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
Showing posts with label union. Show all posts
Showing posts with label union. Show all posts
Jul 29, 2010
Having more foreign workers must not dilute productivity efforts: Lim Swee Say
Labour chief Lim Swee Say has said that any additional intake of foreign manpower should not dilute Singapore’s efforts in productivity improvement.
He was speaking at a conference of employers and trade union leaders organised by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) on Wednesday.
The conference discussed the recent news that Singapore would likely need some 100,000 foreign workers to meet the demands of various industries.
Mr Lim urged employers not to have pre—conceived ideas that unionists are against foreign workers.
He said: "The labour movement adopts a fairly pragmatic approach. If the growth opportunities are there and there is a shortage of workers, then obviously the foreign workers do come in as additional source of manpower.... (They) served as a buffer during the downturn in 2009."
Mr Lim went on to say: "What we are concerned about is that this additional intake of foreign manpower should not dilute our efforts in productivity improvement.
"If we keep taking in foreign manpower, which are unskilled and low—wage and bring them in big numbers, if we end up discouraging enterprises from upgrading their workforce, I think that would be not welcomed by the labour movement.
"What we would like to see is this movement towards higher productivity should apply both to the local and foreign workforce.
"Yes, we want the local workers to become better skilled, more productive. At the same time we must place the same expectation and demand on the foreign workers as well.
"So, as we take in foreign workers, let’s bring in those who are more employable, more trainable.
"Together these foreign and local workers can go through the process of productivity improvement.....so that over the next 10 years we can achieve our target of 2—3 percent growth."
Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was also at the conference, said: "Exactly how many (foreign workers) will come will depend on the growth of the second half. At the same time it is important for companies to think about how we can do things in a different way so that we can rely on fewer manpower to achieve the same output.
"We hope companies will take this in their stride and see how we can introduce productivity measures so that we can reduce our dependence on low skilled manpower so that we can produce the same or more with fewer resources needed.
"As the economy picks up, companies focus on fulfilling orders immediately. While there is flexibility in the labour market to allow you to do so, at the same time let’s not lose sight of the long term strategic move of raising productivity. Only then can we sustain wage improvements."
— Channel News Asia
He was speaking at a conference of employers and trade union leaders organised by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) on Wednesday.
The conference discussed the recent news that Singapore would likely need some 100,000 foreign workers to meet the demands of various industries.
Mr Lim urged employers not to have pre—conceived ideas that unionists are against foreign workers.
He said: "The labour movement adopts a fairly pragmatic approach. If the growth opportunities are there and there is a shortage of workers, then obviously the foreign workers do come in as additional source of manpower.... (They) served as a buffer during the downturn in 2009."
Mr Lim went on to say: "What we are concerned about is that this additional intake of foreign manpower should not dilute our efforts in productivity improvement.
"If we keep taking in foreign manpower, which are unskilled and low—wage and bring them in big numbers, if we end up discouraging enterprises from upgrading their workforce, I think that would be not welcomed by the labour movement.
"What we would like to see is this movement towards higher productivity should apply both to the local and foreign workforce.
"Yes, we want the local workers to become better skilled, more productive. At the same time we must place the same expectation and demand on the foreign workers as well.
"So, as we take in foreign workers, let’s bring in those who are more employable, more trainable.
"Together these foreign and local workers can go through the process of productivity improvement.....so that over the next 10 years we can achieve our target of 2—3 percent growth."
Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was also at the conference, said: "Exactly how many (foreign workers) will come will depend on the growth of the second half. At the same time it is important for companies to think about how we can do things in a different way so that we can rely on fewer manpower to achieve the same output.
"We hope companies will take this in their stride and see how we can introduce productivity measures so that we can reduce our dependence on low skilled manpower so that we can produce the same or more with fewer resources needed.
"As the economy picks up, companies focus on fulfilling orders immediately. While there is flexibility in the labour market to allow you to do so, at the same time let’s not lose sight of the long term strategic move of raising productivity. Only then can we sustain wage improvements."
