Mr Speaker, Sir, I support the Bill.
First of all, I am very happy that the amendment will raise the minimum permissible age from 12 to 13 years for employment for light work and raise the permissible age from 14 to 15 years for non-hazardous industrial work. This is a positive move to make our requirements in line with ILO Core Convention 138.
As recommended by the Economic Review Committee, the amendment empowers the Commissioner for Labour to lawfully approve applications of flexible work schedules without being bound by existing overtime and rest day provisions which require companies to pay 1.5 times (rate of payment for overtime) and 2 times (rate of payment for work on rest day) only in cash. With the amendment, companies can use the accumulated overtime work to compensate employees in the form of paid time off during the lull period.
Optimal use of manpower holds the key to success in the New Economy. With the changing business environment and the need for an improved quality of life, there is motivation in the search and implementation of more flexible working arrangements.
The benefits of flexi-work practices have been well documented in many management and human resource literature. Studies have shown that the introduction of flexi-work in developed countries have resulted in lowered absenteeism, increased productivity, higher employee retention and savings in overhead costs, not to mention a higher employee morale.
In general, the unions support flexible work schemes. It allows flexibility in managing manpower resources in accordance with market conditions without having to resort to other cost-cutting measures such as retrenchments, shorter workweek, or temporary layoffs. It also promotes a balanced lifestyle by allowing workers to take time off during non-peak periods. At the same time, employers do not have to sacrifice any productive time.
However, for implementation of such schemes, support from unions and workers is key. Unions and workers must be consulted before implementing such a scheme. The initial stage of implementation is also crucial. The scheme should be implemented as pilot projects to first gauge its effectiveness. A time frame of 6 to 12 months for these pilot projects could be set. There should also be regular reviews and communication between management and workers.
The Ministry must ensure that such flexible work schedules would not undermine employees’ interests, and that there are proper safeguards against abuses. Flexibility should not affect workers’ income stability and should not be carried out at the expense of their safety and health. In terms of workplace safety, some union leaders had proposed that, under the flexible time scheme, the maximum working hours in a day should remain at 12 hours, and employees should still be entitled to the same number of rest days per week and current leave benefits. Additional incentives should also be considered in the granting of approval for such schemes by MOM.
Unions in Singapore are prepared to work with companies on their proposed Flexible Work projects so as to help workers understand and appreciate better the objectives of such changes and their benefits. It is in the union’s interest to help workers keep their jobs and have greater certainty in their income. These need not be conflicting objectives if union and management work together for a smooth workplace transformation and thus enable workers to remain employable.
ST Aerospace is one unionized company that has successfully implemented flexible-time schemes. Feedback from the management, union and employees has been positive as the schemes are seen to be beneficial to both the company and employees.
One important principle which ST Aerospace adopted is to grant paid time off to employees on days when there is no work scheduled for them. The paid time off will be deducted from the overtime work accumulated when the employees have to work overtime based on the rate of 1.5 times for work beyond the contractual daily and weekly working hours as stipulated in the Employment Act. (The same principle also applies to the rate of payment for work on their rest day, i.e. 2 times)
Through this arrangement, ST Aerospace has been able to better utilise its manpower resources and also share the productivity gain with employees i.e. the employees can look forward to additional incentive payments. There are savings also on traveling time and cost.
Hence, flexible work arrangements can lead to a win-win situation for all stake-holders, as businesses and workers stand to benefit. For this to happen, my stress is again on communication and trust between company and employees, and regular reviews of performance measurement, work targets and objectives.
Companies should also recognize that Flexi-schemes aim to achieve greater flexibility and optimize manpower deployment to strengthen competitiveness. It is not a reduction in the cost for overtime payment and rest day work. Management should not see this amendment for greater flexibility as a new avenue for cost cutting.
In conclusion, the law will only set the minimum requirement on this issue. What we need to do now is to publicise and promote the best practices and get more workplaces to follow the early adopters. For flexible work arrangements to gain wider acceptance, more needs to be done to promote the benefits for both workers and employers.
The challenge for the tripartite partners now is to balance the need to provide flexibility for companies and to safeguard the interest of workers.
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On extended maternity benefits, I would like to urge employers to grant extended maternity leave to their employees during the transitional period i.e. after 1 Aug and before 1 Oct 2004. I also hope employers could be more accommodating to employees’ request to take the 4-week maternity leave flexibly over 6 months, from the birth of the baby.
