SINGAPORE: On Wednesday (April 16), the Workers’ Party stated in a social media post that “Constructive, rational opposition works for Singapore”, highlighting 15 of its policy proposals that have been adopted by the government in some form over the years, to the benefit of Singaporeans.
“These aren’t just policy wins for the Workers’ Party – they are wins for all of us,” the post reads.
The proposals include unemployment insurance, which the party first called for in 2006. In 2023, then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that support for the unemployed was in the pipeline, which was further elaborated on in this year’s Budget Statement.
Temporary financial support will be made available to lower- and middle-income workers who are involuntarily unemployed. Applications for the scheme opened earlier this week.
The WP also called for anti-discrimination legislation in 2020, and some years later, the Workplace Fairness Act was passed by Parliament. Similarly, the party first brought up flexible work arrangements (FWA) in 2015, and last year, the Ministry of Manpower announced guidelines for such arrangements.
The other WP policies adopted in some form are
- Shared Parental Leave,
- Work Pass Credential Assessments,
- Expanded the Public Rental Scheme,
- Vouchers for Renting HDB Flats in the Open Market,
- Shorter BTO Wait Times, Family GPs,
- Protecting Scam Victims,
- Widening Access to Justice,
- Adjusting National Servicemen’s Pay,
- Tudungs at the Workplace,
- Waiving ERP Administrative Fees, and
- the National Hydrogen Strategy.
More details on these policies and how they have been implemented may be found here.
“As a rational and responsible political party with elected representatives in Parliament, the Workers’ Party advances policy proposals to benefit our citizens.
“While we are not in government – and therefore not in a position to implement policy – we believe that many of our proposals do end up being adopted in some form, which ultimately benefits Singaporeans,” the WP said.
Some commenters on the WP’s post thanked the party for its proposals, but others brought up some issues that they feel should be raised in Parliament.
“Please fight for animal welfare too… we shouldn’t just focus on humans but on animals as well, “ one wrote, adding that there have recently been too many animal abuse cases.
Another agreed, writing, “Yes, please fight for animal rights too.”
One wrote, “Can we have your party advocate in parliament to impose higher fines, stricter laws on animal abusers? It’s so lax.
“Could you also help to propose reallocation SkillsFuture credit to people above 40 who are not using their $4000 credit? Younger folks are eager to spend more on self-development courses. $500 base + $500 (bonus with expiry date) is not sufficient! Yearly top-up would be great.”
One commenter wrote, “Our WP MPs currently in Parliament are no longer just opposing for the sake of being an opposition party…but have especially over the last five years. They’ve been very engaged, and hard work has been put in via many constructive debates and initiatives… The brief list of initiatives posted here is their testimonial.” /TISG
