NTUC supports and calls for action on Tripartite Committee's Final Recommendations on Employability

1 As an advocate of raising the effective retirement age, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) strongly supports and calls for action on the final recommendations formulated by the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers.  We believe that the final recommendations would further help older workers stay employed and retired workers gain re-employment, and better provide for their retirement needs.

2 The labour movement recognises that the tripartite partners’ implementation of the Tripartite Committee’s interim recommendations on Employability of Older Workers, released on 26 February 2006, have yielded positive results.  Particularly, the employment rate of older workers aged 55 to 64 has improved by 6.7% to 53.7% in 2006.  With support from the Government and employers, the labour movement has, since January 2006, garnered the commitment of 235 companies towards the re-employment of older workers, and has helped 2,913 older workers find re-employment as at end April 2007.

Labour Movement’s Support for the Final Recommendations

3 The tripartite partners’ early achievements have further strengthened the labour movement’s resolve and confidence that the final recommendations would be effective towards raising the effective retirement age.  Thus, we call on the tripartite partners and workers to work closely together on the final recommendations, several of which have been enhanced:

a) The Tripartite Committee recommends for the Government to introduce legislative changes, appropriate to Singapore’s economic needs and industrial climate, within five years to facilitate opportunities for older workers to work beyond age 62.  The labour movement supports the idea of introducing legislative changes within the next five years.  However, we urge employers not to wait for the legislation but to implement the final recommendations immediately by working closely with the tripartite partners to enhance older workers’ employability.

b) The Government is considering giving higher Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) payout to older low-income workers aged above 55 to encourage them to work.  The labour movement hopes that the Government would do so to encourage more older workers to work and save for their retirement needs.

c) The funding amount and period of the ADVANTAGE! Scheme have been increased and lengthened respectively.  This would encourage more companies to facilitate the recruitment, retention and re-employment of older workers.  Our unions will continue to work closely with their management to tap on this funding to provide older workers with more re-employment opportunities.

d) NTUC’s Back to Work Programme, an initiative to encourage women to return to the workforce, has been elevated to a national-level programme led by a Tripartite Workgroup.  This signifies an even stronger support from the Government and employers on NTUC’s efforts to raise female employment rates, especially for older women.

e) The tripartite partners will work closely to enhance the cost competitiveness of older workers by increasing the pace of wage restructuring, moving away from seniority-based wage systems.  Additionally, the tripartite partners will help raise skill levels and value of older workers, through NTUC’s outcome-based skills initiatives like the Screen-Train-Place-Train Programme, worker-centric programmes under the Employability Skills System and Workforce Skills Qualification, and offering of training grants from the Surrogate Employer Programme and NTUC-Education Training Fund; and WDA’s Professionals Conversion Programme for PMETs and ADVANTAGE! scheme for older workers.  The tripartite partners will also help to shape positive perceptions towards older workers through outreach and promotional efforts and the new Tripartite Centre for Fair Employment.

Labour Movement’s Collaboration with Tripartite Partners

4 To support the Tripartite Committee’s efforts in enhancing older workers’ employability, the labour movement will continue to work closely with the tripartite partners on initiatives that would help older workers remain competitive, productive and relevant to the economy, and continue to lead fulfilling lives.  Many companies, with support from their unions, have already made progress in the following areas to help enhance the employability of older workers:

a) Moving Towards Job, Performance and Competency-based Wage Systems

To make older workers more cost-competitive for employers, the labour movement will continue to work with more companies to implement job, performance and competency-based wage systems, moving away from seniority-based wage systems.  This is so that workers’ wages are paid according to their job worth, performance and competencies, instead of seniority.  Examples of collaboration between employers and unions (Please see ANNEX):

i) Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Healthcare Services Employees’ Union
ii) Canon Singapore Pte Ltd and The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union

