THE health-care sector is going on a year-end recruitment drive to fill 1,500 positions at two new hospitals by March next year.
Wanted: people from doctors to nurses and occupational therapists.
Some 600 of the jobs are available at the 550-bed Khoo Teck Puat Hospital which opens in Yishun in March next year.
The core team for the new hospital will come from Alexandra Hospital (AH).
Ms Fatimah Moideen Kutty, AH's deputy director of human resource, said part of its recruitment strategy has been to target residents in the north.
In the last two years, it managed to hire about 300 people in Yishun.
- The Straits Times
Oct 31, 2009
New jobs reverse decline
SINGAPORE'S job market is showing signs of a turnaround on the back of an economy that registered a growth spurt in recent months, employment figures released on Friday confirmed.
Total employment rose faster than expected, according to the Manpower Ministry's preliminary estimates of the jobs situation for July to September.
The 15,400 jobs added between July and September this year actually reverses the 13,900 jobs lost up till June this year.
Pointing to this, Dr Chua Hak Bin, head of Singapore research at Citi, said: 'The jobs recession is over. Losses were far lower compared to past recessions.'
But the ministry pointed to a slight rise in unemployment: Overall unemployment rose to 3.4 per cent from 3.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Among residents, it was 5 per cent - still below the 6.2 per cent peak six years ago. This means 100,300 citizens and permanent residents were jobless. The previous high was 109,100 in September 2003.
- The Straits Times
Total employment rose faster than expected, according to the Manpower Ministry's preliminary estimates of the jobs situation for July to September.
The 15,400 jobs added between July and September this year actually reverses the 13,900 jobs lost up till June this year.
Pointing to this, Dr Chua Hak Bin, head of Singapore research at Citi, said: 'The jobs recession is over. Losses were far lower compared to past recessions.'
But the ministry pointed to a slight rise in unemployment: Overall unemployment rose to 3.4 per cent from 3.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Among residents, it was 5 per cent - still below the 6.2 per cent peak six years ago. This means 100,300 citizens and permanent residents were jobless. The previous high was 109,100 in September 2003.
- The Straits Times
Resident unemployment rises to 5%, but not a concern, say analysts
Not only did total employment grow for the first time this year, the 15,400 jobs created - the bulk of them in services - between July and September more than made up for the losses in the first half of the year.
On the redundancy front there was better news too, with the 2,200 workers laid off or released early the lowest number in five quarters.
But, amid the mostly uplifting third-quarter labour figures released on Friday, one statistic cast a pall: Resident unemployment, which rose to 5 per cent from 4.6 per cent, seasonally adjusted.
Not since the Sars outbreak in 2003 saw the figure hit 6.2 per cent has it been so high. In all, 100,300 citizens and permanent residents were estimated to be out of work - a figure analysts attributed to the re-entry of people seeking jobs after completing skills training, or those undergoing training who may have been classified unemployed.
Overall unemployment was 3.4 per cent, up 0.1 per cent from June, according to the Manpower Ministry's preliminary figures.
Structural unemployment could be one factor behind this, said National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
But the mismatch of skills, or between training and jobs available, is becoming less of a problem, she believes.
"This issue about people being trained and people not being able to find a job - the process has been refined and there's a lot more linkage between jobs and training," she said, citing schemes to place job-seekers with an employer before training begins.
Higher Q3 figures could also be due to those deliberately leaving their jobs to reconsider longer-term career options, said Mr Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore. "Typically, employment rate will lag behind economy recovery for six to nine months before stabilising and picking up."
But experts are already calling for employers to pay closer attention to staff retention and rewards.
In Q3, 13,400 more service staff were employed - a reflection it would seem of prospects ahead, with the central bank on Thursday forecasting that job creation next year in the sector would be supported by the strong push into palliative care and growth in financial services, especially.
Among financial insitutions, demand exists for risk control and management personnel, as well as in business development and sales, said Mr Hird.
Staffing firm Adecco Personnel has seen an "increasing demand" for project managers, and in larger organisations, for business analysts with expertise in corporate planning and budgeting, said branch manager Edlyn Wee.
Childcare, healthcare and security are the other sectors of growth, said Mdm Halimah. The 200 new childcare centres set to open by 2013 will result in a "big scramble" for teachers.
Likewise for healthcare with new hospitals coming up, she added; and, in the current environment of increased vigilance, security employment should also get a boost.
The year ahead for construction may not be as rosy. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, construction is unlikely to be a key source of job growth in future as major projects such as the integrated resorts near completion.
But the Q3 growth in construction employment is not unusual, as it is an industry that responds with greater time lag, noted Mdm Halimah.
Manufacturing, meanwhile, continued to shed jobs for a fourth straight quarter but at a slower pace, and improved business sentiment particularly in the electronics sector - going by the latest Economic Development Board survey - could be a sign of things to come.
With the upturn and workers beginning to look out for better opportunities, employers are advised to look beyond just filling their ranks to meet demand.
Adecco's Ms Wee said workers have been flexible about contract and temporary positions over the past few quarters, and employers could take them on as full-time staff.
Added Mdm Halimah: "If companies are doing well, they should consider paying workers bonuses for the sacrifices they have made in helping companies to cut costs and remain viable."
