Singapore announces unemployment support plan in major policy shift

SINGAPORE – The Lion City is about to launch an unemployment support scheme for workers who have been laid off or involuntarily lost their jobs.

The announcement was made by the country’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong In his speech at the National Day Rallytalking about Singapore’s economy, education and housing policies.

The scheme, called the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Programme, is aimed at helping low- and middle-income workers and will provide involuntarily unemployed workers with a monthly subsidy of up to 6,000 Singapore dollars (4,561 U.S. dollars) for six months, depending on conditions.

Mr Huang said eligible workers must receive training, career guidance and job matching services, saying “these are necessary investments you need to make in yourself in order to find a better job.”

The move marks a major policy shift for Singapore, which has long resisted calls for unemployment insurance over concerns that such a program would encourage citizens to choose welfare over work.

Singapore currently does not offer unemployment benefits for such workers. Wong said the country’s Ministry of Manpower will announce “in due course” when the new scheme will take effect.

Since becoming an independent sovereign state from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore, under the leadership of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, has resisted the idea of ​​establishing a welfare state. explain“I reject welfarism because it undermines people’s self-reliance and their desire to excel and succeed.”

Lee Kuan Yew’s successors, Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong, also did not introduce any unemployment benefit policies.

In his speech, Joshua Wong also said that Singapore officials have been studying the unemployment policies of other countries and studying the practice of providing financial support to people who are involuntarily unemployed.

“Our research shows that permanent support does not lead to positive outcomes, so we plan to temporarily change this policy,” Huang said.

“Because after receiving generous benefits, people may find it more attractive to remain unemployed than to return to work. That is why the government has been wary of such schemes,” he added.

“That’s why we’re looking for alternatives. Just like we created workfare instead of welfare, what’s better than unemployment insurance? How can we help in a way that minimizes the negative impacts that we’ve seen elsewhere?”

The Workfare Scheme is a scheme implemented by the Singapore government in 2005 to provide income and pension subsidies to low-income workers, provided they have a job.

Likewise, Huang said the SkillFuture Job Seeker Support Program will provide support to workers who have been involuntarily unemployed, but workers must also play their part. “We will support you, we will support you; but you also have to take responsibility for your own actions and try to pick yourself up.”