Economic revamp a must to stay in global marathon
AUG 23, 2004
Economic revamp a must to stay in global marathon
By Soh Wen Lin
RESTRUCTURING the economy must continue as Singapore cannot stop the global marathon it is in, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last night.
No one is being spared from the race - both developed and developing countries face ferocious competition, he said.
'So, we are afraid of 1,300 million Chinese. But the Chinese are afraid of 1,299 million Chinese too.'
Inevitably, developing countries with the right mix of infrastructure, rules and upgrading will see incomes rise. Developed countries which have overblown social welfare or wages will see incomes fall.
Singapore, which is in the middle, can continue to grow wages if the labour market is more flexible and continues to restructure and upgrade.
And there is no better time than the present, when the economy is improving, to work on areas such as wage reform. This is because the recovery provides the buffer to introduce variable bonuses into pay packets.
Many firms are implementing wage reform, he acknowledged, but more, especially the small and medium-size enterprises, should follow.
Firms need to redefine jobs, goals and rewards, raise productivity and consider restructuring if need be.
'PSA and HDB did it last year. Particularly, PSA successfully restructured, dealt with the competition and is now growing again.'
Port operator PSA Corp did a landmark retrenchment and cost-restructuring exercise to fend off competition from its Johor rival, the Port of Tanjung Pelapas.
The Housing Board (HDB) corporatised its building and development unit. Others such as Singapore Airlines (SIA), must undergo similar restructuring to stay competitive, said PM Lee, adding that the unions in SIA which are affiliated to the NTUC understood the need to do so.
SIA's management and unions are currently negotiating issues including medical benefits and seniority-based wages.
The success of those negotiations are crucial, PM Lee said, because SIA's competitors in the region are quickly catching up.
Using an example from his own experience, PM Lee recounted a flight on a Chinese airline 20 years ago where the only special treatment he got as a first-class passenger was two boxes of 'cold, greasy, salty, unappetising' dimsum, compared to the economy-class passengers who got one box each.
Today, its flight attendants offer wine, newspapers, blankets and weather updates, among other upgraded services, he said.
'I hope SIA executives and workers ride other airlines regularly to know what's happening.'
Lower-wage jobs could also gain from a makeover, so that the pay for them could be increased and they would then be more attractive to Singaporean workers, said PM Lee.
For example, if town council cleaning contracts could be extended to 2pm instead of 10am, the cleaners could be paid more, he said, elaborating on former Environment Minister Lim Swee Say's mission to upgrade cleaning jobs.
PM Lee added that workers, including civil servants, could benefit from a skills makeover as well.
Here, he paid tribute to the guts and spirit shown by Madam Hafidah Maaruf, a widow with five children and a retrenched cook. She attended a reflexologist-masseuse course, persevered, and has since set up a business in a fitness and health centre.
For such displaced and older workers, he promised that the Government would do its best to provide job training and matching services. But the key, he said, still lay in them putting in effort too.
'I know some Singaporeans worry that the new PM may be very fierce, and will push them to run even faster,' said PM Lee.
'I can't promise air-con coaches to take us to the destination in comfort. But we can provide everyone with good coaching, running shoes, water to drink, and first-aid stations along the way.
'Even those in wheelchairs, we'll bring them along and run together as a team and get to the ending point together.'
But ultimately, running the race boiled down to the determination of the runner, he said.
Citing a character from moviemaker Jack Neo's film Home Run, PM Lee said: 'Ah Kun wore old shoes and eventually finished the race barefooted. But he won, because he wanted the prize more than the others did.'
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Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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