Writing the next chapter of the Singapore story can never be complete without the stories of hope, heart and home of the youths in the workforce. These youths, who will be the limelight of the nation’s future, came together to share their aspirations, dreams and anxieties when they engaged one of the country’s key leaders - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
The interactive dialogue session, hosted by the Labour Movement’s youth chapter, saw participants’ passionate views shared at the Young NTUC Coffeeshop Talk held at the TCC@ Samsung Hub on 6 September 2012.
The Nod For Paternity Leave
“I believe paternity leave is a good idea, not just for functional reasons. Fathers need to spend time with their new-borns. But it is also a signal for couples and for society that fathers play an important role and have a real responsibility…So it is a step forward in more ways than one. However, we have to make sure our SMEs, who will find difficulty getting someone to cover duties, can cope… we have to be practical about the duration.”
More Childcare Leave
“We should move in that direction. The workplace must become more child-friendly. But an enlightened environment at work is the best balance… this should not just be a question of laws and rules and what is mandated. Employers must be more flexible and understanding with people with young families.”
Encouraging Flexible Hours
“When planned well, flexible work hours can lead to the same or even higher productivity. In fact, many of the companies which had switched to flexible hours have seen better performance and an increase in productivity. So it is win-win for the employees and employers. Among white-collar employees, people could work very productively at home, logging in via email and having work moving to-and-fro from the office… This is not surprising… basically, flexible hours can help employees feel better about their work, and that usually leads to more productive work.”
Enhancing The Productivity Scales
“The fact is that in the developed countries where labour is in short supply and wages are high, companies have invested more in workers, up and down the line. The ordinary worker in those countries has a level of mastery and competence that is higher than where we are today. We still have a lot
of catch-up to do in every sector of our economy. “Raising the level of expertise of the ordinary worker - the bluecollar worker, lower and middle-level white-collar workers, everyone… craftsmanship, product knowledge and service quality, these are areas in which we have a lot of catch-up to do. It is a matter of investment, a matter of continuous training and a matter of giving employees opportunities on the job. “If we can take individual workers to a new level of mastery, that is ultimately how we raise national productivity. Productivity is not a macroeconomic variable. It is about individual companies helping their workers to move up a new level of mastery and expertise. I believe we can do that, just like it has been done elsewhere.”