- TODAY newspaper
On the redundancy front there was better news too, with the 2,200 workers laid off or released early the lowest number in five quarters.
But, amid the mostly uplifting third-quarter labour figures released on Friday, one statistic cast a pall: Resident unemployment, which rose to 5 per cent from 4.6 per cent, seasonally adjusted.
Not since the Sars outbreak in 2003 saw the figure hit 6.2 per cent has it been so high. In all, 100,300 citizens and permanent residents were estimated to be out of work - a figure analysts attributed to the re-entry of people seeking jobs after completing skills training, or those undergoing training who may have been classified unemployed.
Overall unemployment was 3.4 per cent, up 0.1 per cent from June, according to the Manpower Ministry's preliminary figures.
Structural unemployment could be one factor behind this, said National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
But the mismatch of skills, or between training and jobs available, is becoming less of a problem, she believes.
"This issue about people being trained and people not being able to find a job - the process has been refined and there's a lot more linkage between jobs and training," she said, citing schemes to place job-seekers with an employer before training begins.
Higher Q3 figures could also be due to those deliberately leaving their jobs to reconsider longer-term career options, said Mr Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore. "Typically, employment rate will lag behind economy recovery for six to nine months before stabilising and picking up."
But experts are already calling for employers to pay closer attention to staff retention and rewards.
In Q3, 13,400 more service staff were employed - a reflection it would seem of prospects ahead, with the central bank on Thursday forecasting that job creation next year in the sector would be supported by the strong push into palliative care and growth in financial services, especially.
Among financial insitutions, demand exists for risk control and management personnel, as well as in business development and sales, said Mr Hird.
Staffing firm Adecco Personnel has seen an "increasing demand" for project managers, and in larger organisations, for business analysts with expertise in corporate planning and budgeting, said branch manager Edlyn Wee.
Childcare, healthcare and security are the other sectors of growth, said Mdm Halimah. The 200 new childcare centres set to open by 2013 will result in a "big scramble" for teachers.
Likewise for healthcare with new hospitals coming up, she added; and, in the current environment of increased vigilance, security employment should also get a boost.
The year ahead for construction may not be as rosy. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, construction is unlikely to be a key source of job growth in future as major projects such as the integrated resorts near completion.
But the Q3 growth in construction employment is not unusual, as it is an industry that responds with greater time lag, noted Mdm Halimah.
Manufacturing, meanwhile, continued to shed jobs for a fourth straight quarter but at a slower pace, and improved business sentiment particularly in the electronics sector - going by the latest Economic Development Board survey - could be a sign of things to come.
With the upturn and workers beginning to look out for better opportunities, employers are advised to look beyond just filling their ranks to meet demand.
Adecco's Ms Wee said workers have been flexible about contract and temporary positions over the past few quarters, and employers could take them on as full-time staff.
Added Mdm Halimah: "If companies are doing well, they should consider paying workers bonuses for the sacrifices they have made in helping companies to cut costs and remain viable."
- TODAY newspaper
Oct 29, 2009
Singapore's total employment up in Q3 2009
Total employment is estimated to have grown by 15,400 in the third quarter, reflecting Singapore's recovering economy.
This ends losses seen in the first (-6,200) and second (-7,700) quarter of the year. However, the gains are still significantly lower than the 55,700 seen in the third quarter of 2008.
Apart from manufacturing, the major sectors showed growth, according to figures released by the Ministry of Manpower.
Services employment rose by 13,400 in the third quarter, significantly higher than the gains of 7,500 in the first and 3,800 in the second quarter this year, but lower than 34,300 in the third quarter last year.
Construction continued to add workers (8,100), higher than the increase in the preceding quarter (4,700) and comparable to the first quarter of 2009 (8,300).
Manufacturing shed workers for the fourth consecutive quarter, but the decline (-6,600) was substantially lower than in the first two quarters this year.
Figures for retrenchment and redundancy also improved, with an estimated 2,000 workers retrenched and 200 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely.
This is significantly lower than the 5,980 workers made redundant in the second quarter of 2009, comprising 5,170 workers retrenched and 810 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely.
Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.4% in September 2009 from 3.3% in June 2009, while on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the overall unemployment rate decreased from 4.1% in June 2009 to 2.9% in September 2009
This ends losses seen in the first (-6,200) and second (-7,700) quarter of the year. However, the gains are still significantly lower than the 55,700 seen in the third quarter of 2008.
Apart from manufacturing, the major sectors showed growth, according to figures released by the Ministry of Manpower.
Services employment rose by 13,400 in the third quarter, significantly higher than the gains of 7,500 in the first and 3,800 in the second quarter this year, but lower than 34,300 in the third quarter last year.
Construction continued to add workers (8,100), higher than the increase in the preceding quarter (4,700) and comparable to the first quarter of 2009 (8,300).
Manufacturing shed workers for the fourth consecutive quarter, but the decline (-6,600) was substantially lower than in the first two quarters this year.
Figures for retrenchment and redundancy also improved, with an estimated 2,000 workers retrenched and 200 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely.
This is significantly lower than the 5,980 workers made redundant in the second quarter of 2009, comprising 5,170 workers retrenched and 810 workers whose contracts were terminated prematurely.
Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.4% in September 2009 from 3.3% in June 2009, while on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the overall unemployment rate decreased from 4.1% in June 2009 to 2.9% in September 2009
Oct 28, 2009
Lay-off shock at HP, second time this year
The economy may be slowly emerging from the dumps, but retrenchments are happening even now as companies continue to restructure.
On Monday, American computer giant Hewlett-Packard was the latest to issue the pink slips - among the retrenched were at least one director and several senior engineers - paying out a month's salary for every year of service, to a maximum of 12 months' salary.
The retrenchments at HP's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) unit, which work on printer designs, are part of the company's plan to streamline its operations to target high growth opportunities, said a company spokeswoman in Singapore.
She declined to say how many people were laid off, but added that HP would try to redeploy affected staff. Those who cannot be relocated will have to go.
"As part of the IPG operations unit transformation, the company announced plans in August to re-align the organisation in an effort to optimise and improve its supply chain," she said in an email reply to MediaCorp.
"As part of this realignment, some investments and resources will be shifted to help fuel high-growth areas for IPG's business. In other areas, it has resulted in a reduction of resources, including workforce reduction."
The decision to retrench was "made at a global level and is not specific to any one HP site", she said.
In May, HP laid off workers in the same department, citing similar reasons.
Some staff, apart from being surprised at the timing of the latest lay-offs, are wondering why HP did not convey in writing its decision on the retrenchment exercise, instead of relaying the news verbally in a low key fashion.
One retrenched employee told MediaCorp he was disappointed about the situation. He had worked for over five years at the company, and said he personally knew 20 of the others who were retrenched.
"There were many more who were laid off," he said. "At the end of the day, retrenchment is all about cost reduction."
Responding, the HP spokeswoman said employees were told in advance of the exercise, "in accordance with local industry practice and Ministry of Manpower guidelines".
Another employee, who worked at the company for almost 15 years, is taking the retrenchment in stride.
"Life doesn't end here," said the man, who is in his 40s. "It's a one-year (severance) package. I can still look around for a job."
The timing of the retrenchment did not surprise National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob, especially when the reasons were pegged to restructuring.
"This has also happened when there is no recession," said Mdm Halimah. "When they do their global or local review on operations, they always look at costs and competitiveness and how best they can do their productions."
According to her, a manufacturing firm laid off 300 of its staff - or 20 per cent of its workforce - last month after it relocated its printed circuit board department to a regional country, as part of restructuring.
- TODAY newspaper
On Monday, American computer giant Hewlett-Packard was the latest to issue the pink slips - among the retrenched were at least one director and several senior engineers - paying out a month's salary for every year of service, to a maximum of 12 months' salary.
The retrenchments at HP's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) unit, which work on printer designs, are part of the company's plan to streamline its operations to target high growth opportunities, said a company spokeswoman in Singapore.
She declined to say how many people were laid off, but added that HP would try to redeploy affected staff. Those who cannot be relocated will have to go.
"As part of the IPG operations unit transformation, the company announced plans in August to re-align the organisation in an effort to optimise and improve its supply chain," she said in an email reply to MediaCorp.
"As part of this realignment, some investments and resources will be shifted to help fuel high-growth areas for IPG's business. In other areas, it has resulted in a reduction of resources, including workforce reduction."
The decision to retrench was "made at a global level and is not specific to any one HP site", she said.
In May, HP laid off workers in the same department, citing similar reasons.
Some staff, apart from being surprised at the timing of the latest lay-offs, are wondering why HP did not convey in writing its decision on the retrenchment exercise, instead of relaying the news verbally in a low key fashion.
One retrenched employee told MediaCorp he was disappointed about the situation. He had worked for over five years at the company, and said he personally knew 20 of the others who were retrenched.
"There were many more who were laid off," he said. "At the end of the day, retrenchment is all about cost reduction."
Responding, the HP spokeswoman said employees were told in advance of the exercise, "in accordance with local industry practice and Ministry of Manpower guidelines".
Another employee, who worked at the company for almost 15 years, is taking the retrenchment in stride.
"Life doesn't end here," said the man, who is in his 40s. "It's a one-year (severance) package. I can still look around for a job."
The timing of the retrenchment did not surprise National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob, especially when the reasons were pegged to restructuring.
"This has also happened when there is no recession," said Mdm Halimah. "When they do their global or local review on operations, they always look at costs and competitiveness and how best they can do their productions."
According to her, a manufacturing firm laid off 300 of its staff - or 20 per cent of its workforce - last month after it relocated its printed circuit board department to a regional country, as part of restructuring.
- TODAY newspaper
Oct 26, 2009
Dirty tricks employed during the recession
The worst of the recession may be over, but technician Ellence Chua is still smarting over the treatment by his former employer of 12 years.
He was offered a week's retrenchment benefits for each year of service, below the norm of a month.
He was also told to sign a letter not to get representation from his union - which could have negotiated better terms.
'They said if I sign the letter, I get the cheque,' said Mr Chua, 56, who refused to do so, even though three colleagues did.
'We should get more in benefits. We've been loyal to the company for many years,' said the man who eventually depended on the union to negotiate better terms.
The construction firm's actions were among the bad practices encountered by unionists as the economy slid into recession in the second quarter of last year. Other bosses have docked wages without taking the lead themselves, or sacked staff to avoid paying retrenchment benefits, said the director of industrial relations at the National Trades Union Congress, Ms Cham Hui Fong.
