Channel NewsAsia: WP's Brandon Siow suggests co-payment, with deduction from CPF for unemployment insurance

SINGAPORE VOTES 2006



SINGAPORE : Workers' Party candidate Brandon Siow, part of the opposition party's team for East Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC), has pushed for unemployment insurance, as mentioned in the party's manifesto.

He was speaking at the party's rally in Nee Soon East on Saturday.

He said, "This is a national unemployment insurance plan. Now what does this unemployment insurance do? What it means is that when we are retrenched, during the time it takes for us to retrain and to find another job, we will be paid a regular payout from our insurance company. This way, when we're looking for a new job, we will still have money to pay bills and feed our families.

"Now how can we pay for this insurance? There are many ways; we can deduct it from CPF, the same way we deduct our medical insurance, and why not, CPF is after all our own money. Or we could have a co-system, maybe employees pay 1 percent and employers pay one percent.

"There are many ways of looking at it. But the principle is that I would urge the government to consider seriously consider an unemployment insurance plan." - CNA/ms