2024年4月3日，新加坡貿工部兼文化、社區及青年部政務部長陳聖輝回答議員提問，探討如何能讓合作社吸引和留住人才。

陳聖輝

新加坡貿工部兼文化、社區及青年部政務部長

丹戎巴葛集選區議員

以下內容為新加坡眼根據國會英文資料翻譯整理：

李議員和葉議員強調了合作社在吸引和留住人才方面的困難。葉議員詢問政府是如何在人力資源方面提供幫助。李議員提議建立一個在合作社、公共機構和私營實體之間的臨時調任計劃。我們將與國家合作社聯合會進一步探討李議員的建議。

李議員還提到了正在進行的意在提高合作社管理委員會和員工能力的新方案，其中包括了一些為該行業特別定製的課程。例如，國家文化、社區及青年部正在與國家合作社聯合會合作，於2024年5月推出新的定製審計委員會課程，專門為信用合作社設計。該課程旨在提高審計委員會成員對其角色和責任的理解，並擴充風險管理、內部控制、審計和財務報告等相關主題的知識。

國家合作社聯合會還在2022年建立了新興領導者計劃，目標是在五年內培養100名領導者。同時，通過組織會議、交流活動和分享會，讓合作社管理人員了解同行最佳實踐經驗和實際解決方案。

關於議員托馬斯·拉傑·約書亞提出應該引導合作社成員明確自己在《合作社法》（ACT）下的權利的問題，我想說擁有成員的合作社受其自身章程以及《合作社法》要求的約束。但我們致力於通過確保合作社向成員充分披露信息來營造一個既有問責制又透明的環境。

我們提議的修正案之一就是一個例子。雖然合作社必須獲得成員的批准才能支付管理委員會的津貼、酬金和其他福利，但我們建議修訂《合作社法》，明確將此作為年度股東大會的一個職能。只有成員的批准才能實現這些收益。2019年，註冊官曾通知合作社，關於年度報告中需要披露的最低限度的信息，以便成員了解該合作社的活動，在知情後做出決策。舉例來說，這些信息包括充分披露合作社的經營活動和財務表現。合作社也被鼓勵根據需要披露更多信息。

朱議員還詢問了可持續發展補助。我請求得到他的諒解，因為我們剛剛在2024年1月1日設立了這項補助。隨著申請率的穩定，我們將提供更多統計數據。

接下來，我會繼續討論葉議員提出的問題，即政府是否容許信用合作社宣傳其貸款服務，以增加公眾的了解。信用合作社的設立通常是為了服務於有共同紐帶的成員，例如同一行業、組織或同一社區。因為許多信用合作社與其成員的僱主有薪水扣款協定，以此償還合作社的貸款，因此信用風險得到了緩解。作為一個會員制組織，信用合作社的監管程度不同於與其他金融機構，因此，它們不向公眾開放，也不應在大眾媒體上做廣告。

儘管如此，信用合作社並沒有被禁止直接向其內部成員做廣告。在註冊處與合作社的日常工作交流中，在本次法案的公開諮詢過程中，我們收到了審查關於信用合作社廣告限制的反饋。因此，我們正進一步研究這一問題。

議長先生，我想以回答梁議員關於合作社的有關議會問題作為結尾。梁議員詢問新加坡是否需要新的合作社來應對不斷變化的社會經濟環境，以及在「向前新加坡」倡議下，合作社的角色和社會使命是否會得到加強。

基於目前這個全新的社會契約和社會團結的時代，合作社確實提供了一個新加坡人可以共同努力應對不斷變化的社會需求的額外平台。為了保持相關性並增加合作社的影響力，它們必須繼續提高其能力和競爭力——這也是議員們在本次辯論中提出的重點。這將進一步增強公眾對合作社的信心，並促進該行業的人才招募。合作社管理層本身也應確保他們能夠在快速變化的環境中引領管理好合作社。他們應該以成長心態，參加專業發展和持續學習課程，並制定繼任計劃，以確保合作社的長期發展和服務功能。

國家文化、社區、青年部將繼續與我們的合作夥伴——合作社基金委員會和國家合作社聯合會合作，以支持合作社及其成員未來的發展。

以下是英文質詢內容：

Mr Lee and Mr Yip highlighted co-ops』 struggle to attract and retain talent. Mr Yip asked how Government could help in this area and Mr Lee suggested a secondment programme between co-ops and public and private sector organisations. We will explore Mr Lee’s idea further with SNCF and the co-ops.

Mr Lee also mentioned ongoing initiatives to build the capabilities of co-ops』 COM and staff. These include customised courses unique for the sector. MCCY for example is working with SNCF to introduce a new customised Audit Committee course for credit co-ops in May 2024. This course aims to enhance Audit Committee members』 understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and to sharpen their knowledge of relevant topics like risk management, internal controls, audit and financial reporting.

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SNCF has also established the Emerging Leaders Programme in 2022, which aims to groom 100 leaders in five years. SNCF also organises conferences, networking events and sharing sessions to expose co-op officers to best practices and practical solutions adopted by their peers.

On members' rights, which Mr Raj Joshua Thomas raised relating to efforts to educate co-op members on their rights under the Act, I would like to respond that as member-owned organisations, co-ops are governed by their own by-laws as well as requirements under the Act. But we aim to foster an environment of both accountability and transparency, by ensuring co-ops make sufficient disclosures to members.

One of our proposed amendments is a case in point. While co-ops must already obtain members』 approval for payment of allowance, honoraria and other benefits to the COM, we proposed amending the Act to make this an explicit function of the AGM. This will help ensure that members』 approval is obtained for such benefits. In 2019, the Registrar also notified co-ops about the minimum information they need to disclose in an annual report to inform members about activities of the co-op and make informed decisions. These include, for example, adequate disclosure of its activities and financial performance. Co-ops are also encouraged to disclose more information as they deem fit.

Mr Desmond Choo also asked about the sustainability grant. I seek his indulgence because we just set up the grant on 1 January 2024. We will provide more statistics as the take-up rate becomes steady.

Next, I will move on to Mr Yip's questions about whether the Government would allow credit co-ops to advertise their loans to create greater awareness of their services. Credit co-ops are generally set up to serve their members who share a pre-existing common bond, such as the same industry, organisation or the same community. Credit risks are mitigated as many credit co-ops have arrangements with their members』 employers for salary deductions for loan repayments to co-ops. As a membership-based organisation, credit co-ops are not regulated to the same degree as other financial institutions. Hence, they are not open to the general public and should not advertise in mass media.

Nonetheless, credit co-ops are not precluded from advertising directly to their members. In the course of the Registry’s engagement with the co-ops and public consultation for the current Bill, we received feedback to review the advertising restriction for credit co-ops. So, we are studying this matter further.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to conclude by addressing Mr Liang’s related Parliamentary Question on co-ops. Mr Liang asked if Singapore needs new co-ops to meet the evolving socio-economic landscape and if the roles and social missions of co-ops can be strengthened under Forward Singapore.

In view of our refreshed social compact and renewed sense of social solidarity, co-ops indeed offer an additional platform for Singaporeans to come together and address societal evolving needs. To remain relevant and increase co-ops』 impact, they must continue to build their capabilities and competencies – the point that Members have been raising in this debate. This would strengthen confidence in and enhance recruitment into the sector. Co-op leaders themselves should also ensure they can lead their co-ops in a rapidly evolving environment. They should adopt a growth mindset, participate in professional development and continuous learning courses, and put in place succession planning to ensure their co-ops』 longevity and continued relevance. MCCY will continue to work with our partners, the CCF Committee and SNCF, to support co-ops and co-operators along their journey. Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

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