News: The Straits Times -  16 February 2010


Productivity target achievable: PM
S'pore will grow with the right investment, training, organisation
By Zakir Hussain


SINGAPORE has some way to go in the push to work smarter.

But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is confident that with the right investment, training and organisation, the target of 2 to 3 per cent annual productivity growth over the next decade can be met. 'Productivity will be a major focus in the Budget and we have quite a number of ideas,' he said on Sunday, adding that these will be made known when the Budget is announced next Monday.

'Productivity doesn't just mean you are working longer hours. It means you are working smarter, doing the right jobs - the jobs which are in demand and where we can earn a living for ourselves in the world.'

Two weeks ago, the Economic Strategies Committee said raising workers' efficiency and effectiveness was key as the country seeks to manage its dependence on foreign workers.

Mr Lee was speaking to reporters on Sunday after visiting staff of Swissotel The Stamford and Fairmont Singapore to distribute oranges and hongbao. He and labour leaders traditionally visit workers on the first day of the Chinese New Year to thank them for keeping things running while many are celebrating the holiday.

This year, he visited a hotel as exciting developments are taking place in the hospitality sector.

Efforts are being made to improve service quality, upgrade skills and promote tourism, and the PM wanted to show his support and see first-hand what was being done.

On Sunday, he viewed a room at the Swissotel The Stamford to see how an automated bed frame and lifting system made it easier for staff to make and clean beds, and reduced the number of days they fell sick.

He also met staff at Fairmont's Szechuan Court restaurant and was briefed by the hotel management on efforts to work better and faster.

Mr Lee said: 'We have to think of all these ways of adjusting to a new situation, because we want the tourism industry to grow. It has a lot of potential, and it can create a lot of jobs... jobs for Singaporeans, and there will also be some proportion of jobs for non-Singaporeans because they need a whole range of skills and abilities.

'But we would like these to be good jobs which are attractive to be in, and productive, and that is a continuing challenge in the hotel industry.'

The National Trades Union Congress and the Government will work together with the hotels to see how they can work better, Mr Lee said.

He noted that the hotel was also trying to broaden employees' job scope.

For instance, cooks and waiters will be trained to cook and serve in more than one restaurant, so that if one restaurant has fewer guests and the other is full, people can move across easily.

They may not be as good as the regular worker, but they would be better than a temporary hire, he said.

'If you can make people have this flexibility and this sense of possibility, variety and interest in their job, you get greater job satisfaction,' he added.

Food, Drinks and Allied Workers' Union general secretary Tan Hock Soon shared this view.

His union is working with employers and training providers to help its 36,000 members pick up new skills without having to work longer hours.

Mr Lee also noted that the ESC report showed how Singapore's productivity level was 60 to 70 per cent that of other developed economies such as the United States, Japan and Hong Kong - and that there was room to catch up with them.

'So if we invest, if we train, if we organise ourselves properly, I am sure we can do that over time,' Mr Lee said. 'We have been trying to do this for a long time, but I think we have to re-double our efforts now because as the ESC made clear, we cannot just continue to grow (by) expanding the way we did,' he added, referring to the issue of taking in more foreign workers to grow the economy.

'If the productivity doesn't go up, and we don't get the growth, you may feel that while you are relaxing a bit more, the mood, the buoyancy, the optimism, will be quite different.

'So we have to work hard and take this very seriously.'

- end of ST article