Her department has been handling more cases related to company restructuring - 122 in the first half of this year, up from 24 in the same period last year.
In companies whose workers are not represented by unions, some did not give any retrenchment payout while others cut wages and benefits without consulting the staff, said NTUC deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
While unionists say nasty bosses are a minority, they represent only those cases where the affected workers have sought help from the unions, NTUC or the Manpower Ministry.
The Sunday Times talks to unionists about some of the dirty tricks among bosses:
1 The stop-union boss
When construction firm Sembawang Engineers and Constructors laid off workers like Mr Chua in July last year, it astonished unionists by trying to keep them out of negotiations.
The Indian-owned builder of Singapore's MRT and LRT stations asked the workers to sign a letter that said: 'I understand that the union is negotiating with the company on this matter.
'Though I am a union member, I am rejecting union's representation. Therefore, I will not accept and will reject any other settlement that may be reached between the company and the union.'
Those who signed it received their retrenchment benefits first. Those who refused were left in limbo until the union and the Manpower Ministry settled the case.
Sembawang's treatment of its workers surfaced at a hearing before the Industrial Arbitration Court on Oct 16, after the company broke off talks on a collective agreement with the Building Construction & Timber Industries Employees' Union.
Its actions prompted Madam Halimah to tell the court: 'This is a serious interference in the affairs of a trade union and a clear instigation of the workers to reject the union.
'It was a clear attempt to undermine our efforts to get a fair deal for the workers.'
After the union and the ministry weighed in, the company raised the retrenchment benefits from one week to two, for each year of service. Mr Chua took home $14,000 and found a similar job in an airline company, earning the same pay.
2 The short-notice, hush-hush boss
DBS Bank's sudden decision last November to cut 900 jobs without consulting its union or considering alternatives led labour chief Lim Swee Say to voice his disappointment publicly that it had retrenched staff as the first resort.
A plastics company tried to 'follow DBS' style' earlier this year, said the president of the Chemical Industries Employees' Union, Mr G. Rajendran. Without informing the union, it gave more than 50 workers a day's notice that they would be laid off.
It gave only one week's retrenchment benefits for each year of service.
Workers called in the union, which got the company to increase the benefits to more than two weeks for each year of service, as well as sponsor a few weeks of training for those affected so that they can find new jobs.
3 The disguised retrenchment boss
Some employers dismissed staff for poor performance to avoid paying retrenchment benefits, even though the case against the worker was 'not so clear-cut', said Madam Halimah.
Such decisions should be based on fair and objective performance appraisals, not 'just on arbitrary word-of-mouth allegations of some supervisors', she added.
One electronics firm let go of five executives, citing under-performance, even though they had not been told previously of any shortcoming or been issued warning letters.
As executives are not covered under a collective agreement, the union appealed to the Manpower Ministry to help them retain their jobs - and succeeded.
Madam Halimah warned: 'Such poor treatment creates serious morale problems and, in the long run, is not in the companies' interest.'
Agreeing, the executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, Mr Koh Juan Kiat, said other employees would be concerned over how they would be treated in the future.
Such actions could also damage the company's reputation among new staff and the public, he added.
4. The you-bear-it-all boss
The principle of equal sacrifice when introducing temporary layoffs and other measures to manage excess manpower is spelt out in guidelines drawn up by the Government, employer groups and unions.
But some bosses did not go 50-50 in salary payments, such as a company in the chemical industry that made its workers go on two days' no-pay leave this year.
The workers complained to NTUC, which asked the company to recognise the union - a move allowing the latter to represent the workers - but it refused.
A secret ballot among the workers was called, with 90 per cent voting to form a union. But it still refused to talk to NTUC.
Said Ms Cham: 'They chased our officers out of the premises, saying they never agreed to have a union.'
The issue is still being thrashed out between both parties.
- The Sunday Times
He was offered a week's retrenchment benefits for each year of service, below the norm of a month.
He was also told to sign a letter not to get representation from his union - which could have negotiated better terms.
'They said if I sign the letter, I get the cheque,' said Mr Chua, 56, who refused to do so, even though three colleagues did.
'We should get more in benefits. We've been loyal to the company for many years,' said the man who eventually depended on the union to negotiate better terms.
The construction firm's actions were among the bad practices encountered by unionists as the economy slid into recession in the second quarter of last year. Other bosses have docked wages without taking the lead themselves, or sacked staff to avoid paying retrenchment benefits, said the director of industrial relations at the National Trades Union Congress, Ms Cham Hui Fong.
Her department has been handling more cases related to company restructuring - 122 in the first half of this year, up from 24 in the same period last year.
In companies whose workers are not represented by unions, some did not give any retrenchment payout while others cut wages and benefits without consulting the staff, said NTUC deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob.
While unionists say nasty bosses are a minority, they represent only those cases where the affected workers have sought help from the unions, NTUC or the Manpower Ministry.
The Sunday Times talks to unionists about some of the dirty tricks among bosses:
1 The stop-union boss
When construction firm Sembawang Engineers and Constructors laid off workers like Mr Chua in July last year, it astonished unionists by trying to keep them out of negotiations.
