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SINGAPORE : The labour movement is making productivity growth a top priority for this year.
At its Workplan Seminar on Tuesday morning, it set a target of three per cent productivity growth that is broad-based and inclusive for workers and companies.
The past year had been a busy one for unionists - helping workers and companies ride out the economic downturn. It is now time to take stock of what has been achieved and set the tone and direction for the future.
The buzzword this year is productivity. NTUC is pushing for productivity improvement of three per cent, in line with the recommendations of the Economic Strategies Committee. And it wants this growth to be broad-based.
Lim Swee Say, Secretary-General, NTUC, said: "Our first challenge is how do we achieve total productivity in all our enterprises, not just some, but hopefully all the enterprises, so that we can see productivity everywhere."
Another challenge is to ensure that this growth is matched by a quantum leap in innovation in selected companies across all sectors.
He added: "The combination of this innovation together with total productivity will enable us to keep improving our productivity. At the end of the day, innovation is very important, because innovation of today will translate into productivity of tomorrow. So we need to have both."
Companies which want to get on the productivity drive can get a helping hand from incentive schemes like the National Productivity Fund.
Even though professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) are expected to be the key drivers of innovation, the labour movement wants productivity growth to be inclusive.
It will continue to make the workforce more competitive, with initiatives to re-employ older workers and women, and upgrade the skills of contract and casual workers.
With the new Budget to be unveiled on February 22, the labour movement is looking to the government for "bold measures" that will encourage "total productivity" in all sectors of the economy. - CNA/ms
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