Singapore continues to have 'archaic ideas' about skills-based jobs: President Halimah

Although there are greater efforts to recognise workers with technical skills, Singapore needs to move faster on this front, said President Halimah Yacob in her annual May Day message on Saturday (April 29).

Citing Switzerland and Germany as examples of countries where there are good skills-based jobs offered through apprenticeship schemes carried out by industry partners, she added that the Republic continues to harbour "archaic" ideas about jobs.

"It's important for such jobs to be properly valued and rewarded, as no amount of exhortation will move the needle, if they do not pay well, have poor career prospects or are considered inferior to jobs needing academic qualifications."

With automation transforming the job landscape, Madam Halimah noted that workers now have to contend with more complex tasks, including troubleshooting, and that categorising jobs between either requiring academic qualifications or technical skills is wasteful.

Besides placing greater value on skills-based jobs, she also touched on two other points in her speech.

When discussing the role that labour unions play, she said they have continued to "represent workers strongly at the workplace to ensure fairness".

An example she brought up is the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), which she noted needs to include more sectors, especially because of the necessity to address the wage gap and rising income inequality.

Introduced in 2012, the PWM helps to lift the wages of workers in several industries.

These include the cleaning, security, landscape, lift and escalator as well as retail sectors.

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Since March 2023, those in the food services sector, or work as administrators or drivers, have also been included in the PWM, with those in the waste management sector to come on board from July.

Bearing in mind the economic challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, however, Singapore continues to enjoy harmonious labour-management relations, she said.

These relations are the product of strong tripartism, she added, but she cautioned that they are not a given.

"In some countries, strikes have escalated due to rising food and energy costs and stagnant wages.

"There is greater distrust when workers are expected to make sacrifices during bad times, when they did not benefit during good times," she said.

With the emergence of a new labour market in the wake of the pandemic as well as the rise in protectionism and competition between the US and China heating up, Madam Halimah noted that the world of work is changing rapidly.

But Singapore has its strengths, including a strong tripartite relationship, she added, which provides a stable and secure environment to navigate future challenges.

"May Day is a great reminder of how far we have come from the earlier days of sweatshops and serious industrial conflicts.

"The key ingredients are our unity and resolve."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.