THE decision to focus this year's Budget on saving jobs was the right move as its key planks have helped temper job losses and cut the cost burden on employers.
And while the Government's emphasis going ahead will remain focused on saving jobs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday said workers and union leaders must continue to play their part.
Speaking at the annual May Day Rally, he outlined how the Government had and would continue to help on the jobs front.
One approach has been through the Jobs Credit scheme which subsidises a company's wage bill for local workers; and the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience which pays part of workers' wages while they are on training.
A second has been to go on the offensive and create new jobs and capabilities.
The Integrated Resorts, for example, are already recruiting workers.
Also, the Economic Development Board (EDB) has brought in new projects and got existing companies to expand.
'Almost every week, some new plant is opening or doing ground-breaking,' PM Lee said, citing instances of facilities being built by health-care firms Abbott Laboratories and Baxter Bioscience, as well as energy giant Renewable Energy Corporation.
Trade and Industry Ministry leaders have been kept so busy gracing these occasions that he, too, has chipped in by going to 'one or two' openings.
'It's important because it shows that the jobs are still available and if you are prepared to make the effort, there are many opportunities.'
PM Lee has also been meeting investors: 'I can help the EDB persuade them to do more in Singapore. I can understand from them how their business is, what more they will like us to do to help them.'
Investors said they remain confident about Asia's prospects and are impressed with how the Government and the people are responding to the downturn.
They also see Singapore playing a bigger role in Asia and in their business in Asia, he said, noting that many have plans to invest and are recruiting.
Noting that he has often been asked what more the Government can do, he said the decision to focus on jobs in the Budget Package is paying off.
It helped buffer the sharp drop in output in the first three months of the year. So, while gross domestic product shrank by 11 per cent, unemployment rose from 2.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent.
Singapore also did not suffer huge layoffs and a sharp rise in unemployment as seen in the United States and elsewhere.
And while there have been job losses in some sectors, the job banks at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and Community Development Councils are substantial, with over 20,000 vacancies and counting.
'In this environment today, four months after the Budget, I believe that the right emphasis is still focusing on jobs - getting our people ready for the jobs, marrying up people with the jobs, helping them to help themselves,' he said.
On what Singaporeans can do for themselves, he advised those with a job to try their best to hang on to it: 'Don't resign, go on holiday and then think of something else. Make sure you keep your feet steadily on the ground, preserve your position before you look for another possibility.'
They should also go for training, be flexible and accept shorter work-weeks, compulsory time-off and wage cuts.
As for the unemployed, he urged them to take the first job they can find: 'You may hope to land something better later on, but nobody can say whether the economy is going to be better or worse.'
Also, go for training and try something new, he advised.
On his recent visits to the e2i in Redhill Road and other training centres, he was cheered to meet job seekers - young and old, professionals and rank-and-file - who were serious about being trained.
At one class, job seekers learnt to make a pitch about themselves for job interviews at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. Such training appears to have worked, as 1,300 of the 1,800 applicants for jobs at the resort were successful.
But PM Lee noted there are job seekers who still adopted a wait-and-see attitude. At a recent job fair organised by the e2i, only one-third of those who were invited to attend turned up: 'That's risky, because if having been trained, you don't get a job promptly and practise your skills, you will lose those skills.'
- The Straits Times
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
May 4, 2009
Jan 24, 2009
Firms rethink cost-cutting measures
A DAY after the Government sprang its surprise of a cash grant to help employers retain local workers, one firm told Today it would rethink its retrenchment plans — while another plans to pass the money on to staff in some way.
A local small-and-medium enterprise (SME) in the graphics industry said it will “reconsider” axing jobs after the Chinese New Year. The Jobs Credit scheme, where the Government will reimburse employers 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of a local employee’s monthly pay, “will go a long way to ease the pressures”, a spokesman said.
But, he added, if the economy deteriorates further, the firm may have “no choice”.
Most employers Today spoke to said they would digest the Budget 2009 measures — the key aim of which is to save jobs — and review plans after the festive break.
It could be premature, however, for employees to hope their companies will roll back cost-cutting measures already in place.
Labour economist Chew Soon Beng explained: “With this new scheme, (firms) may not retrench because they have an extra plan. But if they have implemented a plan for workers to share work so they can take no-pay leave, they may continue with it because you never know what is going to happen next year.”
Workers would understand if they do not see any immediate trickle-down effects of the Jobs Credit scheme, some unionists felt.
“They know that this helpline is for the company,” said Mr Francis Lim, president of the United Workers Electronic & Electrical Industry. “If orders don’t come in, the company will still have to close down or lay off. The Budget will help cushion the low demand” and, hopefully, lead companies that want to retrench to do it later instead of sooner, he added.
