In major policy shift, Singapore announces unemployment support package | Wilnesh News

SINGAPORE – The Lion City will launch an unemployment support package for workers who have been laid off or involuntarily laid off.

The country’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced the news Speech at the National Day Rallyin which he talks about Singapore’s economic, education and housing policies.

The program, called the Future Skills Jobseeker Support Programme, aims to help low- and middle-income workers and will provide involuntary unemployment workers with grants totaling up to S$6,000 (US$4,561) for six months, subject to conditions.

Huang said qualified workers must receive training, career guidance and job matching services during this period, saying “these are important investments you need to make in yourself to find a better job.”

The move marks a significant policy shift in the city-state, which has long resisted calls for unemployment insurance over concerns that such programs would encourage citizens to choose welfare over work.

Singapore currently does not provide unemployment benefits to such workers. Wong said the country’s Manpower Ministry will announce “at the appropriate time” when the new scheme will take effect.

Singapore, under founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, has rejected the idea of ​​a welfare state since it separated from Malaysia in 1965 and became an independent sovereign nation. In 2005, Li explain: “I broke away from welfarism because it undermined 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 support policies.

Wong also said in his speech that Singaporean officials have been studying unemployment policies in other countries to examine ways to provide financial support to the involuntarily unemployed.

Huang said unconditional unemployment insurance abroad has not brought positive results; “Because after receiving generous benefits, people may find it more attractive to remain unemployed than to return to work. This is why the government has been cautious about such programs.”

“That’s why we’re looking for alternatives. Just as we created job benefits instead of welfare, what’s better than unemployment insurance? How can we minimize the negative outcomes we’ve seen elsewhere? How to help?

Workfare refers to a program implemented by the Singapore government in 2005 to support low-income workers by increasing their income and pension payments, provided they are employed.

Similarly, the Skilled Future Jobseekers Support Scheme will provide support for involuntarily displaced workers, but workers will also have to play their part, Huang said. “We’re going to support you, we’re going to support you; but you also have to take responsibility for your actions and try to pick yourself up.”

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that the Future Skills Jobseeker Support Program will provide involuntary unemployed workers with up to S$6,000 (US$4,561) for six months.