The Indian-owned builder of Singapore's MRT and LRT stations asked the workers to sign a letter that said: 'I understand that the union is negotiating with the company on this matter.
'Though I am a union member, I am rejecting union's representation. Therefore, I will not accept and will reject any other settlement that may be reached between the company and the union.'
Those who signed it received their retrenchment benefits first. Those who refused were left in limbo until the union and the Manpower Ministry settled the case.
Sembawang's treatment of its workers surfaced at a hearing before the Industrial Arbitration Court on Oct 16, after the company broke off talks on a collective agreement with the Building Construction & Timber Industries Employees' Union.
Its actions prompted Madam Halimah to tell the court: 'This is a serious interference in the affairs of a trade union and a clear instigation of the workers to reject the union.
'It was a clear attempt to undermine our efforts to get a fair deal for the workers.'
After the union and the ministry weighed in, the company raised the retrenchment benefits from one week to two, for each year of service. Mr Chua took home $14,000 and found a similar job in an airline company, earning the same pay.
2 The short-notice, hush-hush boss
DBS Bank's sudden decision last November to cut 900 jobs without consulting its union or considering alternatives led labour chief Lim Swee Say to voice his disappointment publicly that it had retrenched staff as the first resort.
A plastics company tried to 'follow DBS' style' earlier this year, said the president of the Chemical Industries Employees' Union, Mr G. Rajendran. Without informing the union, it gave more than 50 workers a day's notice that they would be laid off.
It gave only one week's retrenchment benefits for each year of service.
Workers called in the union, which got the company to increase the benefits to more than two weeks for each year of service, as well as sponsor a few weeks of training for those affected so that they can find new jobs.
3 The disguised retrenchment boss
Some employers dismissed staff for poor performance to avoid paying retrenchment benefits, even though the case against the worker was 'not so clear-cut', said Madam Halimah.
Such decisions should be based on fair and objective performance appraisals, not 'just on arbitrary word-of-mouth allegations of some supervisors', she added.
One electronics firm let go of five executives, citing under-performance, even though they had not been told previously of any shortcoming or been issued warning letters.
As executives are not covered under a collective agreement, the union appealed to the Manpower Ministry to help them retain their jobs - and succeeded.
Madam Halimah warned: 'Such poor treatment creates serious morale problems and, in the long run, is not in the companies' interest.'
Agreeing, the executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation, Mr Koh Juan Kiat, said other employees would be concerned over how they would be treated in the future.
Such actions could also damage the company's reputation among new staff and the public, he added.
4. The you-bear-it-all boss
The principle of equal sacrifice when introducing temporary layoffs and other measures to manage excess manpower is spelt out in guidelines drawn up by the Government, employer groups and unions.
But some bosses did not go 50-50 in salary payments, such as a company in the chemical industry that made its workers go on two days' no-pay leave this year.
The workers complained to NTUC, which asked the company to recognise the union - a move allowing the latter to represent the workers - but it refused.
A secret ballot among the workers was called, with 90 per cent voting to form a union. But it still refused to talk to NTUC.
Said Ms Cham: 'They chased our officers out of the premises, saying they never agreed to have a union.'
The issue is still being thrashed out between both parties.
- The Sunday Times
Oct 22, 2009
Employers hire again
OPTIMISM continues to inch back into the private sector with more bosses saying they will take on extra staff this quarter, according to a new survey.
The proportion of employers expecting to increase staff numbers before the end of the year has increased from the second quarter - not dramatically, but enough to suggest a trend is forming.
Human resource (HR) consultancy Hudson, which conducts quarterly forecasts on prospects for white-collar workers, polled 600 executives across key business sectors in August.
It found that 34 per cent forecast increased hiring in the fourth quarter. This is up from 26 per cent in the third quarter and marks the second straight quarterly rise in hiring expectations.
A similar poll in May showed that more bosses were willing to hire again, the first increase since the first quarter of 2007.
The new survey also found that the proportion of respondents expecting to lay off staff has fallen in every sector. Overall, just 5per cent of bosses say they will shed staff this quarter, compared with 14 per cent in the third quarter.
- The Straits Times
The proportion of employers expecting to increase staff numbers before the end of the year has increased from the second quarter - not dramatically, but enough to suggest a trend is forming.
Human resource (HR) consultancy Hudson, which conducts quarterly forecasts on prospects for white-collar workers, polled 600 executives across key business sectors in August.
It found that 34 per cent forecast increased hiring in the fourth quarter. This is up from 26 per cent in the third quarter and marks the second straight quarterly rise in hiring expectations.
A similar poll in May showed that more bosses were willing to hire again, the first increase since the first quarter of 2007.
The new survey also found that the proportion of respondents expecting to lay off staff has fallen in every sector. Overall, just 5per cent of bosses say they will shed staff this quarter, compared with 14 per cent in the third quarter.
- The Straits Times
Oct 16, 2009
More value older workers
THREE in four unionised companies here are already hiring workers after they hit retirement age, even before new re-employment guidelines kick in.
More than 750 companies have done so, up from about 50 companies that had such policies in place in 2005.
The re-employment guidelines will be made part of the proposed amendments to the Employment Act, which will be introduced in Parliament in 2012, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Lim Swee Say.
