SINGAPORE: Retrenchments
in Singapore may be on the cards if the global economic crisis
persists.
And Singaporeans must be prepared that their wages will be
affected, says labour chief Lim Swee Say.
He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a tripartite forum
on industrial relations on Thursday.
Mr Lim said there is no running away from the current global
economic downturn.
But on the bright side, he said, Singapore is ready for the
challenge.
"At this moment, there is no sign yet of rising retrenchment. It's
because of the various measures we have put in place so far.
However, as the downturn continues, we can expect realistically
that the retrenchment may pick up," said Mr Lim, who is the
Secretary General of the National Trades Union Congress
(NTUC).
Going forward, he urged companies to find ways to cut costs and
upgrade their operations.
For workers, there is a need for continued retraining.
Mr Lim warned that wages will also be affected.
But he added that adopting a wage inflation approach - where wages
are increased to offset inflation - will not help.
That's where the government has stepped in with non-wage support,
such as Growth Dividends and Workfare Income Supplement.
Mr Lim said: "Let's accept that there's no guarantee our real wages
will not go down. In fact, they are likely to go down but it does
not mean the workers will be on their own.
"The government, labour movement, the tripartite partners will
continue to keep in close touch with the ground, (and) when
necessary, will support workers, in particular, the
lower-wage workers and lower income households through non wage
measures."
Mr Lim said analysts are forecasting that 2009 will be worse than
2008 and the impact is still unknown.
But he said it is crucial to manage wage increase to help make
Singapore's economy competitive.
- CNA/ir
