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6 May 2008
Lianhe
Zaobao
Ho
Geok Choo suggests tripartite dialogue to discuss Singaporeans’ concerns over
foreign workers competing for jobs
Pertaining to the local’s concern over foreign workers competing for jobs, Ho
Geok Choo, President of Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) suggested
agencies representing the local and foreign workers to come together to express
their concerns through dialogues. They could participate in in-depth discussion
and understand the issue. A tripartite dialogue could be formed with the
involvement of the government as the third party.
Madam Ho proposed the above at the Singapore HR Congress and Business-Connect
Exposition 2008 yesterday. During the media interview, she stated that
Singaporeans are currently fearful of foreign talents. She said that this fear
is unnecessary and should be allayed.
Madam Ho said: “Sometimes, when you do not understand an issue or do not know
much about an issue, you will develop some form of fear towards it and result in
a halt in the understanding process.”
She believes that one of the ways to resolve the issue is to understand each
others’ capabilities and strengths and regard each other as team members trying
to accomplish goals together, and not as competitors.
As to whether the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Ministry of
Manpower or the Ministry of Trade and Industry should be involved to resolve the
issue, Ho Geok Choo, who is also the MP of West Coast GRC, stated that these key
agencies should collaborate to resolve the issue. She said that this is a hot
topic that will drive Singapore’s development. She noticed that everyone is
aware of the issue, however, insufficient efforts have been put in to resolve
the issue.
She believes that it is now the right time to conduct tripartite dialogue. SHRI
may represent the local workers, while employment agencies that recruit foreign
talents may represent the foreign workers. Everyone could discuss the issue
openly during the dialogue.
Earlier in her speech, Madam Ho said that the issues that HR practitioners
currently faced are: how can we nurture and groom enough talents for the IR,
hospitality and tourism industries which are fast becoming the service drivers
of the Singapore economy; how can we ensure that HR practices of today are
sufficient to support these new industries, and how do we motivate people
resources to be groomed for such industries.
She said that in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s May Day Rally message, he
urged Singaporeans to embrace foreign talents and to regard them as
complementing the locals, and not to regard them as competitors. She anticipated
the need for foreign talents to be trained for the IR, hospitality and tourism
industries.
At the Congress, SHRI also revealed the Boston Consultancy Group’s survey on
The Future of HR.
The survey showed that firstly, talents are scarce resources and many companies
must resort to recruiting and retaining them through all possible means.
Secondly, the workforce is maturing and the younger generation is not willing to
raise children. Companies will face the problem of not being able to find
workers to fill job vacancies. Thirdly, when companies go global, they will face
a complex human resource environment. This is especially so when they need to
integrate different cultures. Fourthly, workers are more concerned about
satisfaction. Many workers are not willing to sacrifice family life for work.
With regard to the issue of maintaining work-life balance, Madam Ho stated that
this is indeed a challenging task. However, she believes that enterprises and
the government may encourage ‘work from home’ arrangements to help workers
better balance their work and family life.
She believes that ‘work from home’ arrangements have many benefits, such as
reducing traffic congestions and allowing housewives to contribute to the
economy.
She stated that given Singapore population’s high educational level, so long as
workers are not restricted to working in Shenton Way or Orchard Road but are
allowed to work within the housing estates, she believes that more people will
be willing to join the workforce. This will also encourage young couples to
raise children as such flexibility allows them to take care of their family
while working.
She believes that besides the few hours that workers need to be in the office
for meetings and discussions, the rest of their working hours can be spent at
home to finish the other parts of their jobs.
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