Among other things, the guidelines will encourage companies to re-hire a certain proportion of older or retired workers. Such measures are vital if Singapore is to have a more inclusive workforce and a 'cheaper, better and faster' economy in the years ahead, Mr Lim said.
Re-hiring older men and women is one way of helping companies remain competitive and grow, he added, speaking on the last day of the three-day NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference 2009 on Thursday.
Mr Lim added that, as part of the new guidelines, the labour movement was also pushing for companies to stop the practice of cutting a worker's wages when he turns 60.
- mypaper
More than 750 companies have done so, up from about 50 companies that had such policies in place in 2005.
The re-employment guidelines will be made part of the proposed amendments to the Employment Act, which will be introduced in Parliament in 2012, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Lim Swee Say.
Among other things, the guidelines will encourage companies to re-hire a certain proportion of older or retired workers. Such measures are vital if Singapore is to have a more inclusive workforce and a 'cheaper, better and faster' economy in the years ahead, Mr Lim said.
Re-hiring older men and women is one way of helping companies remain competitive and grow, he added, speaking on the last day of the three-day NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference 2009 on Thursday.
Mr Lim added that, as part of the new guidelines, the labour movement was also pushing for companies to stop the practice of cutting a worker's wages when he turns 60.
- mypaper
MPs to tackle jobs, football
JOBS and football, the two issues foremost on the minds of Singaporeans at the moment, will get aired in Parliament next week.
MPs have filed three questions on each subject for Monday's sitting.
Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC), Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and nominated MP Teo Siong Seng want the House to discuss the recently extended Jobs Credit.
The scheme, which subsidises a company's wage bill, has been extended for another six months till next June, at a stepped-down rate.
Meanwhile, Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) and Nominated MP Calvin Cheng will raise concerns surrounding the tussle for football broadcasting rights between StarHub and SingTel.
On the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, MPs want some account of what the money handed out by the Government this year has achieved.
- The Straits Times
MPs have filed three questions on each subject for Monday's sitting.
Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC), Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and nominated MP Teo Siong Seng want the House to discuss the recently extended Jobs Credit.
The scheme, which subsidises a company's wage bill, has been extended for another six months till next June, at a stepped-down rate.
Meanwhile, Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) and Nominated MP Calvin Cheng will raise concerns surrounding the tussle for football broadcasting rights between StarHub and SingTel.
On the $4.5 billion Jobs Credit scheme, MPs want some account of what the money handed out by the Government this year has achieved.
- The Straits Times
Oct 15, 2009
Record job losses here unlikely, says Swee Say
THE National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has helped to stave off record retrenchment and unemployment, meeting two of the three targets it had set for itself, said its secretary-general, Mr Lim Swee Say.
But more can still be done to upgrade the skills of workers to prepare them for stiffer global competition, he said.
At the NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference on Tuesday, he said that the union had been worried that Singapore could face high unemployment and retrenchment during the recession.
So the Government, Singapore National Employers Federation and NTUC launched a $20.5 billion resilience package early this year, to help save jobs.
The package, which included the Jobs Credit scheme that subsidises wage bills, led to a big drop in retrenchments in unionised companies in the second quarter, compared to the first.
With fewer than 100 jobs cut every week from early July to end August, NTUC believes it will meet its first target of preventing retrenchments from breaching the record 29,000 jobs lost in 1998's Asian financial crisis.
Mr Lim said it is likely that NTUC would meet its second target of preventing high unemployment, because of retraining programmes and a scheme to subsidise workers' training cost.
The second quarter's unemployment rate was 3.3 per cent, lower than the record 4.8 per cent after the 2003 Sars crisis.
But NTUC was less certain of meeting its third target of upgrading the country's workforce to take advantage of an upturn.
Mr Lim was worried about waning interest among companies for training their staff as the economy recovered.
He urged workers to be more productive and flexible, or risk losing jobs to other countries. Singapore Management University senior economics lecturer Peter Kriz said that firms need to learn how to survive in a more competitive world.
'This alone should force them to hire and maintain highly skilled staff. Firms cannot expect to recapture the full returns of training in an extremely mobile world,' he said.
- mypaper
But more can still be done to upgrade the skills of workers to prepare them for stiffer global competition, he said.
At the NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference on Tuesday, he said that the union had been worried that Singapore could face high unemployment and retrenchment during the recession.
So the Government, Singapore National Employers Federation and NTUC launched a $20.5 billion resilience package early this year, to help save jobs.
The package, which included the Jobs Credit scheme that subsidises wage bills, led to a big drop in retrenchments in unionised companies in the second quarter, compared to the first.
With fewer than 100 jobs cut every week from early July to end August, NTUC believes it will meet its first target of preventing retrenchments from breaching the record 29,000 jobs lost in 1998's Asian financial crisis.
Mr Lim said it is likely that NTUC would meet its second target of preventing high unemployment, because of retraining programmes and a scheme to subsidise workers' training cost.
The second quarter's unemployment rate was 3.3 per cent, lower than the record 4.8 per cent after the 2003 Sars crisis.
But NTUC was less certain of meeting its third target of upgrading the country's workforce to take advantage of an upturn.
Mr Lim was worried about waning interest among companies for training their staff as the economy recovered.
