“Call for greater fairness, inclusiveness emerge from Forward SG exercise” (ST, Feb 10)”
“At the close of phase one of the year-long public consultation to renew the social compact and chart a road map for Singapore for the next decade, some common values have emerged, including promoting fairness, deepening inclusiveness and creating a culture of giving back, said an update posted on Friday on the Forward SG website.
“Across the conversations, Singaporeans acknowledged that we are living in a time of change and must relook our current way of doing things,” said Forward SG.
The next and final phase of the exercise will see more discussions on specific issues, and also opportunities for the public to co-create policy solutions. This will conclude in the second half of the year with a Forward Singapore report.
Here are some findings so far:
Empower: Economy and jobs
Amid economic transformation and technological advancements, Singaporeans raised concerns about the availability of job and training opportunities.
Younger workers wanted more training opportunities to help them get ahead, while mature workers were worried about remaining employable and meeting retirement needs.
Others with caregiving responsibilities raised concerns about job security and work-life balance.
The practical challenges of picking up new skills also came up, and some suggested that a stronger culture of lifelong learning would lower barriers for workers to take up training.
Others asked for stronger societal support to help those who are facing job disruptions get back on their feet.”
Comment:
Don’t you find it rather strange that there is no mention of competition from non-S’poreans for jobs, after engaging more than 14,000 people in Forward SG?
In this connection – 55.6% of workforce (est) – non-native S’poreans?
Is this “promoting fairness”, from the perspective of S’poreans?”
Care: Health and social support
Access to affordable housing, coping with increased costs of living and caring for the young and elderly were among issues raised by those who spoke about the challenges of starting and raising a family.”
Comment:
In this connection – are we arguably, continuing to be in denial, in respect of the affordability of HDB flats, when BTO prices are at record highs?
Is this “deepening inclusiveness”, from the perspectives of S’poreans?
As to “meeting retirement needs” – why do we continue to have what may be the largest gap, between the returns derived from investing our CPF and the interest paid to members, among all national pension funds in the world?
Is this “creating a culture of giving back”, from the perspective of S’poreans?#SGIssuesThatMatter
