SINGAPORE — Consumers may have to readjust their expectations and consumption patterns, while understanding why some companies may not be providing the same level of service as they restructure their operations to cope with a slower growth in the workforce here, said Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a community event, where he also confirmed that he will be taking over as anchor minister of Marine Parade GRC from Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Mr Tan cited the example of food outlets in Japan, where many services are automated and consumers practise self-service, which he felt “is not a bad thing”.

“If we expect to be waited on from hand to mouth every step of the way, I think very few restaurants will be able to do that, perhaps if you do, you (would) have to pay a premium,” Mr Tan said.

The Acting Manpower Minister’s comments came in the wake of outcry from some segments within the service sector on the Government’s tightened foreign manpower policies.

Nominated Member of Parliament R Dhinakaran was the latest to speak against the broad definition of the services sector in last week’s Budget debate, where he also pointed out limitations on productivity in the retail and food and beverage sector. Certain services, such as cooking or manning a clothing store, cannot be automated, he felt.

Asked yesterday if the economic restructuring towards productivity-led growth would lead to some consumers paying more, Mr Tan acknowledged the possibility. He, however, noted the debate to raise wages, especially for lower-income Singaporeans working in certain sectors such as the cleaning industry, who are still drawing “third-world wages” in a developed, first-world economy.

On concerns that the Government’s Wage Credit Scheme is a stop-gap measure which will leave companies bereft after three years, Mr Tan said that it will be evaluated and reviewed “when the time comes”.

Emphasising that the scheme is only one of the many measures the Government is rolling out to help companies alleviate cost pressures, Mr Tan said that “it will continue to evolve”, with calibrations that “will continue to happen in the years to come”.

While he noted concerns about the scheme’s potential for deadweight loss as it is not tied to productivity growth, Mr Tan said: “The question then is, how do you tie it? There’s always a balance. You want to attach a lot of conditions, you don’t want deadweight loss, I think it’s a fair consideration, but on the other hand, implementation details are very important. We felt that this was a very clean, neat idea.”

On his appointment as Marine Parade GRC’s anchor minister, Mr Tan said he will be playing a coordinating role among the Members of Parliament (MPs) and activities in the five-member GRC, but added that people should not try to read too much into the move.

Mr Goh had announced this on Facebook yesterday morning, while also revealing that he had met with Marine Parade MPs and branch leaders on Saturday to tell them of Mr Tan’s new role. The other MPs in Marine Parade GRC are Associate Professor Fatimah Lateef, Mr Seah Kian Peng and Ms Tin Pei Ling.