— Channel News Asia
Dec 29, 2009
Wanted: Women, older workers
THE labour movement will focus on roping in more women and older workers to increase the size of the workforce next year, said labour chief Lim Swee Say.
The movement also aims to increase productivity by helping companies to improve their processes, he added.
These actions will help the workforce take advantage of an upturn next year, he said.
He was outlining next year's plans and summing up the labour movement's efforts in the past year yesterday.
The movement has been successful at staving off record retrenchment and unemployment this year, he said.
Mr Lim, who is the secretary general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), added that after a year of defensive play on the job front, the new year will mark the beginning of an offensive campaign.
This means that the tripartite partners - comprising the Government, employers and unions - will strive to build a 'cheaper, better and faster' economy, by helping companies improve their productivity rates, capabilities and flexibility.
NTUC wants to nurse employment levels here back to a full-employment rate - where fewer than 3 per cent of working adults are jobless.
It also wants to go beyond that by encouraging a large pool of people, who are not in the job market currently, to re-enter or join the workforce.
The way to do so would be by re-training them, rather than by creating new jobs, said Mr Lim.
'We hope that re-employment in Singapore can be further increased, structural employment can be further reduced and, more importantly, under-employment among the middle-aged PMETs (professional, managers, executives and technicians) can be further avoided, through retraining and reskilling,' he said.
The number of these potential job entrants stands at an estimated 162,400, Mr Lim said.
About a third of them are first-timers to the job market; the remaining 116,000 have some job experience. Among them are 19,800 degree-holding women.
'Many of them are very employable, so the challenge lies in how we reach out to them and match them (to jobs),' Mr Lim said.
The Employment & Employability Institute (e2i), NTUC's one-stop job-matching and training centre, will step up efforts to train and match jobs to this group, he added.
The unemployment rate for the third quarter of this year is 5 per cent. About 20,000 people were retrenched this year, of whom about 95 per cent were from the manufacturing sector.
But despite a steeper drop in gross domestic product this year, significantly fewer workers were retrenched compared to the previous two downturns in 1998 and 2001, NTUC and e2i pointed out yesterday.
Up to last month, e2i has helped find jobs for 16,000 jobseekers. This comes up to three in five of its trainees, the same rate as last year.
Another 8,000 have been trained or are undergoing training, but are still jobless; the remaining 3,000 sought help from other agencies later.
e2i also helped 180 companies upgrade the skills of 33,000 workers through the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience.
NTUC has done well against the international benchmark, largely because of its strengthened tripartism ties during the crisis, said its deputy secretary- general, Madam Halimah Yacob, citing an International Labour Organisation report.
- mypaper
The movement also aims to increase productivity by helping companies to improve their processes, he added.
These actions will help the workforce take advantage of an upturn next year, he said.
He was outlining next year's plans and summing up the labour movement's efforts in the past year yesterday.
The movement has been successful at staving off record retrenchment and unemployment this year, he said.
Mr Lim, who is the secretary general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), added that after a year of defensive play on the job front, the new year will mark the beginning of an offensive campaign.
This means that the tripartite partners - comprising the Government, employers and unions - will strive to build a 'cheaper, better and faster' economy, by helping companies improve their productivity rates, capabilities and flexibility.
NTUC wants to nurse employment levels here back to a full-employment rate - where fewer than 3 per cent of working adults are jobless.
It also wants to go beyond that by encouraging a large pool of people, who are not in the job market currently, to re-enter or join the workforce.
The way to do so would be by re-training them, rather than by creating new jobs, said Mr Lim.
'We hope that re-employment in Singapore can be further increased, structural employment can be further reduced and, more importantly, under-employment among the middle-aged PMETs (professional, managers, executives and technicians) can be further avoided, through retraining and reskilling,' he said.
The number of these potential job entrants stands at an estimated 162,400, Mr Lim said.
About a third of them are first-timers to the job market; the remaining 116,000 have some job experience. Among them are 19,800 degree-holding women.
'Many of them are very employable, so the challenge lies in how we reach out to them and match them (to jobs),' Mr Lim said.
