Parliament outlined workplace expectations during haze episodes, urging employers to avoid wage cuts or penalties for delayed delivery workers and outdoor staff. To protect public health, the government monitored clinic attendance surges through the Haze Subsidy Scheme, which logged over 113,000 preliminary visits in mid-October. Lawmakers also passed updates to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act to regulate cybersecurity and autonomous vessels amid increasing sector digitalization.
Key points
Platform operators and outdoor employers are advised against penalizing workers or deduct…: Platform operators and outdoor employers are advised against penalizing workers or deducting wages due to haze-related delays.
Workers concerned about hazardous conditions can report unsafe employer practices confide…: Workers concerned about hazardous conditions can report unsafe employer practices confidentially through the SnapSAFE reporting platform.
A newly introduced legislative bill seeks to make reformative training or imprisonment th…: A newly introduced legislative bill seeks to make reformative training or imprisonment the default sentencing path for young scam offenders.
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Parliament also passed a new law to rename a ministry and debated cybersecurity measures for the maritime industry.
SINGAPORE: From questions about haze forecasts to feedback on the merger of Certificate of Entitlement categories, Members of Parliament (MPs) covered a wide range of issues on Tuesday (Nov 3).
The House also heard that Singapore would push for stronger action against haze as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chair next year.
A Bill was also introduced to propose that reformative training or imprisonment should be the default sentencing options for young offenders convicted of scam or scam-enabling offences.
Here are five other things to note from parliament on Tuesday.
SAFEGUARDS FOR WORKERS DURING HAZE
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will continue to work closely with platform operators to ensure that platform delivery workers are not penalised for taking longer to complete jobs during hazy conditions, said Minister of State for Manpower Foo Cexiang, including through pay deductions or reduced job allocations.
In response to questions from several MPs on safeguarding the workers' well-being amid hazy conditions – including outsourced…
Authorities revealed that high-level security officials illicitly monitored the president alongside prominent politicians, journalists, and civic leaders between 2025 and 2026. The covert operation unraveled after internal personnel uncovered and reported an unauthorized command to purge the surveillance records from official databases. The detainees now face up to a decade in prison under charges of unauthorized digital access and evidence tampering.
Public discontent over escalating living expenses and an unpopular conflict with Iran has placed Republican majorities in both congressional chambers in jeopardy. Democratic leadership needs to flip only a handful of seats to establish legislative control and mount aggressive oversight of the current administration. A power shift would fundamentally reshape the rest of the executive term through potential investigative hearings and targeted impeachment proceedings.
The proposed policy shift follows earlier direct discussions between Washington and Jerusalem regarding long-term financial assistance frameworks. Under the arrangement, the United States aims to phase out recurring annual subsidies while maintaining strategic flexibility to support its ally during critical security situations.