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SPEECH BY MR THARMAN
SHANMUGARATNAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, AT THE 46TH
ANNIVERSARY DINNER AND DANCE OF THE SINGAPORE MANUAL & MERCANTILE
WORKERS¡¯ UNION AT THE NEPTUNE THEATRE RESTAURANT ON FRIDAY, 2
DECEMBER 2005 AT 7.30 PM
Mr John de Payva,
President, NTUC
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1.
I am very happy to join you this evening for your 46th
annual dinner and dance.
2.
There is reason to celebrate as we approach the
festive season. The Singapore economy has seen good growth this
year. Growth has exceeded what we had expected at the beginning of
the year. It has also meant many more new jobs. In fact, this year
will mark the strongest job creation since the boom year of 2000.
Amidst these favourable developments, let me touch on three
significant trends that are taking place in the labour market.
These are trends that will be with us for several years to come.
They are long term trends, not just a short term happening.
3.
First is the shift towards more services sector
jobs, which is also where the SMMWU draws most of its members.
While manufacturing employment has remained flat since 1990, that
in services has increased by almost 70% and has been the key driver
of employment creation for the economy. Today, services make up
seven
out of every ten jobs, compared to six out of ten jobs in 1990. In
particular, employment within the financial and business services
sector has more than doubled since 1990.
4.
The increased reliance on services jobs is not unique
to Singapore.
Other advanced economies are
also experiencing this trend. It
is not a mark of a declining economy when this happens. For
example, the US has seen a significant decline in manufacturing jobs
over the last two decades, continuing over the last few years. Only
10% of US workers are in manufacturing, compared to over 20% two
decades ago. But US manufacturing has done very well. For all the
competition from low-cost countries like China, the US is still by
far the largest manufacturer in the world. It accounts for 24% of
world manufacturing value added, almost unchanged from 2 decades
ago. Japan is second at about 21%. China is catching up, but
accounts for only 9% of world manufacturing. US jobs in
manufacturing have declined because productivity has gone up, not
because of competition from
China and other low
cost countries.
5. Another reason why the shift to services is not
fundamentally worrying for our future growth is that there are big
opportunities for productivity improvements in services. It is well
known for example that the boom in productivity in the 1990s in the
US was due mostly to innovations in service industries like retail
and wholesale trades, not just high tech manufacturing.
6. A second major shift in our labour market is the shift
towards more complex and higher-skilled jobs in the labour market.
While lower-skilled workers have also benefited from the recent
strength in the job market, we are seeing the biggest increase in
demand for people with higher skills and ability to do more complex
tasks.
7. The shift towards higher skills is not simply about
demand for higher qualifications. It is a shift in demand
towards people who can do more complex and challenging tasks
on the job, across the whole spectrum of work ¨C on the production
line, in retail, in finance and auditing, in IT and engineering
jobs, in marketing, and in management - and across the range of
qualifications that people have. It is a shift in demand that
affects all of us. There is greater demand for people who have the
skills, judgement and experience to deal with new situations
where there are no rule books to follow. For example, dealing
with new customer demands, new technologies, new ways of organising
the supply chain.
8. The same is the case in the most advanced and dynamic
economies in the world. According to McKinsey, in the US about 70%
of all jobs created since 1998 have been of this more complex
nature - requiring high skill, judgement and experience.
9. These two trends ¨C towards services-oriented jobs, and
towards more complex work - are going to be with us for many
years. But there is also a third, important trend, and that is that
people will have to change jobs more often in their lifetimes.
While higher-skilled workers are in greater demand, they will not
be spared the effects of the accelerated pace of restructuring in a
more competitive global environment. This is in fact partly
professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs)
comprising more than three out of every ten workers retrenched in
the first half of this year, compared to just one in ten about 15
years ago, or two per ten retrenched workers in the late 90s.