The Employment & Employability Institute (e2i), NTUC's one-stop job-matching and training centre, will step up efforts to train and match jobs to this group, he added.
The unemployment rate for the third quarter of this year is 5 per cent. About 20,000 people were retrenched this year, of whom about 95 per cent were from the manufacturing sector.
But despite a steeper drop in gross domestic product this year, significantly fewer workers were retrenched compared to the previous two downturns in 1998 and 2001, NTUC and e2i pointed out yesterday.
Up to last month, e2i has helped find jobs for 16,000 jobseekers. This comes up to three in five of its trainees, the same rate as last year.
Another 8,000 have been trained or are undergoing training, but are still jobless; the remaining 3,000 sought help from other agencies later.
e2i also helped 180 companies upgrade the skills of 33,000 workers through the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience.
NTUC has done well against the international benchmark, largely because of its strengthened tripartism ties during the crisis, said its deputy secretary- general, Madam Halimah Yacob, citing an International Labour Organisation report.
- mypaper
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 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
Jul 11, 2009
Unionised sector sees retrenchments fall in Q2: labour chief
The second quarter of this year saw only one—third of the number of lay—offs experienced in the previous quarter for the unionised sector, said labour movement chief Lim Swee Say.
And while this showed an improvement over the nearly 10,000 retrenched in the first quarter, Mr Lim said Singaporeans must not assume the downturn is over.
When the economic downturn hit Singapore, the labour movement set itself three targets, said NTUC Secretary—General Lim Swee Say. These were: to avoid record retrenchments, a high unemployment rate as in 2003 when SARS hit, and to be among the first to bounce back when the upturn returns.
Mr Lim said: "After six months of tripartite efforts, we believe we are on track. We cannot say for sure that by the end of this year, whether we would be able to succeed to achieve all these three targets. But we will continue to pursue our ’Upturn the Downturn’ strategy."
Mr Lim reminded Singaporeans that the downturn was not over yet despite recent reports that companies have started hiring.
A survey by consultancy firm Hudson said that for the first time since 2007, hiring expectations are up across the board.
The Singapore National Employers Federation also found from its regular quarterly surveys that the percentage of companies saying they were hiring had gone up from 20 to 25 per cent between March and June this year.
Stephen Lee, president, Singapore National Employers Federation, said: "Certainly this is a positive sign, but the question is how long will we be bottom—bumpy and how long will we stay at the bottom.
"Certainly there are no strong signs to indicate a fast recovery. So most companies are prepared that it will stay where it is and wait till the first quarter of next year to see whether it will pick up."
Mr Lim added: "Let us remember that not all industries will recover at the same time and at the same pace. So when we see some companies starting to recover and starting to hire workers, we should be happy, but don’t be too happy.
"We cannot keep retrenchment down to zero. But we can make sure that when the worker is retrenched, he does not necessary become an unemployed worker."
Hence the need to remain focused on the fundamentals, with cutting costs to save jobs being key.
Although there may be some signs of improvement in hiring, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation said it is not time for companies and workers to rest on their laurels.
They encourage both employers and workers to take full advantage of the various training and re—training schemes available to enhance the employability of their workers
- Channel News Asia
And while this showed an improvement over the nearly 10,000 retrenched in the first quarter, Mr Lim said Singaporeans must not assume the downturn is over.
When the economic downturn hit Singapore, the labour movement set itself three targets, said NTUC Secretary—General Lim Swee Say. These were: to avoid record retrenchments, a high unemployment rate as in 2003 when SARS hit, and to be among the first to bounce back when the upturn returns.
Mr Lim said: "After six months of tripartite efforts, we believe we are on track. We cannot say for sure that by the end of this year, whether we would be able to succeed to achieve all these three targets. But we will continue to pursue our ’Upturn the Downturn’ strategy."
Mr Lim reminded Singaporeans that the downturn was not over yet despite recent reports that companies have started hiring.
A survey by consultancy firm Hudson said that for the first time since 2007, hiring expectations are up across the board.
The Singapore National Employers Federation also found from its regular quarterly surveys that the percentage of companies saying they were hiring had gone up from 20 to 25 per cent between March and June this year.
