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SINGAPORE: There could be a second wave of retrenchments in Singapore as the global economic outlook for the rest of the year remains uncertain, said Labour chief Lim Swee Say.
Mr Lim said there may be early signs of economic recovery in the United States but the world economy is not out of the woods yet as unemployment continues to climb.
He said union leaders around the world, who gathered at the International Labour Conference in Geneva recently, agreed that job losses will continue to be a challenge.
Mr Lim cautioned that Singapore's job outlook for the next six months is uncertain as consumption in the United States and Europe remains weak.
He explained: "If we're not going to see a strong rebound for global consumption for this year end, what this means is that the global manufacturing sector may take some time before we see a full recovery. This means that in the second half of this year, we should not rule out the possibility of a second wave of retrenchments."
Mr Lim has urged companies to take advantage of the slower days to train and upgrade their staff.
One industry that is using the lull to build up on its capabilities is the hospitality sector.
Hotels and service apartments in Singapore have joined the Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI), which provides funding assistance to help the sector improve service standards.
Currently, about 40 per cent of the hotels here have joined the initiative and industry representatives said that this is expected to grow as hoteliers in Singapore prepare their staff for the upturn.
Peter Mainguy, general manager, The Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Singapore, said: "What CCI brings to us is the ability to constantly raise the level. They are also imposing certain measurements if we adhere to some of their principles... and we found that it actually completely highlights a lot of what we are already doing."
The programme will also include an independent mystery audit to identify gaps in service standards. - CNA/vm
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