Safety breaches led to deaths of NSFs

SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen revealed in a ministerial statement to Parliament on Wednesday the details of the Commitees of Inquiry (COI) into the deaths of Private (Pte) Lee Rui Feng Dominique Sarron, 21, on April 17, and Third Sergeant (3SG) Tan Mou Sheng, 20, on May 11.

He revealed that Pte Lee died of an allergic reaction in a training exercise after a platoon commander threw six smoke grenades, even though regulations specified no more than two grenades were to have been used.

He revealed that the cause of death was certified by the forensic pathologist of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to be due to an "acute allergic reaction to zinc chloride due to inhalation of zinc chloride fumes".

The COI believed that "if the Training Safety Regulations had been complied with, PTE Lee and his platoon mates would not have been subjected to smoke that was as dense as that during the incident".

In the case of 3SG Tan who died after a jeep he was in overturned, it was found that individual negligence and breaches of safety had contributed to 3SG Tan's death.

Firstly, the master sergeant had assigned an unlicensed driver to the vehicle, and the rear passengers including 3SG Tan did not wear a helmet or put on their seat belts.

Other incidents of unlicensed driving were also found at the Combat Intelligence School, where the accident happened.
A Commanding Officer and six other commanders have been redeployed to other assignments which do not require them to supervise soldiers for training or operations.

The Chief Military Prosecutor will determine if these personnel should be subjected to a General Court Martial (GCM).

Police investigations are also ongoing to determine if the personnel involved, including the unlicensed driver of the jeep, should be prosecuted in a Civil Court.

Dr Ng said the SAF and Mindef were "deeply sorry for the untimely and tragic loss of Pte Lee and 3SG Tan and the anguish and distress it has brought to their families".

He concluded: "These two deaths could have been avoided if safety instructions had been followed."

"The SAF will learn from the incidents, correct any inadequacies and punish those who disregarded safety regulations," he also said.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will strengthen training safety in the light of lapses leading to the deaths of two full-time national servicemen this year.

In both cases, the respective Committees of Inquiry (COIs) uncovered breaches of training safety regulations in the events leading to their deaths, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in Parliament yesterday.

Private Dominique Sarron Lee, 21, died on April 17 after he experienced breathing difficulties during a training exercise at the Murai Urban Training Facility in Lim Chu Kang. On May 11, Third Sergeant (3SG) Tan Mou Sheng, 20, died after the jeep he was in overturned in the Marsiling training area.

"These two deaths could have been avoided if safety instructions had been followed," Dr Ng said.

Seven servicemen - including a training school's commanding officer - have been relieved of their duties over their involvement in the incidents. They have been redeployed to assignments where they will not supervise soldiers in training or operations, and may face general courts martial as well as prosecution in the civil courts, Dr Ng added.

He announced that the SAF will make "three key systemic changes" across the whole organisation: First, more safety officers will be deployed on the ground. Their primary role will be to ensure that safety measures are followed.

Second, an Army Safety Review Board chaired by a senior civil servant has been set up outside of the Ministry of Defence. It will review the army's overall safety structure, processes and culture.

Third, an SAF Inspectorate will be set up to oversee the entire SAF. It will promulgate best practices and ensure that safety-related policies are sound and up to date. The Inspectorate will report directly to the Chief of Defence Force.

Citing inquiry findings, Dr Ng said Pte Lee had an "acute allergic reaction" after inhaling fumes from zinc chloride, a primary component used in smoke grenades.

He said the zinc-chloride smoke grenades have been used by the SAF since the 1970s, and Pte Lee's death - due directly to zinc-chloride inhalation - was the first in SAF's records.

Dr Ng said SAF has suspended the use of all smoke grenades with zinc chloride in training, and is looking for alternatives.

In 3SG Tan's case, the COI found that the jeep driver, 3SG Cavin Tan, was not licensed to drive the vehicle. The deceased, along with another rear passenger, were not wearing helmets or lap belts at the time of the accident. SAF has since made it mandatory for drivers to display their licences on the dashboards of vehicles.

The Combat Intelligence School, where the deceased was an instructor, was found to have a weak safety culture, with previous cases of unlicensed driving. The school's vehicular-management system has been tightened and SAF has checked other units as well, he said.

Prudent housing choices ensure enough CPF savings for retirement: survey

SINGAPORE: With prudent housing choices, young Singaporeans in the workforce today will have enough savings through the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system for their retirement.

This is according to details released on Wednesday from an independent study commissioned by the Ministry of Manpower.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam first made mention of this study at the opening of the Singapore Human Capital Summit in September this year.

The study was conducted by two researchers from the National University of Singapore, Associate Professors Chia Ngee Choon and Albert Tsui.

In the study, the assumption is that Singaporeans entering the workforce today, would be looking to buy their first homes in 2017.

