Ahead of Budget 2017, NTUC has called on the government and private-sector employers to hire and promote staff based on their skills rather than only on grades.
It has also called for enhancements to labour laws to offer better protection to freelance workers.
NTUC estimates that there are 200,000 freelancers and they are not covered under the Employment Act and Work Injury Compensation Act
These recommendation are among others penned in a 46-page report submitted by the NTUC to the Ministry of Finance.
The aim is to help workers remain competitive in our current challenging economic environment.
Said NTUC Secretary-General Patrick Tay:
“We hope that when hiring or promoting people employers will look at skills-based assessments rather than whether or not they have a Master’s.”
NTUC also urged the government to pay for training leave for workers to attend SkillsFuture courses.
It called on the Manpower Ministry to provide data from the Jobs Bank on the types of skill requirements, salary bands and job descriptions employers are posting.
For low-wage workers, the NTUC recommended that those in the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors should be given compulsory annual wage increments and 13-month payments.
Regarding women in the workforce, NTUC proposed a “returnship programme”, where these women and their employers try out an arrangement for a few months – similar to an internship – before the worker is formally employed and goes for training through Professional Conversion Programmes.
It also suggested that the Government provide Special Employment Credit for bosses who employ these women.
vgybhunim
January 19, 2017 at 9:25 am
Gov will always be hiring people for grades, as for private sector they will be hiring people base on attitude and skills.