He urged workers to be more productive and flexible, or risk losing jobs to other countries. Singapore Management University senior economics lecturer Peter Kriz said that firms need to learn how to survive in a more competitive world.
'This alone should force them to hire and maintain highly skilled staff. Firms cannot expect to recapture the full returns of training in an extremely mobile world,' he said.
- mypaper
Oct 14, 2009
NTUC's new mission
THE labour movement is gearing up for a new mission now that the worst of the recession is over.
It wants to support the transformation of Singapore's economy as global competition for investment and jobs intensifies - and achieve this without leaving any worker behind.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say delivered this message when presenting his report card on the labour movement's achievements in the past two years.
In doing so, he ticked off two key performance indicators that had been met. These were: avoiding record layoffs, and preventing a rapid rise in the number of unemployed workers.
He presented his report to some 1,000 union leaders and employers at the National Trades Union Congress' Ordinary Delegates' Conference, a three-day meeting at the Orchid Country Club that began on Tuesday.
The NTUC, which is known for inventing catchy phrases like 'Cut Costs to Save Jobs' and 'Upturn and Downturn', came up with new two acronyms for the labour movement's latest mission.
These were 'CBF', for cheaper, better and faster; and 'all CAN', for all types of workers - whether they are blue-, silver- or white-Collar employees, and regardless of their age and nationality.
'For the labour movement, the only option is make sure we have a CBF economy powered by an all CAN workforce,' said Mr Lim.
- The Straits Times
It wants to support the transformation of Singapore's economy as global competition for investment and jobs intensifies - and achieve this without leaving any worker behind.
Labour chief Lim Swee Say delivered this message when presenting his report card on the labour movement's achievements in the past two years.
In doing so, he ticked off two key performance indicators that had been met. These were: avoiding record layoffs, and preventing a rapid rise in the number of unemployed workers.
He presented his report to some 1,000 union leaders and employers at the National Trades Union Congress' Ordinary Delegates' Conference, a three-day meeting at the Orchid Country Club that began on Tuesday.
The NTUC, which is known for inventing catchy phrases like 'Cut Costs to Save Jobs' and 'Upturn and Downturn', came up with new two acronyms for the labour movement's latest mission.
These were 'CBF', for cheaper, better and faster; and 'all CAN', for all types of workers - whether they are blue-, silver- or white-Collar employees, and regardless of their age and nationality.
'For the labour movement, the only option is make sure we have a CBF economy powered by an all CAN workforce,' said Mr Lim.
- The Straits Times
Oct 13, 2009
Government extends Jobs Credit
THE Government will extend the Jobs Credit scheme by another six months by giving two more stepped-down payouts in March and June to help firms hold jobs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Tuesday.
The first extra payment will be based on employees on the payroll in January, at 6 per cent of salary, and the second will be based on next April's payroll, at 3 per cent of the workers' pay. These additional payments will cost the Government $675 million and will be funded from its regular budget, unlike the earlier payments which came from past reserves, said PM Lee at the NTUC ordinary delegates' conference at Orchid Country Club on Tuesday morning.
The $4.5 billion scheme was part of the Resilience Package in Budget 2009, introduced to help ease companies' operating costs and avoid layoffs of workers during the economic downturn. For every resident worker on their Central Provident Fund payrolls, bosses currently get 12 per cent on the first $2,500 of the employee's monthly wage.
Lauding the scheme as 'an extraordinary response to a grave economic crisis,' Mr Lee said it has done its work and held retrenchment and unemployment numbers down. With the economy now having stabilised, he said it is timely to phase out Jobs Credit and adopt more targeted measures to support economic restructuring and enhance productivity.
On the six-month extension, Mr Lee explained: 'Strictly speaking, it is no longer needed. The economy is now recovering, and some companies are hiring again. But if we withdraw the Jobs Credit completely and suddenly, companies may have difficulties adjusting.'
'We have talked to employers and unions. They understand the need to withdraw the Jobs Credit, but hope to be given another few months. We have carefully considered all views and will extend the programme.'
- The Straits Times
The first extra payment will be based on employees on the payroll in January, at 6 per cent of salary, and the second will be based on next April's payroll, at 3 per cent of the workers' pay. These additional payments will cost the Government $675 million and will be funded from its regular budget, unlike the earlier payments which came from past reserves, said PM Lee at the NTUC ordinary delegates' conference at Orchid Country Club on Tuesday morning.
The $4.5 billion scheme was part of the Resilience Package in Budget 2009, introduced to help ease companies' operating costs and avoid layoffs of workers during the economic downturn. For every resident worker on their Central Provident Fund payrolls, bosses currently get 12 per cent on the first $2,500 of the employee's monthly wage.
Lauding the scheme as 'an extraordinary response to a grave economic crisis,' Mr Lee said it has done its work and held retrenchment and unemployment numbers down. With the economy now having stabilised, he said it is timely to phase out Jobs Credit and adopt more targeted measures to support economic restructuring and enhance productivity.
On the six-month extension, Mr Lee explained: 'Strictly speaking, it is no longer needed. The economy is now recovering, and some companies are hiring again. But if we withdraw the Jobs Credit completely and suddenly, companies may have difficulties adjusting.'