Stephen Lee, president, Singapore National Employers Federation, said: "Certainly this is a positive sign, but the question is how long will we be bottom—bumpy and how long will we stay at the bottom.
"Certainly there are no strong signs to indicate a fast recovery. So most companies are prepared that it will stay where it is and wait till the first quarter of next year to see whether it will pick up."
Mr Lim added: "Let us remember that not all industries will recover at the same time and at the same pace. So when we see some companies starting to recover and starting to hire workers, we should be happy, but don’t be too happy.
"We cannot keep retrenchment down to zero. But we can make sure that when the worker is retrenched, he does not necessary become an unemployed worker."
Hence the need to remain focused on the fundamentals, with cutting costs to save jobs being key.
Although there may be some signs of improvement in hiring, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation said it is not time for companies and workers to rest on their laurels.
They encourage both employers and workers to take full advantage of the various training and re—training schemes available to enhance the employability of their workers
- Channel News Asia
May 11, 2009
NTUC to expand, hire
THE labour movement's 12 social enterprises are going on the 'offensive' during the downturn - by expanding operations and hiring more local workers.
There are 1,200 jobs on offer, ranging from cashiers to childcare teachers.
Explaining the expansion plans, labour chief Lim Swee Say said on Monday that 'bad times are the best times' to build up capabilities and stay competitive.
For instance, its supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice is opening five new stores this year and its childcare cooperative, First Campus, plans to add 30 centres by next year.
Even before the growth, group revenue from the social enterprises rose to $5.6 billion in the financial year that ended in March, a rise from $5 billion in the previous year.
But the push to ramp up is not just profit-driven.
Mr Lim said the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) 12 social enterprises are keen to do their part to save and create jobs, and offer affordable goods and services, because the economic crisis may not be abating.
'The global economy is showing signs of recovery, and some speculate that the worst is behind us,' said Mr Lim, NTUC's secretary-general.
'But the labour movement does not share that optimism.'
Mr Lim, flanked by the chief executives of the 12 social enterprises at a media conference, was sharing plans of how they can 'do more good' this year.
When asked why he preferred to be pessimistic, he said: 'It's not that I'm not happy, but I'm cautious about being complacent.'
- The Straits Times
There are 1,200 jobs on offer, ranging from cashiers to childcare teachers.
Explaining the expansion plans, labour chief Lim Swee Say said on Monday that 'bad times are the best times' to build up capabilities and stay competitive.
For instance, its supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice is opening five new stores this year and its childcare cooperative, First Campus, plans to add 30 centres by next year.
Even before the growth, group revenue from the social enterprises rose to $5.6 billion in the financial year that ended in March, a rise from $5 billion in the previous year.
But the push to ramp up is not just profit-driven.
Mr Lim said the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) 12 social enterprises are keen to do their part to save and create jobs, and offer affordable goods and services, because the economic crisis may not be abating.
'The global economy is showing signs of recovery, and some speculate that the worst is behind us,' said Mr Lim, NTUC's secretary-general.
'But the labour movement does not share that optimism.'
Mr Lim, flanked by the chief executives of the 12 social enterprises at a media conference, was sharing plans of how they can 'do more good' this year.
When asked why he preferred to be pessimistic, he said: 'It's not that I'm not happy, but I'm cautious about being complacent.'
- The Straits Times
May 1, 2009
19,000 jobs awaiting
LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say has this advice for the 30,000 job seekers in Singapore: There are still jobs out there.
Speaking at a May Day Rally on Friday, Mr Lim said there are some 19,000 jobs still available, out of which 8,000 pay above $2,000 a month, in the e2i job gallery.
Opened in 2007, the e2i is part of a national masterplan to equip workers with skills to stay employable amid changing economic conditions. It was set up by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in partnership with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), and others.
Mr Lim, who is the NTUC secretary-general, said while there are close to 10,000 job seekers registered with the institute, it has not been able to match them yet.
The reason: Many are either not equipped with the right skills yet, while others have high expectations.
