60 cents | MICA (P) 035/10/2009 7 May 2010 Three Cheers For CPF Hike PM Ups Employers’ Rate By 1% But this year is a very good year and in such a year, we should, as Lim Swee Say has proposed, consider increasing the CPF. The CPF is a fundamental, major core of our social safety net system in Singapore. Through the CPF, every worker has an individual savings account “for his housing, for his medical needs, for his retirement needs, for himself and for his family.” PM Lee Hsien Loong t was the most eagerly anticipated and hoped governance since 1959. So bad that he now calls it for piece of news at this year’s May Day Rally “a near-death experience”. at Downtown East - a decision on whether the Same time, same place last year, PM Lee had said: employers’ CPF rate would be partially restored, and “In the fi rst quarter, our GDP shrank 11.5 per cent year Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong did not disappoint. on year. Our latest growth forecast for the whole year 2009 IFirst broached by NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee is between minus 6 per cent and minus 9 per cent. We Say on 15 April 2010 on the back of sterling fi rst quarter had never had to make such a bad forecast.” There was economic indicators released by the Ministry of Trade and also an increase in the unemployment rate from 2.5 per Industry the day before, SG Lim said this is as good a time cent to 3.2 per cent for the same period. as any to help build up workers’ savings for health and But what a difference a year makes. Contrast that retirement purposes. His idea caught on like wildfi re. to what he said this time around: “We’ve all been on a In his May Day Rally speech, PM Lee saved the best roller-coaster ride. Last year’s fi rst quarter GDP went for the last when he announced at the end what was down minus-ten per cent, our trade went down one-third. sweet music to all workers: “The Government has decided This year, fi rst quarter GDP up 13 per cent year-on-year to increase the CPF contribution by employers this year and if you look compared to last year’s fourth quarter by one per cent. The contribution will go up from 14.5 per and annualise it, it is actually 32 per cent growth. It is an cent now to 15.5 per cent, which means that overall we astonishing number and business is back.” will go from 34.5 per cent to 35.5 per cent. We will take Adding more cheer is that the growth forecast for this this one per cent in two steps: First half a per cent, in year is between 7-9 per cent and the fact that the fi rst September, we will put into the Medisave. quarter unemployment rate is 2.2 per cent which is as “The second half per cent, we will take six months good as full employment. after that in March next year, and we will pay into your Amazing as the turnaround is, the fi rst quarter results Special Account. This way, we will give companies are still a one-hit wonder. PM Lee brought those on cloud enough time to adjust to the higher rate. Over the next nine back down to earth: “But do not get carried away. one year, we can factor this in and companies can make We have to see this in perspective. This was a rebound the adjustments with their workers in the overall wage from a very bad fi rst quarter last year. It is not going to packages as they negotiate these wage packages.” be sustained like this indefi nitely or even for the rest of He hoped the National Wages Council would take this the quarters this year and there are still risks in the global into consideration when making its recommendations. If economy which could affect us. But still, 2010 should be conditions are right, PM Lee added that the rate could be a good year and so we must further increased to the top of the target range which is 30 make good use of this strong to 36 per cent within another year or two. position to consolidate our Finding, PM Lee was singing the blues at last year’s May Day lead, not just recover from Rally, bemoaning a world economy gone terribly wrong. In last year’s recession, but Breaking, fact, he had called it “the most diffi cult May Day that we strengthen ourselves for By have ever celebrated” in Singapore’s 50 years of self- the long term.” Page Marcus Lin Sharing 8 2 workingfor • maydayrally2010 Tripartism For Good Of All By Marcus Lin rime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s May Day Rally speech this year touched on several important issues touching Singaporeans’ lives. He analysed the whys and wherefores of the global economic crisis and, in particular, why PSingapore had the wherewithal to respond so decisively and quickly to it. On his agenda were also charting Singapore’s long-term strategy, raising productivity and Let us keep on building up this trust among capitalising on strong growth and a tightening labour the tripartite partners. When we talk about market. He dwelt at length on the importance of raising tripartism, we are not just talking about old war productivity growth as spelt out by the Economic Strategies “stories, the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, how we came Committee: “It is a basic shift in our strategy. It is necessary because the old through diffi cult times. And we put up dramas, strategy is reaching its limits. Previously, we could rely on two things to grow, musicals on these epic events and NTUC had a productivity growth plus growth in our workforce and they complemented very good musical, I think, two or three May Days each other. We could expand our ago. I remember Cyrille Tan looking like a very wise workforce with our own population and old man, advising the younger ones. But we are NTUC Media Co-operative Limited also by bringing in foreign workers. Chairman adding to these experiences and this crisis is just Noel Hon Chia Chun “But in future, we will have to [email protected] as signifi cant as the experiences we went through Chief Executive Offi cer depend much more on productivity Seng Han Thong in the earlier generation. Mercifully, it was a short [email protected] because we cannot grow the Managing Director workforce as much as before, whether crisis. It did not drag on longer, but it has deepened Shona Tan-James [email protected] it is a local one where we just don’t the reservoir of trust and strengthened us for the Chief Operating Offi cer Alvin Wong Pek Kin have the numbers since we are at full next time whenever it comes. We should draw [email protected] employment, or the foreign workers The NTUC This Week Team lessons from it which will be as deep and as lasting Managing Editor because we already have large Shona Tan-James as the lessons from the 1960s and 1970s. Let us [email protected] numbers here and it is not going to be learn these lessons well so that we can pass them Executive Editor easy to accommodate many more. Marcus Lin on to the new generation of Singaporeans and to [email protected] So we have to switch gears, improve Assistant Editor Nicolette Yeo productivity, go for qualitative growth, a new generation of union leaders who can hold [email protected] Journalists break the bottlenecks as Lim Swee Singapore together for many years to come.” Naseema Banu Maideen [email protected] Say says, and thereby transcend Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Vanessa Teo [email protected] our manpower constraints - same Muneerah Bee Mohamed Iqbal number of people working smarter, [email protected] Art Director doing better work, more output, better Edmund Seah [email protected] output.” says, `Why don’t you send your unions Executive Designer Mohamed Nasuhar Soeyoeti PM Lee said “the unions are to America and talk to our unions and To be able to [email protected] a key part of this, helping workers teach them the secret and the way life Executive Editor (Chinese Section) respond to the Ho Seo Teck understand and cope with what is really should be?’ I said thank you very [email protected] crisis in this way, Senior Executive Designer (Chinese Section) changing. NTUC is working with much, I think we are good friends with Charles Chong it is not just having [email protected] WDA, with employers on many things, them, we will just stay good friends with “ Resident Photographer restructuring, best sourcing and so on good economists Alvin Toh them. But it is because we are like this, Sales and participating at the national level, because our unions are like this, that or good staff or Joseph Loh [email protected] making a contribution, representing is why we have the unions prominently capable union Steven Low [email protected] workers’ interests. This is something represented and participating in our leaders who can Marketing & Events Jolynn Ang Shu Qin quite unique to Singapore.” economic progress. work out plans and [email protected] He gave as an example his “And one of the places where Yang Sue Ann work out schemes [email protected] recent visit to America where port they are represented is the National on what to do.