b) Fine-tuning Re-employment Policies and Job Roles

The labour movement will work closely with companies to fine-tune their re-employment and training policies, and job designs and placements, so that older workers are given fair and equal opportunities to be re-employed.  At the same time, older workers will be retrained to acquire new skills and be redeployed to take on new job roles in the companies.  Examples of collaboration between employers and unions (Please see ANNEX):

i) Public Utilities Board and Public Utilities Board Employees’ Union
ii) SBS Transit Limited and National Transport Workers’ Union

c) Re-designing Jobs

With support from WDA, the labour movement will continue to help companies in their efforts in redesigning jobs, especially the more labour intensive and physically demanding ones, so that older workers will continue to perform these jobs effectively and efficiently.  Examples of collaboration between employers and unions (Please see ANNEX):

i) Makino Asia Pte Ltd and Metal Industries Workers’ Union
ii) Nippon Paint (Singapore) Company Private Limited and Chemical Industries Employees’ Union
iii) NTUC Foodfare and Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union

d) U-HEALTH (Unions Helping Employees Achieve LifeTime Health)

To help workers, especially the older ones, remain healthy and fit, and enhance their productivity and employability, NTUC’s Quality Worklife Department will work with more unionised companies to help them implement Work Health Programmes (WHP), which is supported by the Health Promotion Board and its approved service providers.  Example of collaboration between employer and union (Please see ANNEX):

i) NOK Asia Company Pte Ltd and Metal Industries Workers’ Union

e) Senior Employment Guidance Programme

The labour movement has teamed up with the Centre for Seniors to introduce the Seniors’ Employment Guidance Programme for workers nearing retirement age and human resources professionals to facilitate and promote positive and active ageing through learning topics like ageing, financial management and re-employment.  Example of collaboration between employers and unions (Please see ANNEX):

i) Haw Par Healthcare Limited and Chemical Industries Employees’ Union
ii) National Environment Agency and Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers
iii) NTUC Club and NTUC Club Staff Union

5 In conclusion, the labour movement will work closely with the tripartite partners to implement the Tripartite Committee’s final recommendations to effect and sustain the momentum of re-employment of older workers.

John De Payva
President
National Trades Union Congress

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Goy Kae Lip
Consultant
Corporate Communications Department
National Trades Union Congress
DID 6213 8184
HP 9792 0650
Email goykl@ntuc.org.sg 

ANNEX

NTUC SUPPORTS AND CALLS FOR ACTION ON TRIPARTITE COMMITTEE’S FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON EMPLOYABILITY OF OLDER WORKERS

Examples of Companies Working with Their Unions to Help Enhance the Employability of Older Workers

a) Moving Towards Job, Performance and Competency-based Wage System

i) Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Healthcare Services Employees’ Union

Tan Tock Seng Hospital, with support from Healthcare Services Employees’ Union, has revamped and overhauled its wage structure to move away from a time-scale-based to a performance-based wage structure.  Workers are paid based on the job worth using criteria like the level of knowledge required, business expertise and performance, instead of seniority.

In the new wage system, the salary ratio (minimum versus maximum salary) in a salary range has moved to an average of 1.6.  The hospital has also implemented a gradual buildup of the monthly variable component (MVC) of 10% in the salary of the workers over the last few years.  For Annual Increments and variable bonuses, the workers are paid according to their individual performances.

As a result, a more flexible wage system, with compensation based on job scope and functions and performance, is developed.  Tan Tock Seng Hospital is an example of companies that has successfully put in place policies that were making it easier for older workers to be hired or stay employed.

ii) Canon Singapore Pte Ltd and The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union

Canon Singapore Pte Ltd, with support from The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union, revamped and overhauled its wage structure in April 2006 to pay its workers based on the job worth, using criteria like the level of knowledge required and business expertise, instead of their seniority.  The company implemented job evaluation to put a yardstick to a job’s worth, and developed a new age-neutral salary structure as the old wage structure has inconsistent Job Grading issues, is seniority-based, and has resulted in long servicing staff being paid relatively more than others performing similar job functions.

