Manufacturing jobs most at risk, NTUC warns

300 to be axed soon; wages elsewhere to stagnate unless productivity rises
By Toh Yong Chuan, Manpower Correspondent And Aw Cheng Wei, The Straits Times, 16 Jan 2015

WORKERS in manufacturing are most at risk of losing their jobs because the sector is gradually hollowing out, the labour movement has warned.

Two in three of the 2,212 workers who were retrenched from unionised companies last year were from this sector, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said yesterday.

And the year has barely started but three manufacturing firms have already told NTUC that they will be laying off 300 workers in the next two months.

To add to the grim outlook, NTUC hinted that wage and bonus growth may also slow in other sectors, in line with the slowdown of Singapore's economic growth.

"Wages might stagnate if firms do not increase their productivity," said NTUC assistant secretary-general Cham Hui Fong in an annual press briefing on its outlook for the unionised sector yesterday.

Bonuses and wage increases shrank last year. Some 400 unionised firms gave workers an average of three months' bonus and 4.1 per cent salary increase, down from 3.16 months' bonus and a 4.63 per cent salary rise in 2013.

But it is manufacturing, which hires 540,000 workers or about 15 per cent of the labour force, where the outlook is the bleakest.

Eight firms, which were not named, shut down their manufacturing operations last year and moved to Malaysia, China and Thailand. "They choose Thailand instead of Singapore because of the abundance of workers, even though they may not have considered political stability and other factors," said Ms Cham.

Rising costs, manpower shortage and restructuring are reasons for companies pulling out, said a Singapore Manufacturing Federation spokesman.

Businesses may not be able to meet customers' demands as manufacturing companies face difficulties in hiring locals, said Mr Jeremy Fong of Fong's Engineering, as regulations on foreign labour continue to tighten.

"We still need people to operate machines even when we automate processes," he said.

Such a labour crunch will continue, said NTUC, singling out four sectors - bus transport, hotels, health care and security.

That is why efficiency is key, stressed the labour movement. In uncharacteristically strong words, NTUC hit out at firms for dragging their feet in the productivity drive.

"We have been urging employers... but the initiative must certainly come from employers," said Ms Cham, adding: "That part we are still not seeing enough.

"Our sense is that they know why (they need to raise productivity), but they do not know how (to do so)."

While the overall outlook may not be upbeat, there are some bright spots among unionised firms.

NTUC handled fewer workplace disputes - 1,922 last year compared with 2,439 in 2013. The disputes were mostly about salaries, benefits and termination. Some 90 per cent of the cases were amicably settled between unions and firms, with only 10 per cent going to the Manpower Ministry and court.

Unionised firms are also giving their staff better benefits such as marriage and family care leave.

NTUC expects more professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) to join unions this year.

Parliament is debating proposed changes to the Industrial Relations Act next Monday, which will allow rank-and-file unions to represent PMEs.

Little change in hiring rate, pay of new poly grads
By Sandra Davie, Senior Education Correspondent, The Straits Times, 15 Jan 2015

JOB prospects and salaries for fresh polytechnic graduates remained good last year, but more are working part-time or on a temporary basis, according to an annual job survey.

The employment rate for fresh polytechnic graduates was 89.2 per cent compared with 89.8 per cent in 2013. The median monthly salary was also similar to that the year before, at $2,000, based on the survey results released yesterday.

But the percentage of those with full-time, permanent jobs fell - from 62.7 per cent in 2013 to 59.4 per cent last year.

Instead, a higher proportion of both fresh and post-national service graduates are taking up part-time or temporary jobs.

But this is no cause for worry, say recruitment experts.

In a statement yesterday, the polytechnics said those in part- time or temporary jobs indicated they were pursuing or preparing to commence further studies.

Despite the Government's push to get school leavers to focus on building up their skills, most are bent on furthering their studies, said Mr Josh Goh, head of marketing and corporate communications at recruitment firm ManpowerGroup. "They all want a degree and want it immediately after completing their polytechnic studies," he said.

Those who can afford to go overseas do so, while others apply to local universities or private schools. They work for the few months before they enter university. If they are in a private school, they work part-time, Mr Goh said.

Some also take on temporary jobs while they search for their dream job, he added. "Some of them are not quite sure what they want to do, so they try out jobs. And some can't get their dream job or into the firm they want to work for immediately. So, meanwhile, they take on a temporary position."

Temasek Polytechnic business graduate Samantha Lee, 20, took on a temporary job as an administrative executive before she entered the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) to study for a business degree.

"I did think about going out to work first, but I found it hard to find a job that I really liked. So I thought I might as well go and get my degree first," Ms Lee said, adding she needed the job to help pay for her fees at SIM.

The survey also compared the pay levels of graduates across different courses. It found that fresh graduates taking courses like built environment, engineering and maritime, and health sciences were the best-paid.

Fresh graduates from the health sciences courses - which include physio- and occupational therapy - earned on average $2,204 a month, while those from the built environment, engineering and maritime courses earned $2,220 a month.