'Our challenge then is to narrow the skills gap, the expectation gap and the mindset gap,' said Mr Lim.
But he also noted that there are others who have shown the willingness to learn and adapt, and many jobless have been re-employed again. About 70 per cent of those retrenched last year have found jobs again.
'Some are job ready and they just need encouragement,' he said.
Latest figures figures showed that overall unemployment here rose from 2.5 per cent last December to 3.2 per cent last month, with 95,600 people out of work.
'Even though retrenchment has gone up in the first quarter of 2009, it could have been worse,' if not for efforts by the government and tripartite collaborations, Mr Lim told the gathering.
'Our tripartite efforts in cutting costs to save jobs have made a real difference in containing the first wave of retrenchment. There was no runaway, massive retrenchment,' he added.
But the second wave will come, he said, striking a cautious note. 'The road is still long and winding. So let's be prepared and continue to cut costs and save jobs.'
- The Straits Times
Speaking at a May Day Rally on Friday, Mr Lim said there are some 19,000 jobs still available, out of which 8,000 pay above $2,000 a month, in the e2i job gallery.
Opened in 2007, the e2i is part of a national masterplan to equip workers with skills to stay employable amid changing economic conditions. It was set up by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in partnership with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), and others.
Mr Lim, who is the NTUC secretary-general, said while there are close to 10,000 job seekers registered with the institute, it has not been able to match them yet.
The reason: Many are either not equipped with the right skills yet, while others have high expectations.
'Our challenge then is to narrow the skills gap, the expectation gap and the mindset gap,' said Mr Lim.
But he also noted that there are others who have shown the willingness to learn and adapt, and many jobless have been re-employed again. About 70 per cent of those retrenched last year have found jobs again.
'Some are job ready and they just need encouragement,' he said.
Latest figures figures showed that overall unemployment here rose from 2.5 per cent last December to 3.2 per cent last month, with 95,600 people out of work.
'Even though retrenchment has gone up in the first quarter of 2009, it could have been worse,' if not for efforts by the government and tripartite collaborations, Mr Lim told the gathering.
'Our tripartite efforts in cutting costs to save jobs have made a real difference in containing the first wave of retrenchment. There was no runaway, massive retrenchment,' he added.
But the second wave will come, he said, striking a cautious note. 'The road is still long and winding. So let's be prepared and continue to cut costs and save jobs.'
- The Straits Times
Apr 18, 2009
5,000 union workers axed
THE number of retrenched unionised workers has hit one of the highest levels in the last decade, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said yesterday.
The figure so far this year has reached about 5,500, said NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How. In 1999, a total of 7,635 unionised workers lost their jobs.
Needy retrenched union workers will benefit from the labour movement's U Care Fund. Some money will be put aside to help currently retrenched union workers who received little or no benefits.
The fund was launched this year to collectively raise money from the tripartite partners - government, employers and unions - in response to the economic downturn.
Given a target of $20 million in its kitty by the end of May, it crossed the $10 million mark yesterday, when a total of $990,000 was donated.
NTUC Foodfare, NTUC Healthcare, NTUC Learning Hub, NTUC Link, NTUC Thrift, NTUC Foodfare's union - the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers' Union (FDAWU) - and the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) donated the money.
In particular, this was NTUC Foodfare's single largest donation of $512,000 to the labour movement.
To mark the event, chief executive officers of the social enterprises, Mr Heng and union leaders from FDAWU spent 11/2 hours preparing and serving over 100 sets of Foodfare's signature $1.80 breakfast set meals to customers at Foodfare's outlet in Simei MRT station.
- The Straits Times
The figure so far this year has reached about 5,500, said NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How. In 1999, a total of 7,635 unionised workers lost their jobs.
Needy retrenched union workers will benefit from the labour movement's U Care Fund. Some money will be put aside to help currently retrenched union workers who received little or no benefits.
The fund was launched this year to collectively raise money from the tripartite partners - government, employers and unions - in response to the economic downturn.
Given a target of $20 million in its kitty by the end of May, it crossed the $10 million mark yesterday, when a total of $990,000 was donated.