In the new wage system, salary increments have moved away from an entirely seniority-based system.  Jobs are graded and determined by its job worth and competencies.  Annual increments are based on individual performances.  Salaries adjustment and promotions are analysed across the board, and not decided by an individual department head.  The new wage model has become more flexible and allows older workers to be hired with the appropriate salary based on the job worth.

This changed has benefited camera specialist, Mr Ng Ngoi Seng, 62 years old.  He has been re-employed based on job worth and responsibility, and given his skills and experience, he is still able to command the same salary based on the new wage structure.  Canon Singapore is an example of a company that has successfully put in place policies that make it easier for older workers to be hired or stay employed.

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b) Fine-tuning Re-employment Policies and Job Roles

Public Utilities Board and Public Utilities Board Employees’ Union

The Public Utilities Board, with support from the Public Utilities Board Employees’ Union, re-employs retired employees who possess the required skills and competencies for the job vacancies that they are filling.  They may continue in the same job they were in prior to their retirement or be re-deployed to a new job with different scope and responsibilities, depending on the needs of the organisation.  The salary on re-employment would commensurate with the job to which they are deployed on re-employment and may be reduced for up to another 10% to meet the divisional salary ratios.

Measures to Facilitate Re-employment Beyond the Retirement Age

PUB has in place a system for employees who are past the retirement age to apply for re-employment.  To determine their suitability for the organisation’s needs, PUB conducts a regular review to match employees who have applied for re-employment to the vacancies available.  If re-employed in a different job, employees will be trained and equipped with the necessary skills for them to excel in their new jobs.

New Job Role in Catchment & Waterways Department

The Catchment & Waterways Department in PUB presently re-employs some 20 retired employees, selected for their skills and experience which help to facilitate their re-training and fit for their new jobs.

For example, Senior Technician Mr Ho Thian Chye was re-employed last year to undertake a new job in the Catchment & Waterways Department, involving the surveillance of PUB’s water catchments and waterways.  Prior to his retirement, he had worked in the Water Service & Operations Centre (WSOC) where he attended to customer feedback on water supply problems with his mobile crew, liaised closely with his working partners to provide temporary water supply to customers and supervised contractors in pipeline leak repair work.

In his new role, Mr Ho leads a team in patrolling and surveying the water catchment areas and compiling his team’s observations and information into a daily site report for follow-up action by the relevant agencies and departments.  In addition, he also guides and supervises his team in public education and public relations.   Whilst his previous experience helped him to ease him into this new job, it differs in scope from his previous job hence presenting Mr Ho with the opportunity to learn new skills and offering him the satisfaction of a job well done.  Mr Ho is happy to be able to take on the new job as it offers him satisfaction and opportunity to learn new skills.

Job Opportunities for Older Employees

PUB also has job opportunities for older employees in the organisation.  For example, Kamarudin Maideen, 46 years old, has been with PUB since 1976 and was previously working in the Meter Management Section in Water Supply (Network) Department.  His job scope at the Meter Management Section included attending to public feedback, supervising contractors in repair work and conducting meter tests at PUB’s meter workshop.

He was offered an opportunity to work in the Catchment Surveillance Branch in Catchment & Waterways Department as part of PUB’s efforts in job redesign for its employees, and he gladly accepted the challenge in taking on a new role.  His new job scope is similar to that of his co worker, Mr Ho Thian Chye.  For Mr Kamarudin who faces new challenges in field work and administrative duties in his new role, he is satisfied that he has done his job well and is pleased with yet another learning opportunity in his life-long learning journey

SBS Transit Limited and National Transport Workers’ Union

The National Transport Workers’ Union has been active in engaging SBS Transit Limited to extend the retirement age of its workers.

