Workers, employers urged to have sense of balance when dealing with retrenchments
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 March 2009 1736 hrs

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HUA HIN, Thailand : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged workers and employers to have a sense of balance when dealing with retrenchment forecasts during these difficult economic times.

He added that despite the gloom, Singapore is not in a bad position.

Mr Lee made the statements during his interview with the Singapore media at the end of the ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin on Sunday.

There have been several reports recently of retrenchment forecasts in Singapore this year, with the latest being from DBS Bank which put the figure at 99,000.

This prompted some ministers to emphasise the need to be focused and not be overwhelmed by the numbers.

Mr lee said: "Everyday we see bad news, another 50 here, another 100 there, and such and such job cuts. After a while, even if you were not depressed, we become depressed.

"There are things happening which are positive, there are things which will turn good in time, there are things in the pipeline - the IR (integrated resort) is coming along, two IRs are both coming along.

"Every time I drive past the Marina, I watch to see whether another level has come up or not and it has nearly reached the top now."

Mr Lee stressed Singapore has the resources and has done the right things with this year's Budget.

He said: "I know people say 'why didn't you help the households more directly'. But the right way to help people now is not to give them vouchers or coupons to spend, but to help them keep their jobs.

"And this is where the emphasis of the Budget was, and that is something which we have to explain to the people and help them to understand."

On investments by the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, Mr Lee said they are long term in nature. In bad years, there would be shrinkage, but overall they have performed well.

He said: "If you jump up and down and you want to break even and make money every quarter, you will not be able to have a sensible policy. You will end up not protecting your value, you cannot discuss Citigroup as Citigroup.

"We have to look at the whole portfolio and overall... performance - some ups and some downs, some good years, some bad years and overall over 20 years, it has done well."

Mr Lee said how soon Singapore will recover from this downturn will depend on the world.

What is important now is for the country to remain stable and emerge as a strong economy when the recovery comes. - CNA/ms