"Every industry must go through upgrading and change, but those with the lowest productivity will have to go through the most thorough restructuring - those like construction, and the hospitality and retail industries. We cannot expect this to be an easy process, or one that will be over in a few short years. This can only be a multi-year effort, taking at least the better part of the decade to complete. We can expect problems along the way that we have to respond to. Not all businesses will survive, and workers in industries that see a shake-out may lose jobs. We cannot avoid these problems as we restructure the economy. But we must try and help as many businesses as possible to upgrade and survive, especially amongst our SMEs. And we will make sure, through our tripartite arrangements, that workers who are displaced are retrained and placed in new and better jobs as quickly as possible."

"The Government has enhanced Workfare to help supplement the incomes of lower paid workers, and is paying for the bulk of the costs when employers send them for training. MOM is also stepping up the enforcement of employment laws and standards, and more so for industries with a high proportion of low-wage workers. We want to make sure that they are treated fairly, and that employers are paying their CPF. The CPF is extremely important. Once our low-wage workers are in the CPF, they will also get Workfare and other Government top-ups, such as to their Medisave accounts. So we must get all our workers onto the CPF. But most importantly, we are working to ensure that low-paid workers are the chief beneficiaries of our economic restructuring efforts. The Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) led by e2i is a key part of this national strategy. NTUC started the programme in 2010, and over the last two years, about $30 million has been committed to see through over 500 projects. This has benefitted some 33,000 low-wage workers, who saw benefits. In fact, they saw, on average, a basic pay increase of 10% as a result of the IGP being implemented. Remember, this is basic pay, not one-time bonuses."