Providing faster career support for retrenched workers – that is the aim of the recently-announced mandatory reporting of retrenchment, said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say.
He stressed that the Government is concerned that the long term unemployment rate in Singapore is creeping up and the re-entry rate has been coming down.
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Labour Market Advance Release for the third quarter of 2016, some 4,100 workers were retrenched between July and September this year.
Though the numbers were less than the previous quarter, they were more than the 3,460 laid off for the same period in 2015.
Minister Lim added that increasingly, retrenchments will not just affect rank- and-file workers but professionals, managers, executives and technicians as well.
Support For The Affected
To help affected workers, the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation made up of representatives from MOM, Workforce Singapore, NTUC and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employabilit... have been rolling out various programmes.
From January to September 2016, career services centres run by e2i and Workforce Singapore have helped 18,300 job seekers and placed 11,400 of them in jobs.
“Through e2i's expertise in career coaching, job matching and its wide network of partners, we can help them upgrade their skills competencies in a targeted way. We also hope to equip individuals with the latest industry knowledge to enhance their employability,” said e2i’s Chief Executive Officer Gilbert Tan.
Tripartite Reactions
Tripartite partners welcomed the move, with some mixed reactions about the number of employees in the provisions.
“A good move, but it can be better. It will be better if employers report any retrenchment to MOM without stipulating a number. Now it is five, many will try to circumvent it. Some employers may retrench four at a time,” said NTUC Vice-President and General Secretary of the United Workers of Petroleum Industry (UW... K Karthikeyan.
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) added: “Our main concern was that smaller companies may find it difficult to keep tabs on retrenchment over a period of time as the administrative procedure is onerous. The exemption of companies with less than 10 employees will help to address this concern.”
There have also been some good practitioners, shared the General Secretary of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) Tan Hock Soon.
“In a few recent cases, companies have informed us ahead of the required notice period of one month. They gave us three to six months’ notice. In one case, a company retrenching gave us one and a half years notice to allow us to plan and gather the agencies to assist the affected workers,” said Mr Tan.
As for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), NTUC Assistant-Secretary General and Director of U SME Secretariat Yeo Guat Kwang said it is working with NTUC’s Industrial Relations Department on proposed guidelines for the U SME partners on the latest MOM requirements.
Source: NTUC This Week