Through the management-union collaboration, a new position, Service Mentor, in SBS Transit, has been created to re-employ existing Bus Captain beyond the retirement age of 62 or 65.  The criteria for re-employment include positive working attitude and a good safety record.  The Service Mentor will provide mentoring to existing and new Bus Captains.

Current, SBS Transit employs 29 employees who are above their retirement age.

Mr Foo Ah Boon, aged 65 years old, a Bus Captain for the last 30 over years in SBS Transit, was offered the job of Service Mentor upon his retirement at 65.  He has since attended mentoring training on safe driving and orientation to different bus routes.

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c) Re-designing Jobs

Makino Asia Pte Ltd and Metal Industries Workers’ Union

Makino Asia Pte Ltd has been in Singapore for the past 33 years, starting off as a supplier of sub unit assembly of manual lathe, LeBlond Pte Ltd, to a high-tech computer numerical control machine tool builder in the eighties.  It is currently a producer of knowledge-based turnkey engineering products.  It services China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, having its business headquarters in Singapore.  In Singapore, they employ around 450 employees and another 550 employees in China, India and Indonesia.

Makino Asia believes that its current achievements are built upon the combination of a highly skilled workforce and the business concept of customer orientation.  It has a keen emphasis in research and development and constantly upgrades the skills of its employees.  With support from the Metal Industries Workers’ Union, Makino Asia is open to recruiting new mature workers if they are found to be suitable for the job, even if they do not have the right experience.  The company, which believes in training and skills upgrading workers, is willing to train workers for new job roles through their intensive basic skills training.

Currently, mature workers constitute about 42% of their workforce, with many of them working as production assembly technicians.  However, Makino Asia faces a few challenges with regards to employing mature workers, one of which is the ability of the workers to fit into a work environment that is physically demanding.  Currently, when the mature workers find that they are unable to cope physically, the company sends them to perform less strenuous tasks.

Tapping on WDA’s ADVANTAGE! Scheme, Makino Asia has helped their mature workers cope with the physical nature of their work by simplifying their work processes, which will also help them reduce line cycle time.  This makes work physically less strenuous and simpler for the mature workers.  The company intends to establish an improved process supported by sub-unit assemblies section at the process line.  These sub-unit assembly sections are age-friendly and will also help to reduce line cycle time from 8-10 days to 5-6 days, thus enhancing work efficiency and productivity. Due to this, the company can consider hiring new mature workers, including females, who previously do not have the relevant skills, as the company will train them to acquire the required skills in a shorter time.

The process is targeted at technicians who are in the assembly unit for Vertical Machining Centres and will impact 13 mature workers.  There are also plans to expand this to the assembly lines for EDM and Wirecut machines.  Currently, the work at these assembly lines is physically demanding and involves lifting heavy machinery and the usage of a crane.  The company has bought some fixtures for the machinery to make transporting the heavy equipment easier and minimise the use of the crane, which requires hand-eye coordination, something which tends to deteriorate when the worker ages.  It also intends to continue to improve the work process to make things easier for mature workers and also increase overall productivity, and to purchase more trolleys and pallet trucks for them to use.

This move is strongly supported by the union and workers, like Mr Bohari Sutiram, a cheerful 44-year-old, who benefited from the changes in the work process.  He said that the job is indeed physically demanding and it involves a lot of bending.  He has also seen colleagues who strained their backs while carrying out their jobs and relates that the telecovers used to cover the machines came in four pieces previously.  However, the telecovers now come in two pieces which are also heavier.  Therefore, the new fixtures will come in useful as they will help workers move the pieces while minimising use of the crane.  Apart from the issue of hand-eye coordination, he also shares that workers have to queue to use the crane previously.  Thus, with more fixtures, it has helped cut waiting time at the crane.

Also supportive of this move is the Metal Industries Workers’ Union (MIWU), who worked closely with the company on their efforts.  Branch Chairman, Mr Lee Meng Tek, commented that this is a win-win situation for both the workers and the company, as it leads to improved productivity for all.  Ms Jessie Yeo, Executive Secretary of MIWU, said “Metal Industries Workers' Union strongly supports the management's effort and is pleased to partner them on the projects.  We hope to see more companies taking more proactive approach like Makino in making the workplace friendlier to our matured workers.”

