MOM’s figures of S’poreans in labour force “extremely disturbing,” says SDP

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has called figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Singapore citizens in the labour force “extremely disturbing”. They add that the MOM’s statistic that "The increase in employment rate of Singapore citizens over the last decade (from 60.0% in June 2009 to 63.6% in June 2019) was driven most consistently by those aged 65 & over. This reflected efforts to raise the employability of older workers”, stood out to them the most. This is because the retirement age in Singapore is 62, yet, the increase in employment rate of Singaporeans over the last decade was driven most consistently by those aged 65 & over, they explained. The SDP then raised questions such as why the elderly cannot retire in comfort and security. They asked if it was because their CPF savings were “withheld under the Retirement Sum Scheme?” The party also asked of the MOM would provide a breakdown of the number of elderly people working each job. They asked: “How old are the oldest workers? Will the MOM tell us the age groups of these workers (eg 65-75, 75-85, 85 and above)?” In a press release on Jan 23, they wrote that they had hoped that the employment rate among Singaporeans would have been driven primarily by younger workers instead of those who had retired. The party also wrote that Singapore’s elderly “find themselves unable to retire”. The SDP concluded their press release saying, “A comprehensive approach to our people and the economy embracing alternative voices and listening to the people of Singapore is critical”. /TISG