In his May Day message, Labour Chief Lim Swee Say warned that everyone has to do his part in the current restructuring of the economy. Otherwise, he warned, “the outcome of a failed restructuring will be painful for all.”
Mr Lim also sounded a warning that the “labour market will remain tight till 2020, and even tighter all the way to 2030.”
While the “tightening of the labour market will spur a faster pace of economic restructuring,” Mr Lim added that “we must do our best to minimise the downside and maximise the upside for our workers and businesses.”
Last March, Mr Lim said that the labour crunch is the “limiting factor of the Singapore economy” as the country enters a “new phase of development.”
“Given that situation, the wise thing to do is to try to break this manpower bottleneck by making best use of every worker and every person, by giving every worker the best opportunity and do the best to reward them.”
In his message on Sunday, Mr Lim said the restructuring must put the worker in the center or “we will face higher unemployment not just because of job shortage, but also because of job and worker mismatches.”
He said “employers have to learn to make better use of every worker, and treat every worker better.”
“The best way to attract more good jobs, create more good careers and sustain good wage growth for our workers is for us to value our jobs more and take greater pride in what we do.”
On its part, he said the NTUC is “determined to keep upgrading skills, creating good jobs and keep growing our economic pie so that there is more for all to share.”
“To succeed, all of us have to adjust our mindset and change our economy, our workforce and our society for the better.”
Here is Mr Lim’s May Day message in full:
Since our May Day celebrations last year, we have continued to make progress.
Our economic growth is healthy. The labour market is tight. Best of all, wages continue to move up faster than inflation. These achievements are hard-earned. I salute our workers and tripartite partners for their hard work, resilience and unity.
Even though we celebrate May Day amidst labour shortages, we should be mindful that good jobs will always be the best welfare and full employment the best protection for our workers, both young and old.
The tightening of the labour market will spur a faster pace of economic restructuring. We must do our best to minimise the downside and maximise the upside for our workers and businesses. If not, the outcome of a failed restructuring will be painful for all.
Imagine a future where rank-and-file workers are replaced by robots; Professionals, Managers and Executives become underemployed; mature workers cannot fit into workplaces that are not age-friendly; working parents, especially working mothers, face worsening work-life balance due to inflexible work arrangements; and low-wage workers are stuck in a world of cheap sourcing. If we allow these to happen, we will face higher unemployment not just because of job shortage, but also because of job and worker mismatches.
Nobody wants to end up with such a future.
This is why we are determined to keep upgrading skills, creating good jobs and keep growing our economic pie so that there is more for all to share. To succeed, all of us have to adjust our mindset and change our economy, our workforce and our society for the better.
First, employers have to learn to make better use of every worker, and treat every worker better. The labour market will remain tight till 2020, and even tighter all the way to 2030. Competition for good people will not ease. Only better employers can attract and retain better people and grow more profitably.
Second, in a world of job shortages, global unemployment may not improve as businesses embrace new technologies and new methods to stay ahead. The increasingly widespread use of Cheaper, Better and Faster robots and cyber-based services is a case in point. The best way to attract more good jobs, create more good careers and sustain good wage growth for our workers is for us to value our jobs more and take greater pride in what we do.
Last but not least, as customers and consumers, we can change for the better too. The globalised world thrives on mutual dependency, mutual support and mutual acceptance. Good services beget good customers, and good customers beget good services. As we strive to become a more advanced economy, we must also strive to be a nation of better customers and better people.
There is certainly much for us to celebrate, and much for us to reflect on this May Day. We can all change for the better — every employer, every worker and every customer.
Do not wait for each other. Be the first to change.
Together, we can make things better and emerge from this restructuring a better workforce, a better economy and a better society.
Happy May Day to all workers of Singapore!