Nippon Paint (Singapore) Company Private Limited and Chemical Industries Employees’ Union

Presently, Nippon Paint (Singapore) Private Limited has 128 employees, out of which 27% are aged between 40 and 49, while 32% are aged 50 and above.  The company hopes to employ its mature workers for as long as possible.

With support from the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union, Nippon Paint (Singapore) has introduced a re-employment scheme for retirees by rehiring workers at aged 62 and above on an annual contract basis.  This contract is renewed yearly based on the worker’s ability to perform the job.

Additionally, with WDA’s and the union’s support, and leveraging on the ADVANTAGE! Funding, Nippon Paint (Singapore) has implemented a bar-coding system to help its older workers at work.  The system allows the older workers to check an order of goods electronically using a bar-code scanner instead of relying on their eyesight alone to identify the items manually.  The bar-coding system has helped to reduce human errors, which were once common among the logistics assistants whose average age is 48 years old.
 
For example, Mr Lim Huay Seng, 52 years old, a logistics assistant at Nippon Paint (Singapore) has said that before the use of the bar-coding system, his long-sightedness occasionally caused him to misread the codes on boxes and tins, which denoted the colour of the paint stored within.  This led to the wrong colour paints being delivered to the customers or goods stored in the wrong place at the company’s warehouse.  With the new bar-coding system, it has helped him eliminate such errors and increase his efficiency and effectiveness.

NTUC Foodfare and Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union

NTUC Foodfare Co-operative Ltd operates a chain of nine food outlets, as well as a central kitchen manufacturing bakery and condiment products.  It also owns a subsidiary company catering food to nine army camps.  At present, it has a staff strength of 400, of whom 70% are aged 40 and above, and 30 workers are aged 62 and above.

NTUC Foodfare and its union, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union, believe that older workers are a resource that should be tapped on as an ageing population and any present/future tight labour market situations would require better use of experienced older workers.

NTUC Foodfare hires older workers as it values them for their reliability and co-operation.  It also finds that older workers, contrary to popular belief, are flexible and open to change, in addition to having lower turnover rates.  It regards its older workers as being keen and willing to stay on at work with the right encouragement.  It believes that the key to the co-op’s success lies in its adaptability, including its ability to draw on a pool of multi-skilled workers, whether full-timers, part-timers or temporary workers.  It also believes that older workers who keep themselves in good physical condition are fully capable of maintaining work positions that require physical strength, endurance and quick reflexes.  Thus, it finds them to be excellent workers.

The co-op currently hires older workers in the capacity of production operators, kitchen helpers, cooks, pantry maids, cleaners, packers and dishwashers. It is currently looking into how to re-design certain jobs to make them more age-friendly.  Over the years, NTUC Foodfare has implemented age-friendly practices by introducing mechanisation and job redesign processes to make the workplace more friendly to older workers.  With help from its union, it examined its work processes, looking for problems or obstacles that older workers will face and look for ways to remove these obstacles or problems.

The co-op managed to identify two processes – the making of pizza bases, and the dividing of dough – which are difficult tasks for older workers to cope with.

The making of pizza bases traditionally involved using the old semi-auto Sheeter.  The task was physically demanding and required a skilled person to operate it.  This often meant that the old workers are unable to use the Sheeter.  To tackle this problem, the co-op studied its work processes, redesigned the production flow and replaces the old machine with a fully automated “Sheeter”.  The result – a happier and more productive mature worker.

The problem of dividing the dough to make buns is a different one from making of the pizza bases.  This task is very physically demanding and needs a strong person to manage the semi-auto Divider which also means that older workers are less able to perform this task.  To make this task age-friendly, the co-op replaced the old machine with the fully automated Divider.

