Workers' Party Non-Constituency Member Suggests Establishing Redundancy Insurance for Local Employees | Lianhe Zaobao

In an era where artificial intelligence is changing work patterns, the existing social safety net is insufficient to cope with the impacts of these transformations. Non-constituency Member of Parliament Liu Yuyang called in his inaugural speech in Parliament for the government to establish redundancy insurance for local employees, providing comprehensive protection for citizens facing job instability in the digital economy. On Tuesday (September 23), during the parliamentary debate on the government's policy statement, Liu Yuyang acknowledged the government's attention to rising living costs and the provision of related assistance, but he believes that short-term aid measures are inadequate to address systemic issues. He cited data from the World Economic Forum indicating that by 2030, 22% of jobs will undergo structural changes. Unlike previous technological revolutions, this wave of artificial intelligence presents a fundamental difference: while factories were primarily affected in the past, now even boardrooms, art studios, and claims departments may be impacted. "Given the unique structure of the local economy, this threat is even more pronounced. In our labor force, professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) account for nearly two-thirds, and they are the group most susceptible to the impacts of artificial intelligence, potentially leading to their replacement." He believes that in an era of disruptive change driven by artificial intelligence, Singapore's existing social safety net is inadequate to address future changes, and a stronger and more sustainable safety foundation must be established to maintain national competitiveness. Proposal to Implement Redundancy Insurance Shared by Employers and Employees Liu Yuyang suggested that redundancy insurance could provide laid-off employees with payments equal to 40% of their last salary, capped at 40% of the current median income, for a maximum of six months. This funding could be shared between employers and employees. He pointed out that in the age of artificial intelligence, career transitions will become the norm. Citizens must be protected during the processes of retraining, skill enhancement, and self-reinvention. Further Reading MP suggests establishing a new unit to monitor prices and make skill development a habit Yan Jinyong: Our country must reshape its economic blueprint amid global upheaval At the same time, as the national artificial intelligence strategy is being launched, the government must also ensure that everyone benefits. For example, continuing to provide assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises to help them adopt trustworthy artificial intelligence. In response to Liu Yuyang's proposal for redundancy insurance, Member of Parliament Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) countered that the government's recently launched SkillsFuture Job Support Scheme has already provided the necessary protection for employees, ensuring they receive support when facing unemployment. Additionally, the cost of implementing redundancy insurance is also quite high. Charles Chong calls for an increase in the share of the economic pie for most Singaporeans Workers' Party MP Charles Chong (Punggol East SMC) also focused on the government's economic policies during his speech and commented on the remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong during the government's policy debate on Monday (22nd). Gan Kim Yong mentioned that our country should strive for a faster pace of growth as much as possible, allowing the economy to be stronger before entering a long-term growth trend of 2% to 3%. In response, Charles Chong said, "In principle, this is not wrong, but what we need to think about now is whether it is more important to enlarge the economic pie or to increase the share of the economic pie for most Singaporeans?" He believes that our economy still heavily relies on multinational corporations and international capital for driving growth. From the perspective of the value-added share held by local labor and citizen-owned enterprises, this ratio has dropped from about 70% in the late 1980s to 50% to 60% in the last decade before 2015. Due to a lack of public attention, the statistics bureau stopped collecting data on the GDP and GNP related to the local labor force starting from 2011 and 2016, respectively. Charles Chong also pointed out that despite Singapore's status as an international financial center and its highly regarded business-friendly environment, many local entrepreneurs, after achieving success, still choose to go abroad for listing and establish overseas headquarters to access more robust ecosystems