NTUC Foodfare, NTUC Healthcare, NTUC Learning Hub, NTUC Link, NTUC Thrift, NTUC Foodfare's union - the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers' Union (FDAWU) - and the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) donated the money.
In particular, this was NTUC Foodfare's single largest donation of $512,000 to the labour movement.
To mark the event, chief executive officers of the social enterprises, Mr Heng and union leaders from FDAWU spent 11/2 hours preparing and serving over 100 sets of Foodfare's signature $1.80 breakfast set meals to customers at Foodfare's outlet in Simei MRT station.
- The Straits Times
Feb 24, 2009
4,300 jobs to go in Q1
MORE unionised workers will lose their jobs in the first three months of this year than originally estimated: The number is now expected to hit 4,300.
The figure is much higher than labour chief Lim Swee Say's estimate of 3,700, made just last weekend.
In giving the bleak figures last night, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob said the bulk of the retrenchments will come from the beleaguered electronics sector.
She said 2,700 workers from this sector could lose their jobs by the end of next month. This is more than the 2,374 layoffs the sector recorded for the whole of last year.
The rest of the layoffs will come from the manufacturing sector, which is reeling as a result of plunging global demand.
Madam Halimah said that though the situation is worrying, there are some signs that it is improving.
'Some companies in the electronics sector are reporting that they are securing more orders, and we can see the slide in numbers slowing a little,' she said.
She credited initiatives such as the Jobs Credit scheme and the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) - a $600 million training plan aimed at helping workers upgrade and retrain - for mitigating the effects of the downturn.
'We need to do more and focus on retraining our workers and finding other jobs for those who have been displaced.'
Madam Halimah was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar aimed at helping union members get legal help if they feel they have been unfairly dismissed or retrenched.
The seminar, jointly organised by NTUC and the Singapore Law Society, is the first of about four sessions to help rank-and-file workers as well as executives - better known as PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians). More than 550 union leaders and representatives attended yesterday's seminar, conducted by lawyers.
- The Straits Times
The figure is much higher than labour chief Lim Swee Say's estimate of 3,700, made just last weekend.
In giving the bleak figures last night, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob said the bulk of the retrenchments will come from the beleaguered electronics sector.
She said 2,700 workers from this sector could lose their jobs by the end of next month. This is more than the 2,374 layoffs the sector recorded for the whole of last year.
The rest of the layoffs will come from the manufacturing sector, which is reeling as a result of plunging global demand.
Madam Halimah said that though the situation is worrying, there are some signs that it is improving.
'Some companies in the electronics sector are reporting that they are securing more orders, and we can see the slide in numbers slowing a little,' she said.
She credited initiatives such as the Jobs Credit scheme and the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) - a $600 million training plan aimed at helping workers upgrade and retrain - for mitigating the effects of the downturn.
'We need to do more and focus on retraining our workers and finding other jobs for those who have been displaced.'
Madam Halimah was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar aimed at helping union members get legal help if they feel they have been unfairly dismissed or retrenched.
The seminar, jointly organised by NTUC and the Singapore Law Society, is the first of about four sessions to help rank-and-file workers as well as executives - better known as PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians). More than 550 union leaders and representatives attended yesterday's seminar, conducted by lawyers.
- The Straits Times
Feb 23, 2009
Union leaders find it hard to deliver bad news
WHEN PSA had to retrench workers in the last downturn, union leaders who had to handle the retrenchments wept. Acknowledging the emotional toll on unionists on the front line, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told them yesterday: “You will need to steel yourselves for the task ahead.”
Unionists Today spoke to said they will hunker down and weather the storm even though no one likes to be a messenger of bad news. “It’s hard to keep your emotions in check,” said Singapore Industrial and Services Union (Siseu) president Tan Peng Heng. “You can’t shed tears in front of them. You have to encourage them and tell them where to seek help.”
Just last Friday, the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) had to rush down to an MNC to stave off a retrenchment exercise. According to CIEU’s secretary-general Tan Chee Tiong, the petrochemical company had planned to axe 70 of its staff, giving only a day’s notice.
