Comrades
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dealing with SARS
Good afternoon. I am pleased to join you here today at this forum on "Managing Job Changes". It is good to see a good turnout despite the current SARS outbreak. I know that SARS is weighing down on everyone's mind. We have to recognise that this is something that we have to deal with for quite a while to come. However, life must go on.
Singapore was one of the first few countries to be hit by the disease. We are at the frontline in fighting the disease. Very little was known about this disease when it hit us. Despite all that, we have done relatively well so far. Singapore has stood out in its ability to act swiftly to contain the disease. This attitude and our rational approach in tackling the SARS outbreak have drawn international attention.
There are some positive developments in the past week. The DNA code of the virus has been mapped out. The diagnostic test kit is already ready. With the test kit, we would be able to identify and isolate cases more effectively. The thermal image system deployed to screen people with fever would add to our arsenal of tools to contain the disease.
Containing the spread of the disease must be a national effort. Each of us will have a role to play in containing the disease. We must take common-sense precautions. If we are not feeling well, see a doctor and stay away from crowded places. Community effort is critical in the next phase of our battle against SARS. To prevent community spread, we must act responsibly. We should be honest in our declarations of wherever we have been. If we are ill, and have SARS symptoms, we should call for the ambulance to take us to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and not risk infecting others by going to other hospitals. Avoid travelling to the affected areas unless really necessary. Comply with quarantine orders. Unless we contain the disease, our economy will be sent into a recession, affecting more jobs and income.
A few months back, we were watching the war in Iraq closely because of its implication on the global economy. The outbreak of SARS has added greater uncertainties to the equation. The major economies such as that of the US, Germany and Japan remain weak. But SARS can send our economy, the regional economies, and even the world economy into recession. SARS has to be contained.
Fighting Back
These things that I have mentioned are the realities of the situation around us. We can either be paralysed by them or we can put things into perspective and fight back. It is not the first time that Singapore has faced difficulties. Each time a problem hit us, we have been able to pull ourselves together and spring back. Why should this time be any different?
Our fundamentals are still strong. Our small size makes communications easier. This will give us the advantage to contain and deal with SARS more effectively.
Apart from dealing with the effects of SARS, we must also tackle the shifts in the world economy. The Economic Review Committee has charted out a plan for us to create more jobs and keep existing jobs. We must continue to build upon our strengths.
I spoke about the Survival Kit at the NTUC 10th Triennial Delegates Conference in April 2000, three years back. Those of you who were present at the Garden Reception in March this year would have hear me speak about this. I feel that the Survival Kit is still relevant. What has changed is the even greater urgency now to arm ourselves with the Survival Kit.
Survival Kit
What are the elements of the Survival Kit?
The kit should have at these things - a tent, hunting tools, a compass and map, first aid box and emergency rations.
First, the tent.
This is the union membership. We must have a strong union movement that is proactive, cohesive and responsible. A good tent will help workers weather the storm. It would help to make sure that workers are treated fairly when companies restructure, while ensuring that the labour market remains flexible enough for more job to be created. When the economy restructures, many workers will have to move in between jobs. We have to help them make that move.
Second, the hunting tools.
We must sharpen our skills and secure fair value for our skills. We need the hunting tools to get food to stay alive. Skills, the basis of likelihood, are the most important item in the Survival Kit.
We can expect a very different employment landscape in the years to come. In order to be globally competitive, our economy has to move up the value chain. It takes more and more investment dollars to create one job. These jobs will require workers to have better skills and higher qualifications. We must constantly sharpen our hunting tools.
The Skills Redevelopment Programme, SRP, is one of the programmes to help our workers cope with the need to upgrade their skills. NTUC administers the programme, Government provides the funds. Over 68,000 workers have benefited from the SRP. SRP supports more than 1,300 certifiable course modules targeted at more than 30 industries. Over 80% of the SRP participating companies feel that SRP training increase worker's productivity and job effectiveness, and raise standards and professionalism of their workforce. 40% of retrenched workers who have undergone SRP training have managed to find employment. We will continue to improve the effectiveness of the Programme.
