Speech by Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office at the MOH Committee of Supply Debate, 12 Mar 2015

Speech by Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State (Prime Minister’s Office): Health for Employability
 

Lifelong Employability

1.               Sir, ageing has been much discussed, and rightly so, since Singapore’s population is ageing so fast that come 2030, about one in five residents will be above 65 years old.

2.               We can certainly take advantage of our increased longevity and make ageing a positive experience. Earlier, Minister Gan spoke about the Action Plan for Successful Ageing and shared Singaporeans’ aspirations on how to age successfully.

3.               Some of these relate to lifelong employment and employability of seniors. During our focus group discussions, some participants said that they want to work into their senior years and past the retirement age, if they have a choice to do so. Employment brings greater financial security and also keeps seniors meaningfully occupied and cognitively active. And work gives a sense of fulfilment and self-worth.

Health for Employability

4.               Ms Ellen Lee asked how we will help seniors stay healthy longer so that they can remain employed. We are investing in health promotion for seniors in two ways.

5.               First, within the community, we started the Wellness Programme in the year 2008 and it has since been implemented nationwide. The Programme encourages seniors to look after their health, as well as to stay physically active and socially connected. As at end-2014, the Programme has outreached to some 400,000 seniors.  

6.               In addition, we are also bringing health promotion to the workplaces so that we can also address the needs of mature workers in the workplaces. In 2014, we started two pilot programmes in the transport and cleaning sectors.

Taxi Drivers

7.               The first is with taxi drivers. Taxi drivers often sit for long hours with little physical activity. In June 2014, HPB, together with Alexandra Health System, partnered Comfort DelGro and SMRT (supported by the National Taxi Association) to start a workplace health pilot for drivers aged 40 and above.

8.               They brought our health programmes to the taxi service centres, such that drivers can get “one for one”. The taxi drivers bring their taxis to the service centres every month. And during the couple of hours while waiting for their taxis to be serviced, they can check their bodies too.

9.               Under this programme, taxi drivers undergo health screenings, followed by individualised health coaching sessions where they learn how to improve their health, like exercising more regularly while they are not driving, and adopting a healthier diet.

10.           The drivers also learn about the ergonomics of driving, like how to adopt the right posture while driving. Car decals are also given to remind drivers that they can, even while seated, do simple stretches to prevent aches. Together, these efforts will help reduce work-related injury or discomfort, a concern that Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef also mentioned.

11.           Preliminary results of the pilot have been encouraging. To date, we have screened about 3,000 taxi drivers, of whom more than 90% of them have since followed up with health coaching sessions.

Cleaners

12.           The second group we are reaching out to is mature cleaners. In Sep last year, through the network of the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees' Union, we worked with cleaning company RamkyCleantech to implement a workplace health programme for mature cleaners at Singapore Polytechnic.

13.           Under this programme, cleaners undergo health screenings and learn how to manage their chronic conditions. They also learn how to improve work habits for better pain management, especially for the joints

14.           More than 60% of the 180 cleaners are now attending the coaching sessions regularly and participating in activities to strengthen their muscles to lower the risk of falls.

Conclusion

15.           Given the encouraging results of the pilots, we will extend workplace health programmes to other sectors such as retail and security in 2015.

16.           Workplace health is a meaningful area of tripartite collaboration. Workers benefit if they stay healthy longer – they can work longer, and also save on healthcare cost. Employers benefit, because mature workers who can work longer means additional manpower. By staying healthy, workers can be more productive at work as well. As a whole, our Nation benefits when we convert longer life years to longer healthy and productive life years.