'We have talked to employers and unions. They understand the need to withdraw the Jobs Credit, but hope to be given another few months. We have carefully considered all views and will extend the programme.'
- The Straits Times
S'pore's jobless may rise
SINGAPORE'S unemployment will stay up for some time, even as the economy has decisively emerged from its worst recession and started to grow again.
Sounding a note of caution, Prime Minister Lee said in the short term, the jobless rate may well rise above the second quarter's 3.3 per cent.
'This is because unemployment numbers tend to lag behind the economic recovery. Companies will not resume large scale hiring until they are confident of sustained recovery,' he told the NTUC ordinary delegates conference on Tuesday morning.
PM Lee noted that the United States is bracing for its unemployment rate to rise above 10 per cent, and the growth in the US, Europe, Japan and China has so far been due to government spending.
'When the stimulus ends, their economies may slow down again. If that happens, our growth will be dampened too. Even with growth, our unemployment will stay up for some time,' he said. 'Therefore, we must be psychologically prepared for dampened growth, or in any event for unemployment to stay up.'
Singapore's unemployment rate is at the highest in four years and nearly 19,000 workers lost their jobs in the first half of the year as the global recession curbed demand for goods and services.
- The Straits Times
Sounding a note of caution, Prime Minister Lee said in the short term, the jobless rate may well rise above the second quarter's 3.3 per cent.
'This is because unemployment numbers tend to lag behind the economic recovery. Companies will not resume large scale hiring until they are confident of sustained recovery,' he told the NTUC ordinary delegates conference on Tuesday morning.
PM Lee noted that the United States is bracing for its unemployment rate to rise above 10 per cent, and the growth in the US, Europe, Japan and China has so far been due to government spending.
'When the stimulus ends, their economies may slow down again. If that happens, our growth will be dampened too. Even with growth, our unemployment will stay up for some time,' he said. 'Therefore, we must be psychologically prepared for dampened growth, or in any event for unemployment to stay up.'
Singapore's unemployment rate is at the highest in four years and nearly 19,000 workers lost their jobs in the first half of the year as the global recession curbed demand for goods and services.
- The Straits Times
Oct 11, 2009
Restructuring layoffs not abuse
BOSSES who receive Jobs Credit payments are expected to do their utmost to save jobs and to retrench staff only as a last resort.
But they are not abusing the wage subsidy if they must lay off workers as a result of business restructuring, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua said on Sunday.
She was responding to Bishan neighbourhood committee vice-chairman William Swee, who asked at a residents' dialogue whether employers had any legal or moral obligations under the scheme.
The $4.5 billion scheme aims to help employers hold on to workers during the global economic downturn by defraying their wage bills. For every resident worker on their Central Provident Fund payrolls, bosses get 12 per cent on the first $2,500 of the employee's monthly wage.
Mr Swee, 69, a freelance consultant, claimed that an organisation which received Jobs Credit had laid off five employees, but gave increments to top management and later took in new recruits.
He did not name the organisation.
- The Straits Times
But they are not abusing the wage subsidy if they must lay off workers as a result of business restructuring, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Hwee Hua said on Sunday.
She was responding to Bishan neighbourhood committee vice-chairman William Swee, who asked at a residents' dialogue whether employers had any legal or moral obligations under the scheme.
The $4.5 billion scheme aims to help employers hold on to workers during the global economic downturn by defraying their wage bills. For every resident worker on their Central Provident Fund payrolls, bosses get 12 per cent on the first $2,500 of the employee's monthly wage.
Mr Swee, 69, a freelance consultant, claimed that an organisation which received Jobs Credit had laid off five employees, but gave increments to top management and later took in new recruits.
He did not name the organisation.
- The Straits Times
Oct 6, 2009
Saving jobs is CSR
GOING green and helping the poor are two common ways that companies around the world show they have corporate social responsibility (CSR).
In Singapore, companies demonstrated yet another way by cooperating with the Government and labour movement to save jobs during the downturn, said Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday.
For instance, employers implemented shorter work weeks, sent workers for training during lull periods, and retrenched as a last resort, he told an international conference on corporate social responsbility here.
'The tripartite partners' response to the current economic downturn is a clear manifestation of corporate social responsibility at work in Singapore,' he said. His definition of corporate social responsibility, however, is not the norm.
A survey by the Trade and Industry Ministry last year found that only three in 10 companies here were aware of and practised corporate social responsibility such as being environmentally friendly or helping the poor.
But he broadened the scope of such practices by calling on companies to also consider ways to tackle future challenges such as an ageing population and the widening income gap.
- The Straits Times
In Singapore, companies demonstrated yet another way by cooperating with the Government and labour movement to save jobs during the downturn, said Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday.
For instance, employers implemented shorter work weeks, sent workers for training during lull periods, and retrenched as a last resort, he told an international conference on corporate social responsbility here.
'The tripartite partners' response to the current economic downturn is a clear manifestation of corporate social responsibility at work in Singapore,' he said. His definition of corporate social responsibility, however, is not the norm.
A survey by the Trade and Industry Ministry last year found that only three in 10 companies here were aware of and practised corporate social responsibility such as being environmentally friendly or helping the poor.
But he broadened the scope of such practices by calling on companies to also consider ways to tackle future challenges such as an ageing population and the widening income gap.
- The Straits Times
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