Worker's Party

Workers’ Party (WP)

Founded in : 1957

Founder : Singapore’s former Chief Minister, David Marshall

Current Leader : Sylvia Lim

Status : centre-left opposition

1^st Member of Parliament : J.B. Jeyaretnam

In 1981, the party's then-leader J.B. Jeyaretnam became the first opposition MP to be elected to Parliament since Singapore's independence in 1965, when he defeated the candidate of the governing People's Action Party (PAP) at a by-election in the constituency of Anson. He was re-elected at the 1984 general election, but subsequently lost his seat in Parliament in 1986 following a conviction for falsely accounting the party's funds (a conviction Jeyaretnam has always maintained was politically motivated). Worker's Party member Lee Siew Choh served as an NCMP from 1988 to 1991. At the 1991 general election, Low Thia Khiang was elected as MP for Hougang. He was re-elected at the 1997, 2001 and 2006 general elections. Jeyaretnam returned to Parliament as an NCMP from 1997 to 2001, and Sylvia Lim has also served as an NCMP for the party since 2006.

Philosophy:

· Diversity, respect, human dignity, tolerance and equal opportunity

· Social justice via respect for the rights of workers, senior citizens and the disabled

Causes:

Governance and Civil Liberties

· Elections s organised by independent bodies reporting to the Chief Justice and President for political neutrality

· The Public Order Act (POA) should not be used to curtail active citizenry. In particular, the provisions on Public Assembly, Move-on order and restrictions on filming of law enforcement operations should be reviewed.

· Voting age to be brought down from 21 to 18

· Citizens aggrieved by actions of public servants have to commence an expensive law suit

Justice Law and Order:

· For mandatory sentences for capital offences to be removed

· Capital cases conducted by a tribunal of two judges whose decision to impose death sentence must be unanimous

· Ensure reliability, impartiality and justice in capital cases

Arts, Media, Information and New Technology

· More transparency from the State in sharing its information, including declassification of secret data after a period ot time

Economic Policy

· More chances for local enterprises to compete with Multi-national Companies (MNCs) and Government-Linked Companies(GLCs)

Population and Immigration

· Ensure that the rate of immigration do not exceed the capacity of the country’s infrastructure and the comfort level of the local population.

· Better environment for childbearing and childrearing for career-minded or employed women

· Incentives for employers to implement better work-life balance practices and flexi-work arrangements

· Paternity leave of at least 6 days, half of which will be funded by the government

· All overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote in elections by postal votes

Public Housing

· the prices of new flats pegged to median incomes of Singaporean households who qualify to buy HDB flats and not the resale market price

· The price of new HDB flats affordable enough to enable most lessees to pay off their loans in 20 years rather than 30 years.

· Qualifications for public rental housing should be more flexible

· Number of flats available under Public Rental Scheme should be increased

· The eligibility criteria for the HDB’s Lease Buyback Scheme should be reviewed to extend it to more households who may be in financial need

Healthcare

· A Basic Hospitalisation Scheme covering all basic hospital care at a standard premium rate affordable for 90% of working population

· The government must play its role to monitor and provide support and intervention to VWOs and commercial enterprises in the long term care sector. This is to ensure such services are readily available, of good quality, and affordable.

Education

· Class size reduced to about 20 pupils so that weaker students can be given more attention

· Currently, the tuition grant for all undergraduates is the same regardless of nationality.

· Tuition grant for local undergraduates should be increased

· Special Education (SPED) schools come under direct funding and total administration of MOE in collaboration with VWOs

· National Education include the teaching of our Constitution, the political system of Parliamentary Democracy, the citizenry rights and obligations

Society

· More government support to Voluntary Welfare Organsation (VWOs) providing healthcare and support services to the elderly

· ratify the United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with disabilities and ensure that its key provisions are implemented in Singapore

· Abolition of GRCs and restoration of single seats

Transport

· All public transport including the MRT & public buses brought under a National Transport Corporation instead of profit-oriented companies

· The Public Transport Council should be dissolved. Government accountability for public transport matters should be via a unit under the Land Transport Authority. This unit should receive feedback, audit services, review productivity and examine the need for fare adjustments.

· Extend and fund concession passes on public transport for the elderly and disabled respectively

Sports and Recreation

· Stronger emphasis on sports popular among Singaporeans that could rally the Singapore nation together

· To elect leaders of National Sports Associations from among the sporting fraternity instead of politicians

Labour Policy

· Higher low wage workers’ wage supplement paid out more regularly and pegged to cost of living

· Foreign manpower dependency ratios / quotas should be carefully calibrated for all skill levels, and by industry rather than broad sectors such as manufacturing or services

· Job security for retired from age 62 to 65 years, the CPF draw-down age

· To set up a Board of Equal Opportunity to ensure equality in employment

Central Provident Fund Policy

· Retirement adequacy via CPF needs to be boosted. CPF rates should not be tinkered with during economic cycles. Apart from paying CPF members interest on their balances, dividends should be paid periodically, since the government utilizes CPF monies for investment and reaps gains above the CPF interest rates.CPF

· CPF members own their CPF monies. Given the uncertain employment outlook for older workers, members should be allowed to start draw-downs after reaching 60 years old. In addition, members in dire financial straits should be allowed to make limited draws on their CPF funds, subject to strict conditions.