Mothership Memo is Mothership’s daily brief on the important headlines of the day. We will also contribute our views on the issues at hand.

Six political parties shared their May Day messages with the public yesterday.

Below are the summaries of their May Day Messages in 60 seconds.

1. People's Action Party 

by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Singapore's undergoing a major transition

- The economy is upgrading but expanding less quickly than before.

- The government is strengthening our social safety nets to give Singaporeans more peace of mind. 

The government's goal: To improve Singaporeans’ lives.

- In order to improve Singaporeans' lives, an important strategy is to develop better workers and create better jobs so as to raise wages. The government is investing heavily in Continuous Education and Training (CET) to upgrade the workers' skills.

- Better jobs are also created for Singaporeans. Singapore has attracted high-quality investments (eg Lucasfilm, ExxonMobil and Iskandar Malaysia projects).

- The Pioneer Generation overcame long odds to help Singapore develop. PM Lee urged that Singaporeans honour them by upholding their spirit, building on their achievements and creating an even better Singapore for our children.

2. The Workers' Party

Mature workers of particular concern to WP

- Close to two-thirds of resident workers made redundant in 2013 were aged 40 and above.

- The group is less likely than younger workers to re-enter employment after being made redundant.

- WP urged all employers to appreciate the positive attributes in mature workers (greater experience, higher levels of loyalty and commitment, and a stronger work ethic), when they consider them for employment.

Priority towards hiring Singaporeans

- WP reiterated that employers should give priority to hiring Singaporeans, and foreign workers should be employed only in positions that Singaporeans are unable to fill.

3. Singapore Democratic Party 

Singapore's workers continue to labour under a system that makes life harder for them. Here are some indicators:

- Singaporeans work the most number of hours compared to other similar economies.

- Most stressful place to live in Asia

- Unhappiest people in the world.

- Singaporean workers were found to enjoy going to work the least and have the least supportive workplaces.

- Singaporeans cannot withdraw CPF savings for retirement at the end of their working lives.

The SDP will speak up for workers and struggle for their rights. Its campaign for minimum wage and for independent trade unions will continue. 

4. Singapore People's Party

- Important to create relevant jobs that Singaporeans want and can handle.

- Tools and policies to ensure employers do not prioritize short term cost savings over long run productivity growth.

- It is only economically sound to allow non-competitive firms to restructure, move overseas or wind down so that resources can be freed up for the most competitive local firms.

Government’s accountability to its people must be based on the following indicators:

- the percentage of Singaporeans employed in newly created jobs;

- the median pay of Singaporeans versus our foreign counterparts;

- what incentives are in place to motivate companies to help meet the indicators above.

5. Democratic Progressive Party Singapore

Call for:

- Fairness to all workers

All to be treated fairly at work, in their social life, and in their political affiliations.

Working class should be given the space to rest adequately from work, and to live and work in a safe and secure environment.

- Fairness to all peoples

More focus on the family unit, and be entitled to resources to support family bonding throughout their entire life.

- Fairness to all citizens of Singapore

Citizens given rightful freedom to pursue their own right of political aspiration in the day-to-day of their lives.

6. The Reform Party

- Embrace new technologies to reduce dependence on foreign labour.

- Minimum wage or greater controls on the use of foreign labour and to ensure that Singaporeans get priority in employment.

- Advocate a cap on total foreign worker numbers with visas being auctioned annually.

- Give freehold of HDB flats.

- Distribution of shares in Temasek and GIC to Singaporeans.

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