10. This too is what we see in other advanced economies. I
use the example of the US again, because it has been the most
dynamic of the advanced economies over the last 2 decades. Job
turnover is higher in the US than elsewhere - people change jobs
more frequently. But this has also been a source of strength in the
US. In fact, studies show that a full 50% of the high productivity
growth seen in the US over the last 15 years has been due to workers
changing jobs - moving out of jobs with low demand into jobs where
there is growth in demand, and therefore improving the efficiency of
the labour market. In other words, high productivity growth was not
due mainly to new and fancy technology or expensive spending on
equipment, but due to large numbers of ordinary people looking for
better opportunities, and being willing to seize those opportunities
when they come. The opposite has been true in much of Europe, where
too many jobs are protected, workers are unwilling to change jobs,
productivity stagnates and economic growth is weak.
11. The lesson in this for us is that we should make sure our
labour market is flexible. We should help people to acquire new
skills to take on new jobs, not hold on to jobs where demand is
declining. All of us have to keep adapting, keep learning new
skills, and keep taking new opportunities. That¡¯s how we can keep
productivity growing, keep creating new jobs and keep the economy
expanding.
12. Our aim therefore can never be to preserve jobs but to
grow jobs. Our aim should be to provide lifetime employment
opportunities - not giving everyone the same job for life, but
giving everyone the opportunity to find a good job at any point in
their working lives.
Education
13. The Government will continue to do its utmost to create
job opportunities for the people, through attracting more
investments and growing new industries. We will also invest heavily
in education, because that is fundamental to our future economy.
14. [Elaborate on education priorities briefly - helping every
Singaporean pursue excellence; preparing everyone for a more complex
economy.]
15. [Financial assistance.] While we focus on creating
these opportunities for all, we want to make sure that no child
feels unable to take these opportunities, or is denied access,
because of financial reasons. MOE is in fact looking at our
existing Financial Assistance Scheme to see how we can reach more
low income families. We are reviewing the existing income criteria,
also the specific expenses for which financial assistance is given.
Our aim is to provide support to more families in need, besides the
very low income group.
Unions¡¯ Role
16. The role of the union will also have to adjust with the
needs of the workers and the changes taking place in the
environment.
17. In the face of accelerated structural change, unions have
been working more closely with the government and companies to equip
workers with the necessary skills for jobs in the new economy.
SMMWU has played an important role in helping workers through the
adjustments that they have had to make in recent years. The
adjustments have not been easy for many, but are a necessary
process, and have paid off in the form of increased competitiveness
and sustained growth of the economy.
18. Although Singapore has been able to buck the trend of
declining union membership, the challenge for the unions lies in
attracting younger workers to join its ranks. There is a need to
inculcate the culture of adaptability and skills upgrading and
retraining in the young. Furthermore, the youth need to be kept
abreast of the developments in the labour market. With the launch
of Young NTUC by PM Lee Hsien Loong in April this year, the focus
has shifted to increasing the involvement of the youth today in the
labour movement. Unions need to give greater emphasis to attracting
more workers, especially the young ones, to become union members and
play an active role. The existing experienced union leaders
therefore have an important role to play in nurturing promising,
capable and committed union activists to become future leaders.
19. The SMMWU has always had a youth committee to focus on the
youth members. They believe that the young members have to be
encouraged to join in union activities and experience for themselves
what the union is all about. Hence, the SMMWU¡¯s decision to launch
their youth chapter tonight is a step in the right direction.
With leadership renewal in the pipeline, it shows the foresight and
seriousness of the Union in this aspect and augurs well for its
future. I am honoured tonight to witness the launch of the youth
wing.
20. As we reminisce on our yesteryears alongside the theme for
tonight¡¯s event, let us not let go of the values that the earlier
generation of workers had embraced. Let us continue to possess the
same spirit of perseverance, dedication, and adaptability required
to meet today¡¯s challenges. We must continue to retrain, upgrade,
and build up on our human capital. This is our most valuable
resource, and one that is critical to Singapore¡¯s future success.
21.
I am confident that with the concerted efforts of the
tripartite partners, the SMMWU will continue to play a pivotal role
in our economic future while looking after our workers. I wish the
SMMWU a happy 46th anniversary!
Source:
www.gov.sg Press Release 2 Dec 2005
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Significant trends in the Singapore labour market
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