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SINGAPORE: Acting Minister for Social and Family Development (MSF), Chan Chun Sing, said early childhood development is about the holistic development of a child, and it goes beyond academics. He said this is why the new Early Childhood Development Agency will come under two ministries. The new pre-school regulatory body, announced as part of this year's Budget, will be overseen by the both the Education Ministry, and the MSF. The government's injection of S$3 billion into the pre-school sector is the largest ever, in a bid to provide Singaporeans with a level playing field from an early age. Amidst a slew of measures to ensure quality and affordability, the government will bring in more anchor operators (AOPs) into the sector, up from the current two. It will also increase salary grants to these operators to attract teachers. Some are concerned it would only result in teachers gravitating towards the better-paying schools, as the sector is facing a shortage of … [Read more...] about Early Childhood Development Agency to pool resources, support

SINGAPORE : This year's Budget was focused on addressing concerns over the widening income gap. The government sees raising productivity as key to boosting wages for low-income Singaporeans. But some economists have said the economic restructuring could be painful - for both employers and workers. Singapore's open external economy attracts global capital and workers of all stripes. That has the effect of pushing up asset prices while depressing wages for low-income workers. To counter this, the government has set aside S$3.6 billion to co-fund wage increases for Singaporean workers. Another S$500 million will be available to help businesses pay for productivity initiatives. Hoon Hian Teck, professor at the School of Economics at Singapore Management University, said: "If you take advantage of the enhancement of PIC, or the Productivity and Innovation Credit scheme, and say you invest in automation that will boost the productivity of your workers, then if your workers … [Read more...] about Economists weigh in on impact of economic restructuring

SINGAPORE: The trial of former Member of Parliament Choo Wee Khiang continued on Wednesday, with the defence charging that the prosecution's witness had "an axe to grind" with the accused. Defence lawyer, K Muralidharan Pillai questioned Ms Wong Hui Leng, who was a general manager at the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA), about her working relationship with then-colleague, Koh Li Ping. Koh, 44, is accused of abetting Choo in criminal breach of trust (CBT) during his tenure as president of the STTA. Choo, 58, faces one count of CBT allegedly committed in 2005. The court heard that Ms Wong had serious differences with Koh, a high performance manager at that time. Ms Wong admitted that their working relationship was tense. Mr Muralidharan also pointed out Ms Wong had given Koh a "D" for her performance in 2004. This was in contrast to the "B" grade and positive assessment of Koh by Mr Wayde Clews of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). When he got wind of … [Read more...] about Defence grills prosecution witness on working relationship with ex-STTA chief

SINGAPORE: Singapore's aerospace industry produced a total output of S$8.7 billion last year - more than double the output a decade ago. The industry accounts for nearly 20,000 jobs and a majority of them are skilled workers in areas like aerospace manufacturing, repair and overhaul, testing, as well as training, research and development. It will also require over 6,300 new direct employees by 2015. Speaking at the opening of the AeroSpace eXchange 2013 on Wednesday, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the growth of the industry will create many job opportunities for Singaporeans. Meanwhile, the Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with industry associations to develop training programmes. These organisations include BSI Group Singapore and VTOC "fokker" BV and educational institution German Institute of Science and Technology - TUM Asia. Mr Lee noted that the National … [Read more...] about More job opportunities for Singaporeans in aerospace industry

SINGAPORE: Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran has said the government is not reducing foreign manpower. Instead, it is allowing it to grow, but at a slower pace. "We are not reducing the stock of manpower. In fact from a flow point of view, we are allowing an increase but at a slower rate. But most importantly, we want to moderate and calibrate the rate of foreign manpower entering into the Singapore economy. Because we want to complement judiciously what we have in our local manpower growth and stock in order to channel it to the most productive areas which will yield the longer term benefits for the Singapore economy," he said. Mr Iswaran, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, was speaking to reporters after the recording of a Tamil Budget Forum at MediaCorp. He said that the economy here is undergoing a transformation. And it has to move into higher value added areas and achieve greater productivity. "Individual businesses will also have … [Read more...] about Govt not reducing foreign manpower, but allowing increase at a slower rate

SINGAPORE: At least two taxi operators are reviewing the recent Budget announcement on the one-year road tax rebate. But the two - SMRT Taxis and Prime Taxi - have not decided if they will join industry leader ComfortDelgro in passing on the savings to taxi hirers. This follows a call from the National Taxi Association for taxi operators to do so. ComfortDelgro said the road tax rebate works out to some $5 million in savings for the company or $306 per taxi. A company spokesperson said it will pass all savings to its drivers. So far, ComfortDelgro is the only company that has agreed to do so. The one-year rebate of 30 per cent applies to goods vehicles, buses and taxis and is part of the government's effort to ease cash flow for companies. The rebate is expected to save businesses $46 million. … [Read more...] about Two taxi operators reviewing road tax rebate