Written Answer to PQ on Leave Days for Training in the Lift and Escalator Industry

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3606 OF 2025 FOR THE SITTING ON 08 APRIL 2025
QUESTION NO. 6718 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether more leave days can be mandated for technical workers in the lift and escalator industry for them to attend relevant training or work-related courses; and (b) in the past three years, how many cases has the Ministry received from lift and escalator technical workers on (i) being compelled to utilise their annual leave days to attend training or courses and (ii) attending training or courses outside normal working hours without fair compensation.

Answer:

1. Leave provisions are meant to enable employees to meet their personal needs. Separately, employees who are required by their employer to attend training outside of their normal working hours should be paid an allowance based on their hourly rate of pay. Employees who encounter employers who do otherwise are advised to approach the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for assistance.

2. Employers can tap on the Workfare Skills Support (WSS) Scheme to defray their opportunity cost of sending workers for training. Under WSS, employers who send eligible lower-wage workers for selected courses, which include Progressive Wage Model training requirements within the lift and escalator sector, may receive absentee payroll of up to 95% of the trainee’s basic hourly salary, capped at $13 per hour.

3. In the past three years, MOM has not received any complaint of lift and escalator technical workers being compelled to use their annual leave days to attend training or courses, or to attend training or courses outside normal working hours without fair compensation.

4. MOM will continue to work closely with employers and other stakeholders to support training and career development of workers, including those in the lift and escalator industry.