our local bench strength.”

Fellow NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling (PAP-Pasir Ris-Punggol) touched on several issues faced by women in the workplace. 

She called for more government support for mentorship programs to help women return to work or enter new industries, and advocated for the mental well-being and confidence of women in the workplace. 

For instance, NTUC’s C U Back at Work Program helps caregivers, especially women, return to work with flexible work options for more segments of underserved women workers. 

She said that the NTUC Woman and Family Unit will re-engineer the program to cover pregnant mothers who are new to the workforce, ensuring that they enjoy their full maternity benefits while being secured of permanent employment after their delivery. 

Ms Sylvia Lim (WP-Aljunied) said that the financial security of homemakers and non-working spouses also required attention.

This is because CPF members currently have the autonomy to nominate beneficiaries for their CPF savings upon death, even to the exclusion of immediate family members.

“This poses a potential risk to non-working spouses – typically wives – who have dedicated themselves to managing the household and, consequently, have limited CPF savings of their own,” she said. 

She proposed that spousal consent be required for any CPF nomination that excludes them, and this could be implemented by mandating the spouse as a necessary witness to such a nomination.

“Such a measure would acknowledge CPF funds as shared assets within a marriage and ensure that both parties are aware of and agree to the distribution plans,” she said. 

In cases where consent is not obtained, a default provision could allocate 50 per cent of the CPF balances to the spouse, with the member's nomination applying to the remaining half, she said.

BUDGET MARKSMANSHIP

Several MPs on both sides of the aisle also spoke about budget marksmanship, which refers to the accuracy of budget projections compared to actual fiscal outcomes. 

Workers’ Party’s Ms Lim said that the government had projected a surplus of S$0.78 billion for the 2024 financial year, but that revised figure revealed an S$8 billion increase in total operating revenues. 

She asked: “Should an updated estimate have been provided? Why was this discrepancy not identified earlier?” 

Echoing points made on Wednesday by the Leader of the Opposition, she added that the higher-than-expected Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and GST collections reflect financial pressures, which are “outcomes of domestic policies”. 

Mr Singh had questioned the necessity of raising the Goods and Services Tax in 2023 and 2024, given the country's "exceedingly healthy" fiscal position.

Agreeing, Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai from the Progress Singapore Party said the PAP government has “always claimed that there is tight fiscal headroom”.

“But if year after year, surpluses are always bigger than what is estimated, then it really calls into question why the government decided to inflict so much pain on Singaporeans by raising GST in 2023 and 2024 amid high global inflation,” he said. 

PAP MPs defended the move by the government to have surpluses in its budget. 

Mr Xie Yao Quan (PAP-Jurong) said that these surpluses should not be seen as potentially fomenting cynicism amongst Singaporeans “that somehow, the government has been collecting more taxes and monies than the nation needs”. 

“I think Singaporeans can, instead, draw confidence – that these surpluses represent this PAP government’s consistency and the will to maintain fiscal prudence, over its entire term of government … and well into future terms of government, if the PAP were to continue receiving the mandate to form the government of Singapore,” he said.

He added that five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, an “unprecedented deficit” of more than S$50 billion was incurred.

Subsequently, the financial years 2021, 2022 and 2023 ended “more or less balanced”, he said. 

He said that excluding the drawdown from past reserves, the surplus in this and last financial year will “really just allow the government to finish its five-year term of government more or less balanced”. 

“And this is also what successive PAP governments have committed to do.”

Agreeing, Mr Derrick Goh (PAP-Nee Soon) said that the GST increase “remains necessary”. 

“To criticise the GST increase because of recent fiscal surpluses misses this fundamental point, and takes only a limited view of the overall GST scheme,” he said. 

“The fiscal surplus, whether expected or unexpected, speaks to a prudent and conservative approach, which I believe all sensible financial experts with a heavy responsibility of a stewardship role would adopt … It is the basic value system of not spending more than one has.”