Another assumption is that the men would be 30 years old, and women 28.

And these couples would buy build-to-order flats that are in keeping with their household incomes.

As workers use CPF savings to finance housing, it is important that they buy a flat type within their means, to leave enough CPF savings for retirement.

For lower-middle income households at the 30th income percentile, typically with a combined monthly income of S$5,100 in 2017, that means a three-room flat.

For median-income households at the 50th income percentile, typically drawing a combined monthly income of S$7,100 in 2017, a four-room flat would be the choice.

Upper-middle income earners at the 70th income percentile, typically earning a combined monthly income of S$9,200 in 2017, could choose a five-room flat.

These figures are projections of 2017 dollars, i.e. nominal household month salary when new entrant turns 30 for males and 28 for females.

With these assumptions, couples can then fully pay their mortgage instalments from their monthly contributions to the CPF ordinary account.

And men earning median incomes at the 50th percentile should be able to replace 70 per cent of their wages on retirement at 65.

That is, their CPF savings should be enough to provide them with 70 per cent of the monthly income that they earned at 55, which is assumed to be the age when a Singaporean's monthly income peaks.

For women, the income replacement rate (IRR) is 64 per cent.

The IRR is a widely-used international measure for retirement adequacy. It refers to the ratio of retirement income to pre-retirement earnings.

The study estimates the IRR that workers could get at age 65 based on their CPF savings. The figures in the study compare well with international standards.

The World Bank recommends a range of 53 to 78 per cent as the IRR for middle-income earners.

Associate professor Chia said that IRR can be used as an indicator of retirement preparedness.

"Our study shows that there is a very clear trade off between retirement adequacy and housing consumption," said associate professor Chia.

"Take for example the base case, when we look at the median worker at say, 50 percentile, we have assumed that this worker will buy a four-room flat. If this household decides to buy a flat type that is one size bigger, say a five room, then we'll see the income replacement rate fall from 70 per cent to 58 per cent," he added.

The median IRR amongst Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries for a median-income earner is 66 per cent.

The study takes into account current CPF policies and features such as CPF contribution and interest rates.

Interest rate for Ordinary Account savings in CPF to remain at 2.5%

SINGAPORE: The interest rate for Ordinary Account (OA) savings in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) will remain at 2.5 percent from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013.

The CPF Board said the computed CPF interest rate, derived from the major local banks' interest rates from 1 August 2012 to 31 October 2012, worked out to be 0.21 percent per annum.

It said as this is below the legislated minimum of 2.5 percent per annum, the OA interest rate will remain unchanged at the legislated minimum of 2.5 percent per annum.

The CPF Board added that an extra 1 percent interest will continue to be paid on the first $60,000 of a member's combined balances, with up to $20,000 from the OA.

The extra interest from the OA will go into the member's Special or Retirement Account to enhance his retirement savings.

As for the HDB's Mortgage Rate, the CPF Board said it will remain unchanged at 2.6 percent per annum from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013.

MSF to provide S$6m in funding per year to help family violence victims

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will provide S$6 million in funding each year to bolster help for those affected by family violence.

It will also set up two new Child Protection Specialist Centres, expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2013.

The funding will be used for the three currently operational Family Violence Specialist Centres, and the two new Child Protection Specialist Centres.

Minister of State for Social and Family Development, Halimah Yacob, announced this on Thursday at the National Family Violence Networking System Symposium.

Mdm Halimah said the two Child Protection Specialist Centres will provide community based help and treatment programmes for children and their families with moderate-risk needs.

High-risk cases will continue to be served by MSF's child protection services.

The centres are expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2013.

Fed eyes more asset purchases in 2013

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve is mulling additional asset purchases next year to boost jobs amid a fragile economy, the minutes of a policy meeting released Wednesday showed.

With the current $45 billion a month "Operation Twist" asset adjustment program scheduled to end in December, the minutes suggested that the Fed was ready to go ahead with more outright bond purchases, aimed at pushing long-term interest rates lower.

"A number of participants indicated that additional asset purchases would likely be appropriate next year after the conclusion of the maturity extension program in order to achieve a substantial improvement in the labour market," the document said.

A new program would overlap with the "QE3" open-ended $40 billion a month asset purchase program announced in September.

Participants at the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee on October 23-24 discussed the impact of its longstanding near-zero interest rate policy and other measures aimed at helping the US recover from the 2008-2009 severe recession.

At the meeting, the FOMC stayed the course on monetary policy, but the meeting minutes revealed divisions, including concerns that low rates will unleash inflation and questions about the effectiveness of massive asset purchases, or quantitative easing (QE).

Participants generally agreed that in determining the appropriate size, pace, and composition of further purchases, "they would need to carefully assess the efficacy of asset purchases in fostering stronger economic activity and consider the potential risks and costs of such purchases."

