Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo will remain in her current role, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during the announcement of his new cabinet line-up on July 25.

PM Lee highlighted that although Teo had only joined the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) two years ago, she had made "significant changes" to improve the job prospects and income security of Singaporeans.

Here, PM Lee cited, as examples, the tightening of the fair consideration framework, and the introduction of the matched retirement savings scheme.

He further added:

"With the recession biting and the retrenchments rising, MOM will be redoubling its efforts to save jobs and to retrain our workers to take new ones. MOM is also involved managing the migrant workers in the dormitories and getting them safely housed, safely managed, safely working."

PM Lee said that he had kept on the Ministers who are directly handling the Covid-19 crisis: Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and MOM.

Teo: "Topmost priority" is to help displaced Singaporeans return to work

Meanwhile, Teo announced in a Facebook post on the same day that her "topmost priority" was helping displaced Singaporeans return to work, adding that MOM will work through the National Jobs' Council to get the support of employers.

She also highlighted the continued uplifting of essential workers as another priority, adding that they were also deserving of "fair opportunities to progress."

Teo also stated that at the start of 2020, the priority of MOM had been to ensure "fairness at work."

However, "when Covid-19 hit, much of MOM’s bandwidth was taken up to help keep out imported cases and to minimise fatalities."

As such, with the situation at the dormitories having moved into the recovery phase, MOM has been "redoubling" its efforts on fairness in jobs.

Dormitory standards are being raised

With regard to the issue of the Covid-19 outbreak in the migrant worker dormitories, Teo said that standards at the dormitories were currently being raised, with help being provided to the health of migrant workers.

However, given that these are still in their "early days", Teo added that just as important was the provision of help to the industry and managers to manage the transition.

She noted that several employers with workers living in dormitories had written to her and her cabinet colleagues, to propose extending levy waivers for a few more months, before phasing them out gradually.

In acknowledging that this was for employers to be able to "meet their obligations to their employees and implement safe management measures as they restart", Teo said that she "will seriously consider" their requests.

Welcoming extra help at MOM

Teo concluded by stating that she welcomed extra help at MOM.

Tan See Leng will join the cabinet in his new capacity as Second Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, while Gan Siow Huang, whose focus on SkillsFuture SG in the Ministry of Education, will complement MOM’s focus on jobs as the Minister of State.

Tan has been asked by Teo to focus on the health and well-being of migrant workers, and ensuring the improvements are sustainable, while Gan will be focusing on "progressive workplaces."

Teo also voiced her gratefulness for Zaqy Mohamad's continued presence in MOM, with his expanded scope touching on workplace safety and health initiatives, inclusive growth and care for essential workers, and the involvement of the HR community to support Singaporeans during these times.

Teo also thanked Low Yen Ling for her efforts to "champion" the adoption of flexible work arrangements so as to support the "work-life aspirations" of Singaporeans.

Teo said, "We will miss her at MOM, but I know we can count on her to continue supporting us in MTI and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth."

Top image from Josephine Teo Facebook