By Ramesh Subbaraman
The Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union (AREU), together with the Jurong Country Club's (JCC) management, got into action to help workers affected by the closure of JCC by organising an exclusive job fair that ran over three days from 4 October 2016.
JCC is slated to cease operations on 31 December 2016 to make way for the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Railway project.
A total of 23 employers from several country clubs, hotels, the Healthcare Group and NTUC FairPrice were on hand to interact with the 112 workers present.
AREU’s Executive Secretary Desmond Choo said the affected workers were more confident about the future with the efforts put in by the union and management to help them secure jobs.
Union and Management Help
In a Town Hall session held earlier in August, an announcement was made on the compensation package negotiated between AREU and JCC management.
As part of the package, each worker will receive a $1500 training grant after they are issued a formal letter of retrenchment expected in November.
Jobs offered at the fair include housekeeping, golf course maintenance and buggy crew. FairPrice’s job opening included retail assistants, storekeepers and cashiers.
On The Look Out
One of the affected staff, 32-year-old Guest Relations Officer Rosslinda Habas has been checking out the opportunities.
“At this job fair, I am looking at the other country clubs on what they are offering as I prefer the same line.
“They also have jobs in the food and beverage department which I would consider,” said Rosslinda, who has been with JCC for four years.
JCC’s Sports and Recreation Supervisor Maya Razali, 28, was all praise for the job fair arrangements.
“They really put in a lot of effort, both the management and union… We are quite happy to have this kind of job fair, this is an exclusive one.
“We would like to thank e2i, the union and management. Without these three groups, this would not have happened. I am looking more at the healthcare, administration, government departments and some of the country clubs for a job,” said Razali.
Labour Movement’s Help
AREU Executive Secretary Desmond Choo, who was also present at the job fair, said it was critical for JCC’s workers to find jobs quickly, now that the retrenchment package has been secured. He added that the Labour Movement will always be there to lend a helping hand.
“When a problem hits, we are able to pull together different resources to help our workers through their toughest times. One of the workers told me that when they were flipping through the newspapers, they found many of the jobs unsuitable for them.
“But today, when they came in, there are a lot more opportunities, being able to find jobs that are curated specially for the members here,” said Mr Choo.
And added that this this exemplified how the Labour Movement is willing to go the extra mile to help workers.
“Not only will we help to secure retrenchment packages, but we will bring jobs to you and we will help you to secure these jobs,” he added.
Mr Choo hopes by the time the workers leave JCC at the end of the year, the majority of them would start their new year with a new job.
Source: NTUC This Week