Participants were meanwhile undecided on whether the Fed should set explicit targets for unemployment and inflation to better indicate when it might raise interest rates.

The Fed officials generally viewed the policy actions as having been "effective" in easing financial conditions, with lower rates supporting spending for housing, automobiles and other big-ticket goods.

Though the participants considered information on US economic activity indicated modest growth, monthly job gains remained modest.

"Many members noted that, without sufficient policy accommodation, economic growth might not be strong enough to generate sustained improvement in the labor market."

The United States added a better-than-expected 171,000 jobs in October, though the unemployment rose to 7.9 per cent, after a surprising three-point drop in September to 7.8 per cent.

Recent data has shown the labour market recovery is picking up momentum. However, the number of long-term unemployed, people without work for at least 27 weeks, rose to 5.0 million last month.

Economists say the stuttering pace of economic growth -- at an annual 2.0 per cent in the third quarter -- remains well below the rate needed to significantly bring down unemployment.

Demand for foreign manpower expected to increase in 2030

SINGAPORE: The demand for foreign manpower is projected to increase for the healthcare, construction and foreign domestic labour sectors in 2030, according to the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD).

The NPTD, a department in the Prime Minister's Office, made the projections in an Occasional Paper released on Monday.

It said the projections are not targets but illustrate the growth and change in demand for workers in these sectors based on certain assumptions drawn from the country's demographic and demand trends.

For example, with Singapore's ageing population, there will be fewer young people for each elderly person. The ageing population would require more healthcare services.

The demand for healthcare workers is expected to grow from 50,000 in 2011 to 91,000 in 2030. NPTD said of this total, 28,000 are projected to be foreign healthcare workers, up from 13,000 in 2011.

The demand for foreign domestic workers (FDWs) could rise from 198,000 in 2011 to 300,000 by 2030. This is due to the expected rise in the number of resident households with young and/or elderly persons and the number of households where both spouses are working.

The demand for construction workers is expected to remain strong, from 250,000 in 2011 to about 280,000 in the next two to three years.

NPTD said this is due to the increased construction workload as the government ramps up infrastructure development, such as expanding the rail network, launching more Build-To-Order housing projects, and building more nursing homes and hospitals to cater to the ageing population.

With projected improvements in productivity in the construction sector, NPTD said demand for construction work permit holders should be between 250,000 and 300,000 by 2030.

S'pore needs to restructure economy to sustain growth: Tharman

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said Singapore's economic growth will be weak in the short-term mainly because of the gloomy world economy.

And the challenge for Singapore, he said, is to restructure its economy to ensure sustained growth over the long-term.

Mr Tharman, who's also Finance Minister, was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a community event in his Jurong GRC.

Many countries in the world are now bracing themselves for the possibility of a "fiscal cliff" in the US.

This means a huge economic crisis may be looming for the US - if its deeply divided Congress is not able to come to an agreement.

Congress, which is made up of the House of Representatives and Senate, will still be controlled by two parties in the new Obama administration.

The Republicans regained control of the House, while the Senate is dominated by the Democrats.

Mr Tharman pointed out that even if the US gets past this hurdle, the bigger challenge is to put its mid-term budget on a more sustainable path for the years ahead in order to restore investor confidence.

He said: "That's what's necessary to really get the economy to restart. And it requires common ground to be found on both taxes and spending on the parts of the Democrats and the Republicans.

"The experience of the first term was one of intense partisanship. Hopefully in the second term, there will be a willingness to find common ground. The initial signs are positive but it's too early to say."

The effects of sluggish growth in the US and Eurozone are likely to cascade to Singapore, even though Mr Tharman said Asia continues to do reasonably well.

"Demand will be weak, but our real challenge in Singapore is in restructuring our economy. We've got to persevere in restructuring our economy so that we can get sustained growth over the long term, over the next five to 10 years based on productivity growth. That's the big challenge. Demand will be weak in the short term but it's not a fundamental problem for us because our unemployment rate is low, and that's the bottom line of the short-term. Unemployment rate is low, jobs are available and training places are available. Our real challenge therefore is to focus on restructuring our economy so that we can move one whole level higher - productivity, skills, expertise," Mr Tharman shared.

He said this means using management methods and technology to improve efficiency and productivity so that workers can get paid more.

"They can have more satisfying jobs and we can grow our economy without growing employment year after year, especially foreign employment. So we got to find the right balance. It's something that affects every sector of the economy. And, we look at the most developed countries and we can see how it's done. They too went through that transition. In some cases not very long ago, they went through the same transition. They ramp up on labour and they have to upgrade, do with less labour, but using technology and everyone playing that part, including customers, everyone playing that part. You can move up to a higher level. That way, our workers can get good wages, get good jobs," he said.

Mr Tharman added that the government will provide every form of support to help companies, especially small and medium enterprises, to make this transition.