Better Working Conditions in the Banking Sector

By Shukry Rashid

People working or looking to work in the banking sector can now look forward to better hiring and upskilling practices from their employers with the launch of the Tripartite Advisory on Human Capital Practices for the Banking Sector on 14 March 2018 at the NTUC Centre.

Jointly developed by NTUC, Association of Banks in Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore National Employers Federation, the tripartite advisory is one of the initiatives under the jobs and skills agenda of the Financial Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM).

Launched by Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah, she said the advisory calls for all stakeholders – banks, unions, employees, and the Government – to work together to transform the industry’s workforce to take on the jobs of the future.

She said the tripartite advisory is necessary as it “promotes progressive human capital practices within the banking sector” and “sets out key paradigms that help us achieve our objective of developing a versatile and resilient workforce”.

The tripartite advisory calls on banks to:

• Proactively assess the likely impact of technological changes on their workforce, and work with MAS, Institute of Banking and Finance, and Workforce Singapore to reskill and redeploy their professionals into areas of job growth through professional conversion programmes.
• Adopt inclusive hiring practices which focus on the skills required to perform the job rather than set a strict minimum number of years of experience.
• Conduct any retrenchment exercise responsibly and work with tripartite partners to support affected employees.

Over 160 banks have committed to adopting the tripartite advisory.

SMS Indranee also stressed that even as the financial sector continues to have access to the best regional and global talent, it is important to build a strong Singapore Core.

The core will be “part of a deep and diverse talent pool of local and foreign professionals that contribute to the growth and transformation of the sector”.

The Role of Unions

SMS Indranee said that the role of unions is key to changing workers’ mindsets and supporting the efforts of acquiring new skills.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay, who is also co-chairperson for the Financial Sector Tripartite Committee (FSTC), said: “I am glad that the financial sector is the first sector that has taken the lead with this advisory emanating from the work of the FSTC and the financial sector’s ITM.

“The Labour Movement will continue to collaborate with the tripartite partners to nurture and develop our working people so they will benefit from better careers and development opportunities in a progressive work environment.”

Improving Future Jobs

While the launch of the tripartite advisory is seen as a good initiative to look after workers’ employment and employability, Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union General Secretary Luke Hee hopes more can be discussed on the employment terms of the future jobs.

He said: “Don’t just talk about future jobs but also talk about the future terms of work, the future pay, working hours, and terms and benefits. Are they going to be the same or are they going to be better?

“Work and jobs cannot evolve without compensation and benefits. You need to compensate workers fairly for doing those new jobs, and you need to tweak the benefits to fit the future kinds of work and talents.”