New rule sets targets for hiring of higher-skilled workers
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2014
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2014
Firms in this sector will soon need to have a minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers on their payrolls, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday.
He did so while acknowledging the patchy report card on productivity, ever since the Government set the ambitious target of raising it by 2 to 3 per cent every year by 2020. "Almost all the gains were achieved in 2010 when we were recovering from the recession."
Raising productivity was the only viable route for Singapore if it were to avoid a "zero sum game" between business and labour, he added. The alternatives were not pretty: either jobs would be lost, or prices would go up or wages would stay down.
And while some sectors have made an effort to raise their game, the construction industry remains a laggard, with its productivity in the first half of this year actually falling compared with last year.
"Construction must be transformed into an efficient and more integrated industry, led by progressive firms and supported by a higher-skilled workforce," said Mr Tharman at an event held yesterday to mark the end of the inaugural National Productivity Month.
The new rule could give it a push. It requires at least 10 per cent of work permit holders in each firm to be classified as higher-skilled, and will take effect from Jan 1, 2017.
The changes will be phased in over the next two years to give firms in the industry time to adapt. Those that fail to meet the targets will face curbs on hiring.
About 15 per cent of the 300,000 work permit holders in the construction industry are classified as higher-skilled, though these workers are unevenly distributed across firms.
To retain experienced construction workers in Singapore, Mr Tharman said firms will also be allowed to hire workers at the end of their work permit period without them having to first leave Singapore. This will take effect from June 1 next year.
Singapore Construction Association president Ho Nyok Yong said the changes will benefit construction firms in the long term, given that companies pay lower levies for higher-skilled workers.
Construction companies now pay $250 less in monthly levies for each higher-skilled worker. This difference will rise to $400 a month over the next two years.
Mr Eng Kim Chooi, the general manager of Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction, said the company sends its employees for training to upgrade their skills.
Mr Eng Kim Chooi, the general manager of Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction, said the company sends its employees for training to upgrade their skills.
"After they pass, we increase their salaries," said Mr Eng.
The company has 446 work permit holders on its payroll, more than half of whom are classified as higher-skilled.
DBS economist Irvin Seah said productivity-boosting measures are "likely to become more targeted towards specific industries or clusters" as the restructuring effort progresses. While construction companies will have to pay higher-skilled workers more, the new measures will help firms bring costs down in the long term if workers do become more innovative and efficient, he added.
Tharman: No choice for S'pore but to become more productive
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2014
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 31 Oct 2014
THE journey towards higher productivity will take many years, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam last night. And yet, it is a journey that Singapore cannot avoid.
"Making the transition to a high-productivity economy is absolutely essential for Singapore," he said.
"The fact that we face a tight labour market is a reality. We all know that, and it means that to sustain business competitiveness and continue to raise Singaporeans' incomes, we have to make this major transition."
Some countries manage to transform their economies quickly as a result of major or prolonged recessions. "But we are not operating in crisis, and that's a good part of the reason why economic restructuring for higher productivity will take time in Singapore," he said.
So far, it has been an uphill journey. The Government has set a productivity target of 2 per cent to 3 per cent growth a year by 2020. But labour productivity inched up just 0.2 per cent a year from 2010 to last year.
He pointed to three scenarios if Singapore does not manage to raise productivity. If wages go up, then competitiveness and jobs might be lost.
In the second scenario, prices would rise and hurt everyone.
In the third scenario, without productivity gains, firms would try to keep wages low.
"Higher productivity is the only way to avoid this zero sum game between labour and business," said Mr Tharman.
Structural changes - where more innovative firms take the lead and gain market share while others consolidate, shift out or switch to new businesses - are part of the solution to achieving higher productivity, said Mr Tharman.
Singapore will also have to place greater emphasis on continuous learning and the development of deep expertise in every field, he said.
Mr Tharman was speaking at the Business Excellence Awards and inaugural Singapore Productivity Awards last night, at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
"We must also recognise that market restructuring is part of the solution to achieve higher productivity - where more innovative firms, those which have retooled themselves, will take the lead and gain market share while others consolidate, shift out or shift to new businesses in order to survive in a tight labour market," said Mr Tharman, who is chairing the newly set up SkillsFuture Council.