The survey was conducted between Oct 1 and Dec 8 and drew about 15,300 respondents.

The employment rate for post-NS graduates fell slightly to 92.4 per cent last year, but their median monthly salary rose 6.7 per cent to $2,400 from 2013 to last year.

A higher proportion of both fresh and post-NS polytechnic graduates are doing part-time or temporary jobs. For new graduates, the figure went up from 27.1 per cent in 2013 to 29.8 per cent last year.

Caution rules on the employment front
More firms may cut staff over next 6 months, hiring slowing down: Poll
By Marissa Lee, The Straits Times, 14 Jan 2015

MORE firms expect to cut staff over the next six months than in the second half of last year but experts do not believe the job market is facing a downturn.

A new survey has found that 7.4 per cent of employers reckon they will trim headcounts over the next six months, up from the 3.5 per cent which expected to do so in the second half of last year.

The poll by recruitment agency Hudson also noted that hiring is slowing. It found that 44.5 per cent of employers plan to recruit in this half, down from the 47.3 per cent which said they intended to add staff in the last six months of last year.

Banking and financial services firms reported the biggest drop in hiring intentions. Just 41.4 per cent of employers polled said they plan to add staff in this half, down from 56.3 per cent in the second half of last year, when the sector led the pack with the strongest hiring intentions. Though managers have adopted a "wait and see" approach to hiring, the report noted keen demand for compliance and regulation roles as banks address international regulatory reform.

One segment stood out for its positive outlook: The information and communications technologies (ICT) sector was the only one in which a majority of firms polled - 60.7 per cent - reported positive hiring intentions.

Not since the third quarter of 2011 has hiring sentiment for the ICT sector been so strong, said Hudson, which polled 352 employers by phone last November.

"Companies that traditionally outsourced their IT functions are now reintegrating, restructuring and building their teams as they see the benefit of an integrated global IT strategy and the role it can play in driving innovation and efficiencies," said Mr Emmanuel White, general manager of Hudson Singapore.

Mr Toby Fowlston, managing director of recruitment agency Robert Walters Singapore, agreed, saying: "IT professionals skilled in online content, project delivery, mobile and application development as well as user experience will be in demand."

Overall, human resource experts The Straits Times spoke to were not too worried about the subdued hiring activity.

Recruitment firm Michael Page said recruitment behaviour is usually slower in the first half of the year, as employees stick around for bonuses, which can be paid out as late as March.

Singapore professionals also tend to prefer making their job switch after the Chinese New Year, to signify a new start, so hiring could pick up towards the middle of the year.

But Ms Linda Teo, country manager of recruitment firm ManpowerGroup Singapore, noted that employers are still cautious when it comes to wage increment.

"Based on our conversations with employers, most of them have indicated a cautious 3 to 5 per cent wage increment for their employees while a third of them have expressed a less than 3 per cent increment. Only a handful of employers have suggested an optimistic increment of more than 7 per cent," she said.

Business optimism plunges but firms are still hiring: Survey
By Chia Yan Min, The Straits Times, 13 Jan 2015

BUSINESSES in Singapore are starting the year with a cautious outlook amid mounting concerns over global headwinds and lacklustre export demand.

But the good news is that many firms are still keen to hire staff.

The results of a survey released yesterday by the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB) show companies are less optimistic about sales, profits and new orders for this quarter compared with the same period last year.

The bureau's latest Business Optimism Index tumbled to +1.11 percentage points this quarter, down sharply from +13.13 percentage points in the corresponding period last year.

The quarterly survey polled 200 business owners and senior executives representing major industry sectors.

They were asked if they expect increases, decreases or no changes in sales, profits, employment, new orders, inventories and selling prices.

The services and agriculture sectors were the most optimistic, with at least four business indicators flagging expansion.

Both the construction and wholesale sectors took a turn for the worse in terms of confidence levels.

The transportation sector was the least optimistic, with four out of five business indicators pointing to a contraction.

"In line with the slow pace of global economic recovery, the local business outlook continues to remain modest... It is clear that global adverse developments have roiled business confidence," said SCCB chief executive Audrey Chia.

Firms identified higher business costs as the main challenge for this year, followed by global economic uncertainties, foreign labour issues and reduced sales.

Despite these challenges, companies are still keen to take on more staff.

The survey showed that hiring sentiment remains positive in this quarter, driven mainly by domestically oriented local firms.

"The good sign is that local firms are not exactly cutting back on investments and are more likely to shift their investments towards keeping their business lean, nimble and productive," said Ms Chia.

"This may involve skills upgrading of employees or the upgrading of machinery and capital equipment."

Mr Kurt Wee, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said the uncertain environment means that many firms are proceeding with "a lot of caution".

Small and medium-sized enterprises hire about seven out of every 10 workers, and contribute about half of Singapore's economic output.

Despite the uncertainties, however, "investment and training are not things that companies should hold back on", said Mr Wee.

"Companies might be more cautious in taking an expansionary perspective, but strengthening and improving their current business - they should have no qualms about doing that."