“It was very hard — people were crying,” he said. To make matters worse, the MNC did not consult the union nor did it bother to explore other ways to reduce business costs, he added. “There’s Jobs Credit and Spur — all this can cushion the blow, but they didn’t seem to consider this,” he said.
The union leaders failed to stop the retrenchments.
While unionists are bracing themselves for the worst, some like Siseu’s Mr Tan think the recession is a “good experience” and learning curve for younger staff. “We know it’s hard to face retrenched staff alone, so we get our industrial relation officers to go down as a group to give each other support.”
This recession, though, have made unionists work even harder — meeting regularly every month, sending the retrenched for re-training and finding jobs for them.
United Workers of Petroleum Industry general-secretary M Karthikeyan recently found jobs for four of seven retrenched workers. “Compared to previous recessions, yes, I would say we are working harder because this time it’s a global recession,” he said.
“I’ve been a unionist for 23 years, but it does not get any easier breaking bad news to people,” said Mr Karthikeyan. “The petrochemical industry is very small — losing a worker is like losing a friend.”
- TODAY newspaper
Unionists Today spoke to said they will hunker down and weather the storm even though no one likes to be a messenger of bad news. “It’s hard to keep your emotions in check,” said Singapore Industrial and Services Union (Siseu) president Tan Peng Heng. “You can’t shed tears in front of them. You have to encourage them and tell them where to seek help.”
Just last Friday, the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) had to rush down to an MNC to stave off a retrenchment exercise. According to CIEU’s secretary-general Tan Chee Tiong, the petrochemical company had planned to axe 70 of its staff, giving only a day’s notice.
“It was very hard — people were crying,” he said. To make matters worse, the MNC did not consult the union nor did it bother to explore other ways to reduce business costs, he added. “There’s Jobs Credit and Spur — all this can cushion the blow, but they didn’t seem to consider this,” he said.
The union leaders failed to stop the retrenchments.
While unionists are bracing themselves for the worst, some like Siseu’s Mr Tan think the recession is a “good experience” and learning curve for younger staff. “We know it’s hard to face retrenched staff alone, so we get our industrial relation officers to go down as a group to give each other support.”
This recession, though, have made unionists work even harder — meeting regularly every month, sending the retrenched for re-training and finding jobs for them.
United Workers of Petroleum Industry general-secretary M Karthikeyan recently found jobs for four of seven retrenched workers. “Compared to previous recessions, yes, I would say we are working harder because this time it’s a global recession,” he said.
“I’ve been a unionist for 23 years, but it does not get any easier breaking bad news to people,” said Mr Karthikeyan. “The petrochemical industry is very small — losing a worker is like losing a friend.”
- TODAY newspaper
Feb 1, 2009
How trust saved 30 jobs in two companies
ABOUT 30 jobs were at risk two weeks ago when two plastic manufacturers, facing reduced demand, wanted to retrench their workers.
Officials of the Chemical Industries Employees' Union (CIEU) got wind of it and suggested they opt for a shorter work-week as a cost-cutting measure instead.
Initially, they made no headway with the companies' human resource officers. But when the unionists went to the bosses, they were pleasantly surprised.
The union's suggestion was accepted.
CIEU president Rajendran Govindarajoo related this story to The Straits Times yesterday, to show how unions and management need to work and communicate even more closely in this recession.
He was reinforcing a point labour chief Lim Swee Say made in his speech during the National Trades Union Congress' annual Workplan Seminar.
Mr Lim, NTUC's secretary-general, urged companies and unions to be more pro-active in engaging one another and not to jeopardise the existing mutual trust which would take years to rebuild.
He recounted how he had to intervene in one negotiation because the company's management did not want a meeting with the unionists to discuss its performance and ways to tackle the slump.
Said Mr Lim, who did not name the company and union involved: 'The management told the union: 'Sorry, the situation is changing so fast that anything I tell you today will be outdated tomorrow, so no point talking'.'
Mr Lim spoke to its chairman, who said his management should have kept the union in the loop. But such behaviour is inevitable, the labour chief added, as some would 'get it wrong', because they fear what they tell the union now would be held against them later.