Construction firms 'already upgrading workers'
By Marissa Lee And Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2014
By Marissa Lee And Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2014
NEW measures aimed at raising the percentage of higher-skilled workers in the construction industry reinforce ongoing efforts by firms to upgrade their employees, construction companies told The Straits Times.
Companies say their efforts were already under way, even before new regulations requiring companies to have a minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers were unveiled on Thursday.
Still, firms said it remains to be seen whether efforts to help lift the sector out of its productivity slump will pay off in the long term.
The new regulations, announced on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, require at least 10 per cent of work permit holders in each firm to be classified as higher-skilled, and will take effect on Jan 1, 2017.
The move is part of a raft of measures aimed at building a more productive construction workforce and encouraging firms to retain higher-skilled work permit holders.
The changes will be phased in over the next two years to give firms time to adapt. Those that fail to meet the targets will face curbs on hiring.
About 60 per cent of firms already meet the new requirement. Of the remainder, most - about 80 per cent - need to upgrade one or two work permit holders over the next two years.
Employers told The Straits Times they are already making efforts to raise skill levels, and do not foresee problems meeting the requirements.
"The requirements are not hard to meet," said Mr Peter Chew, managing director of CAK & FG Survey, which employs about 90 work permit holders. Just 5 per cent of them fall into the higher-skilled category.
"We always encourage our workers to study, and we do send them for engineering survey courses with the Land Surveyors Board," he said.
Firms already meeting the requirements say a more productive team is essential given that the industry is already being squeezed by higher foreign worker levies and tighter hiring quotas.
Straits Construction executive director Kenneth Loo said more than 20 per cent of its 500 work permit holders are classified as higher-skilled. "We will increase this percentage if possible, because with the tightening regimes in place, we need to expect as much work as possible from each worker," he said.
Mr Augustus Peh, managing director of commercial interior renovation firm Spacelogic, said the company trains its workers with the aim of eventually promoting them to managers.
"We need to upgrade them so that they can work towards becoming managers... We want to retain them, because once they get used to the work, they become more efficient," he said.
About 40 per cent of its 50 work permit holders are higher-skilled workers.
Larger firms and main contractors are likely to have an easier time complying, but smaller subcontractors - whose labour requirements tend to fluctuate from project to project - might struggle, said Santarli Construction general manager Andrew Seet.
Thirty per cent of its 120 work permit holders are higher-skilled.
Mr Richard Teo, project manager of CHL Construction, said the workers he had sent on training courses came back more safety-conscious. But training can only do so much.
"There are always good workers and bad workers. Productivity also depends on their own qualities. Some can have better skills but they don't contribute much to productivity," he said.
Retaining higher-skilled staff
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2014
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 1 Nov 2014
THE Migrant Workers' Centre hopes that new construction industry measures will reduce turnover of lower-skilled new foreign recruits, chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said in a statement yesterday.
The foreign workers' advocacy group believes the moves will be a "good start to an overall raising of skills in the industry", but would also like to see similar initiatives extended to other sectors, Mr Yeo added.
The new measures aim to build a more productive workforce and encourage firms to retain higher-skilled work permit holders.
Besides being required to have a minimum percentage of higher-skilled workers on their payrolls, firms will also be allowed from June 1 next year to hire workers at the end of their work permit period without them having to first leave Singapore.
Better-skilled migrant workers are less likely to fall victim to false promises and pay high agents' fees "as they are savvy enough to negotiate their own employment terms and conditions and know their skills command a premium", said Mr Yeo.
Experienced migrant workers are also familiar with local work processes and industrial and safety standards.
The group also asked that migrant workers involved in employment disputes who have had their work permits unjustly terminated be allowed to change employers at the end of their contracts.
"We hope that rules are continually enhanced and updated to further uplift the productivity of the sector."
Related
No comments:
Post a Comment