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Thirty-two companies have returned their Employment Support Plan (JSS) payments and will reject future payments under the scheme, while others have pledged to donate the money to charity.
They include multinational companies, financial institutions and local companies from different sectors, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, adding that he was encouraged by their action.
“I am very encouraged by your sense of responsibility and shared community,” Heng said in a Facebook post yesterday. “I hope their exemplary action inspires other companies that are doing well to consider doing the same.”
Another 29 companies that received JSS payments last month also decided to reject future payments, the finance ministry said in a separate statement.
He added that so far he has received $ 35 million from companies that have returned their payments. The money will be used to finance future payments under the scheme.
A total of $ 7 billion, which will go to more than 140,000 employers, went to JSS to help cover a portion of the wages of more than 1.9 million local employees.
Wage subsidies are intended to save jobs amid improved safe distancing measures that require most workers to work remotely and those in nonessential services to temporarily suspend operations to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
One company that is giving away most of its JSS payment is the German pharmaceutical group Boehringer Ingelheim. It will donate $ 500,000 to five causes its employees voted for: the Migrant Workers Assistance Fund, the Sayang Sayang Fund, the Invictus Fund, the Singapore Red Cross, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The donation makes up the bulk of your JSS payment, said Gerrard McKenna, managing director of country for Boehringer Ingelheim and head of human pharmacy for the South East Asia and South Korea regional operating unit.
“At this time, unlike other industries such as aviation and tourism, our company in Singapore has not been adversely affected,” said McKenna. “We just reached out to all beneficiaries last week, and all the responses have been positive.”
Another company that has decided to donate its JSS payment is DSM, which sells nutritional products.
“Regarding any government support that comes our way, we are … very clear about our moral commitment,” said DSM Asia-Pacific President Pieter Nuboer. “It is to redirect these funds to those most in need.”
Mr. Heng thanked the companies for their commitment, contributions and trust in Singapore.
“By uniting and helping each other, we can overcome this crisis and come out stronger,” he said. “This is the spirit of our Singapore Together movement.”
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