THE semiconductor industry needs more workers, but such
manufacturing jobs suffer from an image problem among young
Singaporeans.
Said labour chief Lim Swee Say: 'Investors say younger Singaporeans
prefer to dress up nicely, work in the service sector, where maybe
they prefer to interact with people rather than machines.'
This mindset needs to be changed so that they can see the
opportunities in manufacturing, said Mr Lim, who visited ST
Microelectronics with union leaders.
The semiconductor manufacturer employs about 8,300 people.
Unionists can help open their eyes to the importance of this
sector, one of the core pillars in Singapore's economy.
Said Mr Lim: 'In terms of economic development, we need a
proportion of Singaporeans young and old to continue to work in
manufacturing, because this is a good sector with good investment,
good jobs and good pay.'
Unionists such as the second assistant general secretary of the
United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI)
agrees.
Said Mr Aaron Lim: 'We need to tell workers that even if they start
from the bottom, they can progress and go higher.'
For instance, he said that about 200 workers of ST Microelectronics
were recently retrained to take on high-end jobs like wafer
fabrication, from their previous assembly-line work.
The union leaders were taking part in a new NTUC programme to
better acquaint them with the issues and trends faced by companies
in Singapore's key industries.
It is organised by the National Trades Union Congress and the Ong
Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies.
For two hours, 80 union leaders were briefed by ST Microelectronics
executives on, among other things, the problem of finding enough
Singaporeans to be production operators at its plant.
The company says 54 per cent of its 8,300 employees are
foreigners.
Later, when speaking to reporters, Mr Lim Swee Say noted that while
Singapore could provide skilled manpower, there were not enough
local workers to keep such plants running continuously.
Foreigners are needed to fill the gap, so he sees them as partners,
not rivals for jobs.
The labour chief added: 'One lesson the labour movement takes away
from this visit is that competition for good paying jobs and good
investment will only get keener.
' We must now look at anybody who's able to help us attract
investment, create jobs as our partners, not competitors.'
(Straits Times 16 Jan)
