LOW-WAGE WORKERS NOT GETTING WORKFARE INCOME SUPPLEMENT

LOW-WAGE WORKERS NOT GETTING WORKFARE INCOME SUPPLEMENT

40.

Mr Terry Lee asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many low-wage workers did not receive the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) as a result of losing their jobs in 2009; (b) how can the criteria be reviewed to benefit more low-wage workers; and (c) what is the total WIS payout in 2009 as compared to the budgeted sum.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: About 30,000 employees who were recipients of WIS in 2008 no longer received WIS in 2009 because they did not fulfil the work criteria. This could be because of a variety of reasons, including losing their jobs, going for training or voluntarily stopping work. Some may have been reemployed subsequently and would qualify for future WIS payouts.

Column: 2283

To help low-wage workers during the downturn, we introduced the Workfare Special Payment last year as part of the Resilience Package. We recognised that workers might experience less regular employment during the downturn, and hence we adjusted the work criteria to take that into account. Workers only need to work at least two months out of any six months in the year to qualify for WIS Special Payment, compared to at least three months out of any six for regular WIS. As a result, around 10,000 more workers qualified for the Workfare Special Payment than the regular WIS. On the other hand, some recipients in 2009 were first time recipients. Overall, we expect more WIS recipients in 2009 than the previous year.

For this reason, the total amount of WIS payments disbursed in FY2009 is also likely to be higher than FY2008, but it will still be within the budgeted amount of $407 million. We will only know the actual disbursement amount after we have made the final payment for 2009 in March. We have provided a buffer in our budget to ensure that we have sufficient funds to meet the increase in the number of recipients.

The Member has also asked how WIS can be reviewed to benefit more low-wage workers. My Ministry has carried out a review of WIS. The Minister for Finance will be announcing changes to the scheme in his Budget Statement later this afternoon, and I will elaborate on these changes further in the Committee of Supply debate.