Govt, unions, employers have to work on keeping up productivity growth: Josephine Teo
In her May Day message, Mrs Josephine Teo urged Singapore's tripartite partners — the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation — to maintain a business climate that promotes investments in new activities and job creation.
SINGAPORE — In her first May Day message as incoming Manpower Minister, Mrs Josephine Teo said on Sunday (April 29) that the key challenge for tripartite partners is to sustain the productivity growth momentum.
Last year, Singapore's productivity growth — at 4.5 per cent — surpassed workforce growth for the second consecutive year, but the gains "remain uneven" and "not pervasive enough across all sectors", she noted.
"This will impact the sustainability of wage growth in the medium to long term," said Mrs Teo. "At the same time, businesses and jobs continue to be disrupted and workers are being challenged to keep pace with changing skills requirements.
"In such an environment, the tripartite partners' shared goal must be twofold — to help every business transform and every worker adapt," she added.
Mrs Teo is currently the Second Minister for Manpower. Following the latest Cabinet reshuffle announced earlier this week, she will take over from incumbent Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say on Tuesday.
In her May Day message, Mrs Teo urged Singapore's tripartite partners — the Ministry of Manpower, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation — to maintain a business climate that promotes investments in new activities and job creation.
"To progress as an economy, we must master new technologies, transform quickly and enhance our competitiveness."
The need to sustain productivity growth across all sectors was also noted by NTUC's president Mary Liew and its secretary-general Chan Chun Sing in their May Day message.
Mr Chan — who will be leaving the labour movement to head the Ministry of Trade and Industry — and Ms Liew said in their message that while last year's overall economic performance was better than expected, growth across sectors was not uniform.
On the whole, Singapore's economy expanded by 3.6 per cent last year, up from 2.4 per cent in 2016, on the back of surging global demand for electronic gadgets.
While the manufacturing sector grew by 10.1 per cent, the construction sector shrank by 8.4 per cent last year. The overall services industry also charted slow growth at 2.8 per cent.
Mr Chan and Ms Liew said that with the changing workforce demographics and employment shifts, the labour movement continues to be steadfast in serving the evolving needs of workers.
NTUC has expanded its role to represent working people in all industries, including freelancers and self-employed communities, migrant worker networks and social enterprises.
"Besides protecting the employment and legal rights of workers, our unions have stepped up efforts to help displaced workers find employment as well as facilitate upskilling and career progression," they added, pointing to initiatives such as the Training Council, which was set up to oversee sector-specific training collaborations between Institutes of Higher Learning and companies.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of the story said Mr Chan Chun Sing will be leaving the labour movement in May to lead the Ministry of Trade and Industry. NTUC has clarified that Mr Chan will concurrently helm both portfolios pending further announcement.