Skills upgrading is not something that only the lower-educated workers have to do. There is new knowledge created everyday. A tertiary degree gets outdated very quickly. Therefore, even better educated workers need to constantly apply their minds to upgrading their knowledge and skills to stay relevant.
Third, the compass and map.
We must strengthen the commitment to lifelong learning and facilitate mobility. With leaps in technological advancements, product cycles will be shorter. Skills will become obsolete faster. It is very likely that our workers will be faced with more frequent job displacements. Our leaders have said this many times. I hope the message has got through to Singaporeans. They cannot expect to remain in one job for their entire career. To navigate forward, they would need a compass and a map.
We have established a network of employment assistance centres. These centres provide job matching and training support services for the unemployed. Job seekers can have direct resources and assistance from the Ministry of Manpower, the Community Development Councils, and NTUC Joblink. Through this network, we hope to better disseminate labour market information and enhance the effectiveness of our employment assistance services.
Two of such employment assistance agencies have set up booths here today. One of them is NTUC Joblink and the other is Southwest CDC. These two agencies have various assistance and training schemes to offer. The forum today can allow them to share with everyone on what they have job seekers and how they can help the workers.
It is useless to have a map and compass if we do not know how to use them. This means that we will need to have the right attitude to re-skill and upgrade and to adapt to a number of job changes within the span of our career. The only constant will be to learn, apply and learn. Those who do not will run the risk of being left behind.
Fourth, the first aid box.
We must make employment-related benefits more portable. One of such benefits is medical benefits. People would find themselves in between jobs more often. This is central to the theme of the Forum today. When people are in between jobs, they would need medical coverage. Workers are getting older and they need medical coverage in their old age. The tripartite partners are studying schemes such as the Portable Medical Benefits Scheme and the Transferable Medical Insurance Scheme. Put the names of the schemes aside and you will see that at the core of these scheme is this - How can we build "save-as-you-earn" systems to take care of workers' medical expenses and to tide them over unemployment.
Fifth, the emergency rations.
In fact, many of us would find ourselves working for shorter periods for one employer. So we cannot expect to get $40,000 to $60,000 each time we are retrenched. We won't have this to tide us over until we find another job. That's why we must help ourselves to "save-as-we-earn". Then we have something to fall back on in our time of need. Therefore, it is important that workers, with the support of the company, set aside some savings on a regular basis. This is a second line of defence that they could fall back on when they are out of a job. It also means that workers have to spend wisely and plan their finances.
Although the best help we can give the lower income group is to get them a job, there will always be some who will need more time to catch up with the rest. Therefore, the social safety net must be effective in helping this group of people in the society.
Conclusion
Arming ourselves with the Survival Kit is important. Knowing when to use it is also crucial. Let me share you with a little scientific fact. Imagine that we have a frog into a beaker of water that is slowly heating up. What will happen is that frog would slowly adjust its body temperature to match the surrounding that is being heated up gradually. It is not able to sense the danger around it. It would do so until it gets cooked in the beaker of water.
Changes are happening around us. Some of changes are very significant and we can see them and adjust quickly. Just as in the case of the frog, if it is thrown into a hot beaker of water, it would immediately jump out of the danger.
However, there are many changes that happen gradually, sometimes not noticed by many people. We have to recognise that there have been fundamental changes, and we need to respond to those changes. On the ground, many workers have accepted jobs they did not like to do, and wages that have been significantly less than we they used to earn. It requires a tremendous change on their part, and major adjustments to their lives. They have done a reality check, and realised that these are the jobs that are available, and they needed to tighten their belts, at least for the time being. Better to have a job with a lower income than no job and income. Those who have not lost their jobs may not realise the change taking place. They risk getting cooked. These people have recognised the danger and jump out of the beaker of water that is warming up, even if it meant moving out of their comfort zone.
In order not to face the same fate as the frog in the beaker, we need to anticipate changes in our environment and recognise these changes. The Survival Kit would be of limited use if we do not accept that the environment has changed and that we have to respond to it.
I wish you a fruitful discussion this afternoon.
Thank you.