In changing the above machines, the co-op has also helped to raise productivity at the workplace.  Today, the co-op no longer needs to hire skilled and strong persons to manage the machines as any workers with the right attitude, regardless of age, can manage the machines.  Training takes about 10 minutes instead of the usual 1 – 3 months.  Older workers turnover rate is also much lower now, hence recruitment cost and training cost have also reduced.  The morale of the workers has also been boosted as they have witnessed how the co-op balanced a productive, competitive work environment with their needs.

In addition to putting in place automation that would help older workers become more effective at work, NTUC Foodfare also formulated a recruitment policy to make them an age-friendly organisation.  It reviewed its human resources policies, training programmes, job designs, performance evaluation and reward systems so that these are age-friendly.  At the same time, older workers are assessed not based on their seniority or age, but on a performance-based structure, with their remuneration based on the job roles and functions performed by them.  Job structures are also reviewed to meet the needs of a mature workforce and for those who have reached their retirement age, they are given a contract employment as long as they can continue to perform their jobs.

NTUC Foodfare also encourages healthy living for its workers as it believes that healthy workers are more productive at work.  It also tries to strengthen morale and encourage productivity by showing all employees that they are very much appreciated, for example, through the mentioning of outstanding achievements by an older worker.

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d) U-HEALTH (Unions Helping Employees Achieve LifeTime Health)

NOK Asia Company Pte Ltd and Metal Industries Workers’ Union

NOK Asia Company Pte Ltd has a workforce of about 300 workers.  With strong support and participation from the Metal Industries Workers’ Union branch committee, NOK Asia will be embarking on the U-HEALTH with a series of activities aimed at getting workers to keep themselves healthy and fit.  These include talks on nutrition and weight management, as well as fitness sessions like yoga and pilates.

Workers will go through a basic health screening, where their Body Mass Index, blood pressure, fasting venous blood glucose and full venous fasting lipid profile will be measured.  With their health screening results, workers would then know their health risk factors and be empowered to make the right decisions in keeping themselves healthy and fit, thus remaining employable.

Under U-HEALTH, NOK Asia’s canteen will also go through a healthy overhaul with the Workplace Canteen Programme.  The canteen vendors will be equipped with necessary knowledge and skills on nutrition and healthier culinary techniques, so that they will provide healthier food choices for the workers in the canteen.

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e) Senior Employment Guidance Programme

Haw Par Healthcare Limited and Chemical Industries Employees’ Union

The Management of Haw Par Healthcare Limited and the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union recognise the value of their mature workers.  They put their belief in practice by offering re-employment opportunities to workers who have reached the age of 62; as long as the workers maintains good working attitude and their physical conditions permit them to continue working.

Currently, the company hires four permanent employees who are beyond aged 62 on a year-to-year renewable basis.  The oldest of these workers is aged 67.  There are about 70 workers in the company who are within the age range of 50 – 60 years old.  Half of them are beyond 55 years of age.

Anticipating that there will be more cases of re-employment in the near future, the company took up the union’s suggestion by putting in place a structured re-employment policy during the recent collective agreement negotiation.  Part of the re-employment structure involves having joint discussions (i.e. with representatives from management and union) with employees two years before they reach the age of 62. The objective is to find out if the employees concerned are keen to continue working beyond age 62, and the re-employment options available to them.  Gap-bridging mechanisms such as performance counseling and / or skills training can be offered, if required, in order to get the workers ready for a new lease of working life after 62.

In an effort to change the mindset of both middle level management as well as employees, the company demonstrates its commitment by actively sending participants to the Senior Employment Guidance Programme.  Both management representatives and mature employees from Haw Par Healthcare were amongst the participants in the first run of the programme, and more can be expected in the future.

Note: Separately, National Environment Agency and Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers; and NTUC Club and NTUC Club Staff Union have also committed their staff to participate in the Senior Employment Guidance Programme.

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