Singapore — Workers’ Party Member of Parliament He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) wrote in a Facebook post on Monday (Nov 8) that at an estate walk last weekend, Rivervale Court residents told her that their biggest concerns revolve around employment and income.
“We were at Rivervale Court this past weekend to conduct our weekly estate walk. As our activities are still restricted during this phase, it has been nonetheless good to be able to check in on our residents in a safe manner.
Concerns over job and income stability remain top of the feedback given to us, and it was also good to see that our seniors have been able to smoothly get their booster shots #SengkangGRC #Buangkok.”
Ms He posted photos of herself in one-on-one conversations with senior citizens.
The Covid pandemic, which is now in its twentieth month, has dealt a sharp economic blow on many workers, as a number of industries have been severely affected.
The tightening of restrictions over the past few months has also taken a toll on many workers.
In September, the Ministry of Manpower noted an increase in the country’s unemployment rate in July, reversing an eight-month trend.
MOM said that this may have been because of a “temporary easing of manpower demand” in some industries during Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) earlier this year.
However, MOM noted the following month that in August, the unemployment rate dipped again.
“Recovery is expected to be uneven across sectors, and the domestically-oriented sectors will likely continue to be impacted by Covid-19,” said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in October.
In July, Ms He wrote that businesses “worried about adequate support measures” in light of recent Covid restrictions.
She said at that time that struggling business owners had spoken to her about their troubles.
She wrote in a July 11 Facebook post that many businesses were “already on their knees after over a year of reduced trading.”
Ms He added business owners “reached out to me to share their struggles with navigating the various schemes and changing restrictions.”
She added that “businesses are worried” about whether or not there are enough support measures that will see them through tough times, and argued for a “baseline level of support” that firms would benefit from as they would give them the leeway to make advanced plans, even as restrictions are adjusted constantly. /TISG