TOWN COUNCIL CLEANING CONTRACTORS (Employment of workers from non-traditional sources)

Mr Chew Heng Ching asked the Minister for Labour, following his Ministry's review on the shortage of cleaners faced by Town Council contractors, whether he will now allow these contractors to employ workers from non-traditional sources.

The Minister for Labour (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, cleaning contractors are allowed to employ foreign workers from traditional sources. Our review indicated that despite the 25% foreign worker dependency ceiling, Town Councils still face a shortage of manpower.

Our review also indicated that there is still scope for further mechanisation, automation and application of labour reduction methods in cleaning and refuse collection work. New technologies that reduce manpower requirements have not been fully exploited in Singapore, compared to developed countries. Our strategy should therefore be to step up our mechanisation efforts and look into areas to reduce manpower needs in the industry. Liberalising the supply of unskilled non-traditional source (NTS) labour should not be our only or long-term solution.

Nevertheless, to achieve the long-term objectives and yet meet the short-term needs of Town Council cleaning contractors, my Ministry has decided to implement a special scheme to enable some Town Council cleaning contractors to employ foreign workers from non-traditional sources. Under the scheme, Town Council cleaning contractors that are registered with the Construction Industry and Development Board and have at least $500,000 paid-up capital will be allowed to employ a limited number of NTS workers. They are also required to have an investment of at least $100,000 in labour-saving equipment. Eligible Town Council contractors will be allowed to hire NTS workers depending on the number of housing units they are servicing and subject to a 25% dependency ceiling. The levy for these NTS workers will be $440 per worker monthly, in line with the levy for a majority of other NTS workers. The Town Council cleaning contractors must also undertake to provide housing for NTS workers, that is, proper accommodation, and not temporary structures at work site or in estates, or in non-residential premises such as bin compounds or utility rooms in the HDB flats.

My Ministry will be consulting MND, HDB and Town Councils on the implementation details. I expect the scheme to be ready in three to four months' time. I hope that this measure will help Town Councils meet their short-term needs for more cleaning workers without undermining the long-term objectives of upgrading the industry, increasing its productivity and reducing its manpower requirement. Finally, I also hope that Singaporeans living in public housing estates will take it upon themselves to keep their estates clean. By doing so, they will cut down on the number of foreign workers needed and reduce the social problems caused by a growing number of foreign workers.