In Parliament: Labour MPs call for stronger worker protections as HSA expands, teacher roles evolve

• HSA expansion: Labour MPs Melvin Yong and Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari called for stronger worker protections, training and continued union engagement during the transition.

• Educator workforce reform: Wan Rizal and David Hoe proposed measures to improve teacher workload, career growth and support across the wider education workforce.

Worker protections linked to the Health Sciences Authority’s (HSA) expansion and reforms to support Singapore’s educator workforce were among the issues raised in Parliament on 8 and 9 September 2026.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong and Labour Nominated MP Sanjeev Tiwari spoke during the debate on the HSA (Amendment) and Other Matters Bill, calling for safeguards and support for workers affected by the statutory board’s expanded functions.

Separately, NTUC’s e2i Stakeholder Management Director Wan Rizal and Jurong East–Bukit Batok GRC MP David Hoe jointly tabled an adjournment motion on building a sustainable educator workforce. They called for measures to give teachers greater support and opportunities for career development.

Stronger protections as HSA expands

HSA will take on additional regulatory and administrative functions following the passage of the HSA (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on 9 September 2026.

Preparing workers for expanded roles

Several Ministry of Health (MOH) regulatory departments will be transferred to HSA under the changes.

HSA officers will also receive expanded investigative powers to audit facilities and respond to public health risks. Auxiliary officers may be appointed to inspect premises and strengthen safety oversight.

Welcoming the changes, Mr Yong called for workers affected by the transition to be adequately supported.

The Radin Mas SMC MP proposed that staff transferring from MOH be equipped with the skills needed for their expanded roles, while new regulatory officers should receive sufficient training to uphold public accountability.

Responding, Minister of State for Health Rahayu Mazam said officers would receive reskilling and on-the-job training when their job scopes change. They would also have opportunities for cross-domain learning, broader career pathways and multidisciplinary regulatory work.

Mr Tiwari, who is also general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE), supported the amendments and welcomed provisions safeguarding the jobs, continuity of service and employment benefits of officers transferring to HSA.

Ms Rahayu said officers moving to HSA would do so on terms no less favourable than those they currently enjoy.

Continued union engagement during transition

Mr Tiwari also called for continued engagement between HSA and the union throughout the transition to support officers’ long-term career development and progression.

Ms Rahayu said staff had been engaged throughout the transition and would continue to receive support. MOH and HSA would also maintain close engagement with the unions, she added.

Supporting healthcare professionals facing disciplinary proceedings

Under the amended Bill, HSA will provide administrative support to professional regulatory bodies overseeing healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists and nurses.

Mr Yong called for disciplinary cases involving healthcare professionals under investigation to be handled more promptly, citing the potential impact prolonged proceedings could have on their careers.

Ms Rahayu said the Government would examine ways to improve case-management communication and support for both complainants and professionals.

Staff supporting complaints committees and disciplinary tribunals would also receive additional skills training and capability development.

Building a sustainable educator workforce

On 8 September 2026, Mr Wan Rizal and Mr David Hoe, both advisers to the Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU), raised proposals to strengthen educators’ professional growth through an adjournment motion titled “Sustainable Educator Workforce to Support Singapore’s Next Phase of Education Reform”.

Measuring whether teachers’ jobs are improving

Mr Wan Rizal urged the Ministry of Education (MOE) to work with relevant education unions to publish educator-sustainability indicators covering student outcomes, workload, morale, professional growth and retention.

He said teachers across primary and secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes work an average of 53 hours a week, while their roles have become increasingly complex.

Such indicators could provide a clearer picture of whether educators were experiencing sustained improvements in their working lives, he added.

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi said MOE already tracks retention, participation in professional learning, workload and well-being trends, alongside feedback from teachers and relevant unions.

These indicators are used to inform policy and strengthen support for educators, he said.

Using NTUC initiatives to support job redesign

Mr Wan Rizal suggested that schools tap NTUC’s Company Training Committee (CTC) and AI-Ready SG initiatives to support workforce development and transformation.

He said these initiatives could help teachers adapt as they undertake the Teacher AI Literacy Professional Learning Roadmap, launched in July 2026 to help educators keep pace with new technology.

The Jalan Besar GRC MP also asked MOE and relevant unions to jointly review the workload impact of major AI and education-technology rollouts through the Teacher Work Management Framework.

Mr Syed said technology is already being used to automate routine administrative work, allowing teachers to focus more on instruction, student learning and support.

He cited AI-enabled tools in MOE’s Singapore Student Learning Space that assist teachers with lesson planning, marking and feedback.

Expanding support beyond teachers

Mr Wan Rizal said workers across the wider education ecosystem, including early childhood educators, private and adjunct educators, and student-care staff, also needed support.

On student-care educators, he called on MOE to build on its governance review to “strengthen student care standards, staffing, and operational resilience, while keeping it affordable through appropriately targeted assistance.”

For early childhood educators, Mr Wan Rizal asked MOE to work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Early Childhood Development Agency and the Education Services Union (ESU) to review documentation workload, staffing, work arrangements and working conditions.

He also said private and adjunct educators should have access to professional development backed by specialist advice, mentorship and clearer career pathways, alongside upskilling and job-redesign support through CTC partnerships and relevant AI-Ready SG training.

Mr Syed said the number of administrative staff across schools had risen by an average of 50 per cent, giving educators more time to focus on teaching.

Schools can also engage coaches and student well-being support workers, as well as vendors for administrative tasks, event management and student programmes, he said.

MOE would continue to review support from non-teaching staff for teachers and students, he added.

Accounting for work beyond the classroom

Mr Hoe focused on duties teachers perform outside the classroom, including organising camps, co-curricular activities (CCAs) and learning journeys.

While many students benefit from these experiences, he said teachers should be able to properly account for the additional workload involved.

Mr Hoe proposed giving educators guidance on calculating the additional hours spent on non-academic activities when submitting programme commitments to MOE.

A clearer picture of the workload involved would allow schools to assess whether demands on teachers were manageable and whether additional resources were needed, he said

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Schools could also weigh the benefits of an activity for students against the effort required to run it when deciding whether programmes should continue.

Mr Hoe also asked MOE to consider creating a dedicated programme and events execution role in every school. This would reduce operational duties for teachers and allow them to focus on student development, he said.

He added that workers supporting these programmes, including instructors for uniformed groups, sports and specialist CCA training, should also receive greater support.

Mr Hoe urged MOE to develop a multi-year plan to expand and professionalise this workforce with industry stakeholders, including NTUC, the National Instructors and Coaches Association, and education unions.

Mr Syed said MOE would continue examining how resources could be better used, including through clustered CCAs and centrally organised student programmes.

He cited centrally organised, non-school-based sports CCAs for secondary-school students, conducted with Sport Singapore and delivered by professional instructors and coaches.