SINGAPORE - Over 100 individuals and companies received awards from the Labour Movement on Saturday for supporting skills and productivity upgrading in the workplace.

Under the individual category for the annual National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) May Day Model Partnership Awards, 62 workers, human resource managers and supervisors were lauded, for continuing to upgrade themselves or improving the working environment.

A total of 44 companies also received awards, including paint and coatings company Jotun, which benchmarked employees' salary to productivity and skills growth, and cafe Patesserie G, which bought machines to reduce food production time and make jobs easier for workers. UOB was recognised for modifying the workplace at its customer documents hub in order to employ people with special needs.

NTUC secretary-general Chan Chun Sing, who was the guest of honour at the awards ceremony, said that the continued efforts of employers, supervisors, HR managers and workers allow Singapore to remain "the most competitive workforce in the world".

He added that his response to investors who ask why they should put their money here and create jobs for Singaporeans when costs are higher, is: "Yes, my worker can cost more than other people, but if my worker can deliver more value than other people, then it is still worth your while."

Added Mr Chan at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability in Jurong East: "We can compete on the quality of our workforce and the quality of our partnership."