NTUC's masterplan: create better jobs for all

Creating better jobs and sustaining broad-based real wage increases for all workers - this will be the mission of the labour movement from now until 2015.

The labour movement's masterplan, LM 2015, was unveiled on Tuesday at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) National Delegates Conference.

In his report, NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say noted how Singapore's unemployment rates came down last year, even though the rates "stayed high" in the United States, the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

There has also been improvement in the real wage of workers here in the past decade, although the increase was not as high as in the '90s, he added.

Said Mr Lim, who is also a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office: "To have broad-based real wage increase, we need to have broad-based growth. I agree that we should never go for growth at all costs but we should also never forget the high costs of slow or no growth.

"We can never assume that we will always have enough jobs and real wage increase, as many Americans have found out the hard way and are still suffering from it."

Mr Lim noted that, at a time when unionisation is seen as a "sunset movement in many countries", union membership here has gone up by more than 30 per cent between 2007 and this year.

The labour movement currently has about 670,000 members. The target, Mr Lim said, is to reach one million members by 2015.

Mr Lim said: "Union leaders elsewhere often feel helpless when their workers are trapped in a hopeless situation. Not us here in Singapore. In good times or bad, we are always able to be helpful to our workers and our workers hopeful for a better future."

- TODAY newspaper

Skills upgrading programme for workers in water industry

To develop the capabilities of the water industry workforce, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), national water agency PUB, and the Singapore Water Association (SWA) have collaborated on a new training programme - the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) Used Water Treatment Technician Programme - for the water industry.

This collaboration is part of efforts to align PUB's Water Management Certification Programme to the WSQ training system.

This is aimed at raising the water industry's competency standards whilst benchmarking it against international best practices.

The Water Management Certification Programme comprises a series of training programmes that focus on technical skills and capabilities to manage the various aspects of the water cycle.

Up to 200 operator and technical-level workers in the water industry are set to benefit from WSQ training for the water industry over the next two years.

To date, close to S$1 million has been set aside to enhance the manpower capabilities of the water industry.

- Channel News Asia

Citigroup Singapore laid off about 40 staff recently

Citigroup Singapore has laid off about 40 employees in recent weeks, The Straits Times has learnt.

The job cuts, which included senior positions, have come as the American bank on Wednesday announced it would axe 4,500 jobs globally and set aside US$400 million (S$515 million) for severance and other related costs.

The cuts here are believed to have come selectively across its investment bank, markets team and private bank.

A Citi spokesman in Singapore confirmed on Wednesday that there have been layoffs.

- The Straits Times