'But hopefully many companies and unions will get it right. We must talk to each other, uphold trust and make sure that tripartism here remains the most united tripartism model in the world.'
Agreeing, managing director Lee Wee Koon, 55, said his company, Hitachi Chemical Singapore, updates unionists weekly on its performance.
The firm makes printer circuit boards and employs 1,100 workers, who are members of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries union.
Mr Lee also meets union officials every month, encourages them to call him on urgent matters and tells them in advance of any measure to be introduced. He said: 'With such regular communication, even when business is changing rapidly, if the union officials are in tune with our situation, they will be very supportive.'
While most of the 1,000 unionised companies here have frequent dialogues with union leaders, the non-unionised sector remains an area of concern, Mr Lim told reporters later.
He urged their human resource department to step up communication so that their workers have a clear understanding of the companies' performance and management, of the workers' anxieties.
The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), however, does not think there is a communication problem between bosses and workers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the non-unionised sector.
Up to 80 per cent of its 4,000 members are SMEs, mostly non-unionised.
Said the SCCCI's secretary-general, Mr Lim Sah Soon: 'If there is no business, the employees can immediately feel it...it's also difficult for these SME bosses to hide information.'
He also said Chinese companies tend to treat their workers well, with some even looking after their staff's family.
'That's why a lot of their workers stick with them their whole life, unlike in big companies.'
- The Straits Times
Officials of the Chemical Industries Employees' Union (CIEU) got wind of it and suggested they opt for a shorter work-week as a cost-cutting measure instead.
Initially, they made no headway with the companies' human resource officers. But when the unionists went to the bosses, they were pleasantly surprised.
The union's suggestion was accepted.
CIEU president Rajendran Govindarajoo related this story to The Straits Times yesterday, to show how unions and management need to work and communicate even more closely in this recession.
He was reinforcing a point labour chief Lim Swee Say made in his speech during the National Trades Union Congress' annual Workplan Seminar.
Mr Lim, NTUC's secretary-general, urged companies and unions to be more pro-active in engaging one another and not to jeopardise the existing mutual trust which would take years to rebuild.
He recounted how he had to intervene in one negotiation because the company's management did not want a meeting with the unionists to discuss its performance and ways to tackle the slump.
Said Mr Lim, who did not name the company and union involved: 'The management told the union: 'Sorry, the situation is changing so fast that anything I tell you today will be outdated tomorrow, so no point talking'.'
Mr Lim spoke to its chairman, who said his management should have kept the union in the loop. But such behaviour is inevitable, the labour chief added, as some would 'get it wrong', because they fear what they tell the union now would be held against them later.
'But hopefully many companies and unions will get it right. We must talk to each other, uphold trust and make sure that tripartism here remains the most united tripartism model in the world.'
Agreeing, managing director Lee Wee Koon, 55, said his company, Hitachi Chemical Singapore, updates unionists weekly on its performance.
The firm makes printer circuit boards and employs 1,100 workers, who are members of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries union.
Mr Lee also meets union officials every month, encourages them to call him on urgent matters and tells them in advance of any measure to be introduced. He said: 'With such regular communication, even when business is changing rapidly, if the union officials are in tune with our situation, they will be very supportive.'
While most of the 1,000 unionised companies here have frequent dialogues with union leaders, the non-unionised sector remains an area of concern, Mr Lim told reporters later.
He urged their human resource department to step up communication so that their workers have a clear understanding of the companies' performance and management, of the workers' anxieties.
The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), however, does not think there is a communication problem between bosses and workers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the non-unionised sector.
Up to 80 per cent of its 4,000 members are SMEs, mostly non-unionised.
Said the SCCCI's secretary-general, Mr Lim Sah Soon: 'If there is no business, the employees can immediately feel it...it's also difficult for these SME bosses to hide information.'
He also said Chinese companies tend to treat their workers well, with some even looking after their staff's family.
'That's why a lot of their workers stick with them their whole life, unlike in big companies.'
- The Straits Times
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