But at least one employer is enthused about passing on at least part of the Government’s grant for businesses to its staff.
Chief executive of IT-company Seasami Goup, Ong Teck Soon, said that while he would not revise base salaries, employees “will be rewarded” through the monthly variable component that makes up one-third of their total earnings.
If the company’s bottomline shows growth after costs and revenue have been accounted for, employees could enjoy a higher pay as soon as April, he said.
The Government will distribute the first of four quarterly Jobs Credit payments at the end of March. And with this “very imminent” cash injection in sight, companies will “definitely review cost cutting measures”, said Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers’ Federation.
It could take one to two weeks for employers to review the scheme’s actual impact, which would be more significant for some, depending on the type of worker and his wages, said Mr Koh.
SMEs will likely “sit down and review their salary structure”, said president of the Association of Small and Medium Entreprises Lawrence Leow. If a company has 10 employees drawing $2,500 a month, it could save $3,000 a month – that’s the equivalent of one job, he added.
And while most companies are trying their best to retain headcount, at least one company has made expansion plans. Ms May Foo, vice president for human resources at Apex-Pal, said the company could use the funds from the cash grant to hire more staff for its new Sakae Sushi outlets.
In a statement on Friday, the National Trades Union Congress termed the $20.5 billion Resilience Package, and the decision to draw on the nation’s reserves for the first time to fund the $4.5-billion Job Credit Scheme, “bold” and “decisive”.
It will have a “significant impact on workers, companies and our economy”, said the NTUC.
- TODAY newspaper
A local small-and-medium enterprise (SME) in the graphics industry said it will “reconsider” axing jobs after the Chinese New Year. The Jobs Credit scheme, where the Government will reimburse employers 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of a local employee’s monthly pay, “will go a long way to ease the pressures”, a spokesman said.
But, he added, if the economy deteriorates further, the firm may have “no choice”.
Most employers Today spoke to said they would digest the Budget 2009 measures — the key aim of which is to save jobs — and review plans after the festive break.
It could be premature, however, for employees to hope their companies will roll back cost-cutting measures already in place.
Labour economist Chew Soon Beng explained: “With this new scheme, (firms) may not retrench because they have an extra plan. But if they have implemented a plan for workers to share work so they can take no-pay leave, they may continue with it because you never know what is going to happen next year.”
Workers would understand if they do not see any immediate trickle-down effects of the Jobs Credit scheme, some unionists felt.
“They know that this helpline is for the company,” said Mr Francis Lim, president of the United Workers Electronic & Electrical Industry. “If orders don’t come in, the company will still have to close down or lay off. The Budget will help cushion the low demand” and, hopefully, lead companies that want to retrench to do it later instead of sooner, he added.
But at least one employer is enthused about passing on at least part of the Government’s grant for businesses to its staff.
Chief executive of IT-company Seasami Goup, Ong Teck Soon, said that while he would not revise base salaries, employees “will be rewarded” through the monthly variable component that makes up one-third of their total earnings.
If the company’s bottomline shows growth after costs and revenue have been accounted for, employees could enjoy a higher pay as soon as April, he said.
The Government will distribute the first of four quarterly Jobs Credit payments at the end of March. And with this “very imminent” cash injection in sight, companies will “definitely review cost cutting measures”, said Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers’ Federation.
It could take one to two weeks for employers to review the scheme’s actual impact, which would be more significant for some, depending on the type of worker and his wages, said Mr Koh.
SMEs will likely “sit down and review their salary structure”, said president of the Association of Small and Medium Entreprises Lawrence Leow. If a company has 10 employees drawing $2,500 a month, it could save $3,000 a month – that’s the equivalent of one job, he added.
And while most companies are trying their best to retain headcount, at least one company has made expansion plans. Ms May Foo, vice president for human resources at Apex-Pal, said the company could use the funds from the cash grant to hire more staff for its new Sakae Sushi outlets.
In a statement on Friday, the National Trades Union Congress termed the $20.5 billion Resilience Package, and the decision to draw on the nation’s reserves for the first time to fund the $4.5-billion Job Credit Scheme, “bold” and “decisive”.
It will have a “significant impact on workers, companies and our economy”, said the NTUC.
- TODAY newspaper
Jan 23, 2009
MM: Help to save jobs
A DAY after the Government unveiled a $20.5 billion package to deal with the downturn, this message rang out to employers, banks and retail landlords: It's your turn to take the help given and do the right thing.
For employers, it means keeping workers on the payroll, now that the Government is pitching in to subsidise wage bills.
For banks, it means lending to companies, now that the Government will bear more risk of the loans defaulting.
