By Fawwaz Baktee
The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Redundancy and Re-entry into Employment 2015 report released on 20 April 2016 cited an increase in redundancies last year – up from 12,930 in 2014 to 15,580 in 2015. But according to the Ministry, these were mainly due to on-going business restructuring and softer economic conditions.
The increase in redundancies came mainly from manufacturing and professional services, associated with the fall in global oil prices and a slowdown in marine and construction demand.
Resident and Foreign
The report also stated that resident workers continued to be less vulnerable to redundancy than foreign workers in 2015, with 7.1 layoffs per 1,000 employees for resident workers as compared to 7.7 layoffs per 1,000 employees for foreign workers.
Among the resident workers made redundant in the first nine months of 2015, 66 per cent found employment by December 2015. MOM said that the rate remained within a stable range although the percentage dipped from the 68 per cent in 2014. MOM added that the decline in re-entry rates was observed across age and occupation groups.
Similar to past cohorts, 81 per cent of resident workers who re-entered employment took three months or less to secure new jobs.
Most Vulnerable Group
The report also found that mature workers aged above 40 formed 65 per cent of those made redundant last year.
“With an aging population and a correspondingly aging local workforce, we must be proactive about making workplaces and jobs as ageless as possible – in the way jobs and job processes are designed, assistive technology and equipment are employed, mature employees are trained and motivated, and mindsets transformed. We have to tackle both cyclical and structural challenges,” said NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How.
Other than mature workers, Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians remained more vulnerable to redundancy than other occupational groups – a continued the trend since 2012.
Source: NTUC This Week
