# Extension of Support Measures for Businesses in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process Sectors

- **Source:** Ministry of National Development
- **Published:** 2022-03-27T04:00:00.000Z
- **Author:** Ministry of National Development
- **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/extension-of-support-measures-for-businesses-in-the-construction-marine-shipyard-and-process-sectors
- **Topics:** Government & Policy

## Featured rationale

The measures could ease near-term manpower and cost pressures on construction firms, supporting project continuity while labour inflows and sector capacity recover.

## AI summary

The Government extended CMP foreign-worker levy rebates and COTMA Part 10A relief through June 2022 while permanently removing the MYE-waiver employment-period requirement.

## Original article

The Government is extending support measures for companies in the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process (CMP) sectors in view of the continued manpower shortages and elevated business costs arising from COVID-19.

Extension of Foreign Worker Levy (FWL) rebate for CMP Work Permit Holders (WPH)

2 The FWL rebate was introduced in 2020 to help businesses retain their enterprise capabilities amidst challenges caused by the pandemic. It was due to expire in end-March 2022. The Government will now extend the FWL rebate for CMP WPHs for another three months, at $250 per month for April and May 2022, and $200 for June 2022.

3 The lower FWL rebate for June 2022 reflects the improving manpower inflow for the CMP sectors, with manpower costs expected to moderate accordingly. The Government will continue to monitor the situation before deciding closer to June 2022 whether an extension of the rebate is necessary. As the FWL rebate is meant to be a temporary support, we encourage firms to press on with longer-term productivity improvements to be more manpower-lean and resilient against future manpower disruptions. 

Extension of COTMA Part 10A for the Construction sector

4 Apart from the FWL rebate, the Government has supported the Built Environment (BE) sector with other measures, including financial assistance through the $1.36 billion construction support package, manpower support and legislative relief through the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (“COTMA”). This is to ensure that no single segment of the BE value chain bears a disproportionate share of the burden due to COVID-19.

5 The prescribed period for COTMA Part 10A was originally extended till 31 March 2022. COTMA Part 10A allows contractors to seek a determination from an Assessor to adjust the contract sum to address the increase in foreign manpower salary costs, i.e. Construction WPHs’ salaries, due to COVID-19.

6 The relief period under COTMA Part 10A will now be further extended for an additional three months, till 30 June 2022. This will complement the extension of the FWL rebate for the same duration and provide additional assurance to firms in the BE sector. Further details on the process under COTMA Part 10A can be found at http://go.gov.sg/cotma10a. 

7 The COTMA relief provided to the BE sector is meant to be time-limited. As the sector continues to recover and Singapore shifts towards living with COVID-19, firms will need to partner one another even more closely to ensure business sustainability and longer-term resilience of the BE sector.

Removal of Period of Employment (POE) requirement for Man-Year Entitlement (MYE)-waiver 

8 In August 2021, the Government removed the minimum POE requirement of three years and two years for Construction and Process WPHs respectively, arriving from Non-Traditional Sources (NTS)1 and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), to qualify for the MYE-waiver2. This measure was to help support the inflow and retention of workers and is due to expire in March 2022.

9 The Government will now make the removal of the minimum POE requirement permanent. This is also in line with the dismantling of the MYE framework from 1 Jan 2024. Going forward, all incoming or renewal NTS and PRC WPHs will no longer need to meet the minimum POE requirement to qualify for the MYE-waiver.

10 The CMP sectors are key to Singapore’s economy, and the Government will continue to work closely with the sectors through the Industry Transformation Maps to transform businesses and reduce their reliance on manpower.

1Non-Traditional Sources refer to Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

2MYE is a Work Permit allocation system for workers in the Construction and Process sectors, and reflects the total number of NTS and PRC WPHs an employer is allowed to employ, based on the value of projects or contracts awarded by developers or owners. Employers may hire Construction and Process sector WPHs from NTS and PRC without MYE, i.e. on MYE-waiver, if the workers have a minimum Period of Employment of three years and two years respectively.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 延长建筑、海事船厂与工艺行业企业支援措施

鉴于冠病疫情持续造成人力短缺及经营成本上升，政府延长对建筑、海事船厂与工艺（CMP）行业公司的支援措施。

延长CMP工作准证持有人（WPH）外籍劳工税（FWL）回扣

2 外籍劳工税回扣于2020年推出，旨在协助企业在疫情挑战下留住企业能力。该措施原定于2022年3月底届满。政府现将CMP工作准证持有人的外籍劳工税回扣再延长三个月：2022年4月及5月为每月250元，2022年6月为200元。

3 2022年6月较低的外籍劳工税回扣，反映CMP行业人力流入改善，人力成本预期将相应缓和。政府将继续密切关注情况，并于接近2022年6月时再决定是否有必要延长回扣。由于外籍劳工税回扣旨在提供临时支援，我们鼓励企业继续推进较长期的生产力提升，以减少对人力的依赖，并增强应对未来人力中断的韧性。

延长《冠病疫情（临时措施）法令》（COTMA）第10A部对建筑业的适用

4 除外籍劳工税回扣外，政府亦通过其他措施支援建成环境（BE）行业，包括透过13.6亿元建筑支援配套提供财政援助、人力支援，以及透过《冠病疫情（临时措施）法令》（“COTMA”）提供立法救济。此举旨在确保建成环境价值链中没有单一环节因冠病疫情而承担不成比例的负担。

5 COTMA第10A部的订明期限原已延长至2022年3月31日。COTMA第10A部允许承包商向评估员申请裁定，以调整合约金额，应对因冠病疫情导致的外籍人力薪金成本上升，即建筑工作准证持有人的薪金上涨。

6 COTMA第10A部的救济期现再延长三个月，至2022年6月30日。这将与同期外籍劳工税回扣延长相配合，并为建成环境行业企业提供额外保障。有关COTMA第10A部程序的更多详情，可浏览http://go.gov.sg/cotma10a。

7 向建成环境行业提供的COTMA救济旨在限时实施。随着行业持续复苏，新加坡迈向与冠病共处，企业需彼此更紧密合作，以确保业务可持续性及建成环境行业的较长期韧性。

取消人力年额（MYE）豁免的雇佣期（POE）要求

8 2021年8月，政府取消了来自非传统来源（NTS）1及中华人民共和国（PRC）的建筑与工艺工作准证持有人，为符合人力年额豁免2资格而须分别满足的最低雇佣期要求（三年及两年）。该措施旨在协助人力流入与留用，原定于2022年3月届满。

9 政府现将取消最低雇佣期要求的措施永久化。此举亦与自2024年1月1日起拆除人力年额框架相一致。今后，所有新入境或续签的非传统来源及中国籍工作准证持有人，均无需再满足最低雇佣期要求即可符合人力年额豁免资格。

10 CMP行业对新加坡经济至关重要，政府将继续透过行业转型蓝图与各行业密切合作，推动企业转型并减少对人力的依赖。

1非传统来源指孟加拉、印度、缅甸、菲律宾、斯里兰卡及泰国。

2人力年额是建筑与工艺行业工作准证分配制度，反映雇主可根据发展商或业主所批出的项目或合约价值，获准雇用的非传统来源及中国籍工作准证持有人总数。雇主如雇用来自非传统来源及中国的建筑与工艺行业工作准证持有人，可在无人力年额的情况下雇用，即在人力年额豁免下雇用，惟工人须分别具备最低三年及两年的雇佣期。