Budget debate: New job council aims to match retrenched PMEs with vacancies

The labour movement is bringing together 4,000 companies of various sizes to help place retrenched professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) in new jobs - fast.

A new Job Security Council will gather information on their job vacancies, jobs that can be redesigned as well as jobs being phased out, and match workers from "releasing" companies with "receiving" companies, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng in Parliament yesterday.

The 4,000 companies across various sectors employ a total of about 500,000 workers, and 90 per cent of them are small-and medium-sized enterprises. Some on board are engine maker Rolls-Royce and bakeries Swee Heng Bakery and Montreux Patisserie.

Mr Ng said the move comes amid growing concern among workers, usually those in their 40s to 50s, as PMEs are asked to go because their skills have become redundant. They may take a long time to find another job and it may not pay as well or fully utilise their skills.

"Although these numbers are not large, for the individual worker or PME, who has mouths to feed and bills to pay, the situation can create a lot of fear and anxiety," Mr Ng said during the debate on the Budget statement.

"We believe that job security is the umbrella that protects our workers from passing thunderstorms."

The council, staffed by NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), will start a pilot run immediately and build on the trust between companies and NTUC to gather the necessary information.

Mr Ng, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said it will help companies identify the skill gaps of new workers so that they can be trained, and recommend government schemes they can tap.

In his speech, he also gave an update on NTUC's company training committee initiative, which was started last year with the aim of forming 1,000 such groups in three years. The committees comprise company and union representatives who together plan and execute targeted training for workers to prepare them for business transformation.

They have the added benefit of providing a ready-made avenue for management to discuss issues, such as manpower and cost concerns owing to the Covid-19 situation, with the union, said Mr Ng. He said 352 committees have been formed so far.

During the current lull, union leaders are also helping firms arrange for subsidised training for workers through NTUC LearningHub and e2i, he added.

Mr Ng noted that the coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan in China in December and has spread to more than 30 countries, has a deeper and more wide-ranging impact on the Singapore economy compared with that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003.

He lauded the "strong Budget" which he said reflects a whole-of-government approach to tackling the virus and maintaining workers' confidence in the economy.

"In Singapore, we enjoy the fruits of hard-earned tripartism, which has brought us economic resilience and social stability. Underpinned by this year's strong Budget, all these will ensure that Singaporeans' lives are uplifted together," he said.

Other MPs also spoke about the importance of job security amid the ongoing economic uncertainties.

Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) said while training and reskilling are important, these need to be aligned to job opportunities for workers.

"If many are trained and are not able to find suitable employment, we may have a situation in which there is even greater frustration and anxiety," she said.