Training, upgrading and re-skilling will help a certain portion of the low wage earners but we know through MPS that some of these workers are not trainable nor have the momentum to live through the training as they see their career as start-stop types. They are either medically unfit or aged or because of family commitment, they cannot hold down to any long term job.
They are left behind with no CPF, no medical coverage, no savings. Only a meager hand-to-mouth mean of living.
NTUC should consider setting up a low wage contract and casual workers deployment agency to work on placing such workers to receptacles - companies hiring on contract basis. Commercially these are being done by outsourcing agencies and the high levy imposed by the employment agencies lessen the amount of take-home pay of the workers. Usually for contract staffing of low wage workers, agencies charge from $7.50 up and usually pay the workers from $5 onwards and without any benefits and CPF.
NTUC can set up a model with no profit incentive and allow workers to take home more pay with accompanying CPF, portable medical benefits and a sort of insurance for their life-long saving. Once the momentum and structure is setup, NTUC may start training workers in e2i suited for direct placement of jobs into companies without having to train and wait for placement with third parties agencies. With the service industry seeing a growth by next year, such contract and casual staff are needed to augment permanent staff and most restaurants/ retail/ hotels like to keep skeletal staff and augment them with casual and contract workers.
NTUC together with WDA have done much to help train, skill, re-skill but the last mile is in the engagement and meaningful employment and after that to provide a holistic cover for CPF, medical coverage and savings.
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