And for landlords, it means passing savings from property tax rebates to their shop tenants.
Saving jobs was uppermost on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's mind, when asked his reaction to this year's Budget.
'The Budget is meant to save jobs,' he told reporters during a visit to the East Coast Park.
'That's the first thing we have to do because there's no better way of fighting this recession than to save jobs.'
He said there was a big question over when the downturn would end.
'We're prepared for all eventualities. It might last one year, two years, may go on to three years. We don't know, but we've got to be prepared for it,' he said.
The lower-income and those out of work or retrenched would need help to get through this rough patch, he noted. The $2.6 billion worth of measures to help them were neither over-generous nor ungenerous, he said.
A key plank of the Budget is a novel $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme through which the Government will pay a portion of employers' wage bill - 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of the monthly wage of Singaporeans and permanent residents.
But the question is whether employers will, in turn, help their workers.
'With the Government doing its part, there is now a great deal of moral responsibility put onto businesses to do their part - keep jobs intact,' said political observer Gillian Koh from the Institute of Policy Studies.
Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers' Federation, said the subsidy could mean a 5 to 10 per cent cut in wage costs, which was 'quite significant'. But he felt it was too early to judge how employers will act.
The labour movement was optimistic.
In a statement, labour chief Lim Swee Say and NTUC president John De Payva said that the $20.5 billion 'resilience package' would have a significant impact on workers, companies and the economy.
'This is reflective of the Government's clear commitment and best efforts to save jobs for Singaporeans,' they added.
'It gives us tremendous assurance, encouragement and confidence to stay the path of tripartism, a unique advantage Singapore has over other nations.'
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Ahmad Magad thinks it will all boil down to companies' cash flow.
'It will undoubtedly save some jobs, especially in bigger organisations which have deeper pockets,' he said.
But for smaller companies, he added, much would depend on how much revenue they can generate.
This is where the second plank of the Budget - access to bank credit - comes in.
The Government introduced a Special Risk Sharing Initiative yesterday which will see it set aside $5.8 billion in capital to take on more risk in bank lending to companies.
Giving details yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said he hoped banks would now play their part and extend credit to companies that need working capital.
- The Straits Times
For employers, it means keeping workers on the payroll, now that the Government is pitching in to subsidise wage bills.
For banks, it means lending to companies, now that the Government will bear more risk of the loans defaulting.
And for landlords, it means passing savings from property tax rebates to their shop tenants.
Saving jobs was uppermost on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's mind, when asked his reaction to this year's Budget.
'The Budget is meant to save jobs,' he told reporters during a visit to the East Coast Park.
'That's the first thing we have to do because there's no better way of fighting this recession than to save jobs.'
He said there was a big question over when the downturn would end.
'We're prepared for all eventualities. It might last one year, two years, may go on to three years. We don't know, but we've got to be prepared for it,' he said.
The lower-income and those out of work or retrenched would need help to get through this rough patch, he noted. The $2.6 billion worth of measures to help them were neither over-generous nor ungenerous, he said.
A key plank of the Budget is a novel $4.5 billion Jobs Credit Scheme through which the Government will pay a portion of employers' wage bill - 12 per cent of the first $2,500 of the monthly wage of Singaporeans and permanent residents.
But the question is whether employers will, in turn, help their workers.
'With the Government doing its part, there is now a great deal of moral responsibility put onto businesses to do their part - keep jobs intact,' said political observer Gillian Koh from the Institute of Policy Studies.
Mr Koh Juan Kiat, executive director of the Singapore National Employers' Federation, said the subsidy could mean a 5 to 10 per cent cut in wage costs, which was 'quite significant'. But he felt it was too early to judge how employers will act.
The labour movement was optimistic.
In a statement, labour chief Lim Swee Say and NTUC president John De Payva said that the $20.5 billion 'resilience package' would have a significant impact on workers, companies and the economy.
'This is reflective of the Government's clear commitment and best efforts to save jobs for Singaporeans,' they added.
'It gives us tremendous assurance, encouragement and confidence to stay the path of tripartism, a unique advantage Singapore has over other nations.'
Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Ahmad Magad thinks it will all boil down to companies' cash flow.
'It will undoubtedly save some jobs, especially in bigger organisations which have deeper pockets,' he said.
But for smaller companies, he added, much would depend on how much revenue they can generate.
This is where the second plank of the Budget - access to bank credit - comes in.
The Government introduced a Special Risk Sharing Initiative yesterday which will see it set aside $5.8 billion in capital to take on more risk in bank lending to companies.
Giving details yesterday, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said he hoped banks would now play their part and extend credit to companies that need working capital.
- The Straits Times
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