NTUC still strong on re-employment efforts for older workers despite downturn
10 July 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
1 Since the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) launched its re-employment efforts for older workers in 2006, there are currently 747 companies re-employing 5,421 older workers in the unionised sector today.
2 Last year, NTUC has established a four-tier re-employment framework to categorise the level of commitment of companies to re-employment. While Level 1 of the re-employment framework refers to companies already re-hiring older workers on an ad-hoc basis, Level 4 refers to the highest level of commitment – companies with a formalised re-employment policy and seeking out new initiatives which are sustainable and scalable. Please refer to Annex A for more details of NTUC’s re-employment framework.
3 Despite a downturn, 62 unionised companies have moved up from their individual commitment levels within the re-employment framework since December 2008. This means that they have increased their efforts to pro-actively support the re-employment of older workers. At least a third of them are from the manufacturing sector. Out of these 62 companies, the majority - about 50% - moved from Level 1 to Level 2. With at least a re-employment clause in their Collective Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding, these companies are more prepared for the re-employment law in 2012.
4 Out of 747 companies in the framework, 293 companies belong to Level 3 and Level 4. One such unionised company with laudable re-employment initiatives is Prima Limited, who has recently moved from Level 3 to Level 4 of the re-employment framework. Prima Limited has worked closely with its union, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union (FDAWU) and NTUC’s Re-employment Expert Group (REG) to formalise a sustainable and scalable re-employment structure. This structure allows the company to continue to tap on the experience of mature workers, and also ensures that they remain cost-effective to Prima Limited.
Prima’s age-friendly work-environment
5 About 49% of Prima Limited’s 252 employees are above the age of 40 and presently, the company has 23 older workers under the re-employment scheme. Prima Limited has offered re-employment before the tripartite guidelines were established and values its mature workers, many of whom have stayed loyal to the company. This early adoption practice of re-employment has also led to the company being awarded with the New Advantage Grant of $20,000 in March last year, which was used to fund training for the mature workers.
6 For example, in the packing section where some of the older workers are been deployed, Prima Limited has invested about $250,000 in new machinery to improve the workflow. These new packing machines use a heat-sealing function that requires the operators to “guide” the sealing process without much physical strength as compared to the previous method. This also reduces flour dust exposure as the traditional way of sealing can irritate the eyes of operators. The new machines also generate less noise as the sealing process is via heat and not by mechanical action. The new machinery has achieved two outcomes. It has increased the overall efficiency and quality of the packing process and improved the working environment of older workers working the packing section, thus providing more opportunities for them to be re-employed
7 Prima Limited’s older workers are loyal, conscientious and experienced – traits that are needed to uphold Prima’s strict hygiene standards. Recognising this, Prima Limited stepped up its efforts to engage and retain their older workers in the areas of training & employability (training programme development with NTUC LearningHub), health & wellness (e.g. possible tie-up with Fitness and Health International) and pre-retirement and counseling programmes (such as READY by Centre for Seniors). Through the above initiatives, Prima Limited has progressed from Level 3 to Level 4 in the re-employment framework. Please see Annex B for more details of these initiatives.
8 “Prima values and recognises people as its prime assets that help to build the company over the years and we are happy that national efforts are also being made on re-employment of older workers. We seek to continuously enhance our overall re-employment framework in collaboration with the Union to ensure that we continue to stay relevant to the needs of our workforce and that they can proudly proclaim having a enlightened and caring employer and being a Prima employee,” said Mr Primus Cheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Prima Limited.
9 NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How, who is also leading the Re-employment Expert Group, said, “With an ageing population in Singapore, more companies will engage the services of older workers through both employment and re-employment. Recognising this, there is no let-up in NTUC’s re-employment efforts in the unionised sector despite the economic downturn. There are now 5,421 re-employed workers in the unionised sector, an increase of about 762 since December 2008. The number of unionised companies practising re-employment has already gone up from 705 to 747 since Dec 2008. Prima Ltd is a good example of a well-prepared company that has worked with the union to provide more opportunities for older workers so that they can continue to contribute to the company.”
10 These efforts further enhanced Prima Limited’s efforts to tap on the human capital potential of older workers. Moving forward, FDAWU will continue to work closely with Prima Limited to look into new ways to improve the processes for older workers so that they can contribute more to the company’s productivity.
Mr Heng Chee How
Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC
Leader, Re-employment Expert Group, NTUC
ANNEX A
NTUC has developed a four-tier framework to track the commitment level of unionized companies to re-employment initiatives
Level 1 refers to companies that are already re-employing older workers, but on an ad-hoc basis.
Level 2 refers to companies that are already re-employing older workers and have a re-employment clause in their Collective Agreement or MOU with the unions
Level 3 refers to companies that have a formalised HR policy on re-employment.
Level 4 refers to companies that are pro-actively seeking out new initiatives to ensure that their re-employment efforts are sustainable and scalable
ANNEX B (New initiatives that Prima Limited will embark on)
To help them ease into re-employment, the company will engage workers reaching age 62 one year in advance by providing pre-retirement planning and counseling. Prima Limited will send these retiring workers for a professional programme such as READY by Centre for seniors to prepare them for re-employment. The READY programme is a 1-day course that provides participants an opportunity to review their own financial circumstances before retirement. It also covers key areas such as physical and mental readiness for re-employment. Older workers who attend this course will be able to better manage their expectations and prepare themselves for re-employment
To ensure that the worker is eligible and medically fit to continue working, Prima Limited is exploring possible tie-ups with Fitness and Health International to look into a sustainable and long-term health programme by tapping on the Workplace Health & Sports Programme funding. As a start, the company will be having a year long calendar of activities to ensure a healthy workforce, including mature workers. These include a series of health talks, annual medical examinations, classroom exercises such as Hatha Yoga and Taichi, and possibly simple physical activities tailored for mature workers. Through these activities, the company will be able to assess the health of its workers and work on improving them along the way
In the area of employability, Prima Limited will work with NTUC LearningHub to develop a structured training programme for its workers. For a start, there is a budget of $500 each for workers who are 5 years away from official retirement age to upgrade and take on personal development courses that will encourage lifelong learning. Mature workers can choose to take up training that would help to improve their productivity at work or simply to explore or cultivate new skills that they can continue to pursue when they eventually retire.
Lastly, in the event that Prima Limited is not able to offer re-employment to its eligible employees, the Company shall consider offering employment assistance in the form of ex-gratia lump sum payment to the affected employees. The said employment assistance shall take into consideration the recommendations in the Tripartite Advisory on the Re-employment of Older Workers.
