MINISTRY OF LABOUR

The Ministry will continue to work with labour and management to increase productivity. Good work attitudes, and greater cooperation between unions, workers and management, they are the secrets to success.

Productivity

The National Productivity Board will assist companies to automate, mechanise and computerise and to improve other areas of their management and production systems so as to raise their productivity. It will also foster greater co-operation between unions, workers and management. In this regard, it will promote Quality Control circles and other forms of management-worker co-operation. In addition it will improve its management and supervisory training programmes to help management in personnel management. Good labour-management practices of other countries will be adapted and adopted.

The Ministry will continue to work closely with unions and managements to promote good work attitudes. It will also take measures against bad work attitudes such as job-hopping.

The Ministry will - closely monitor the industrial relations situation. Preventive mediation will ensure that grievances do not develop into industrial conflicts. Industrial disputes will be expeditiously settled. There will be amendments, to the Employment Act, Industrial Relations Act, Trade Unions Act and Trade Disputes Act to ensure their relevance to the economic and social conditions of the 80s.

Manpower Utilisation

The Ministry will promote more part-time employment opportunities for housewives to alleviate the labour shortage. There will be regular monitoring of the demand for foreign labour. Work permit policies will be adjusted to accommodate temporary acute demands for labour, but without revising the policy of higher skills and greater capital investment per worker.

Social Security

A tripartite committee comprising representatives from labour, management and government will be formed to ensure that workmen's compensation remains adequate. It will periodically review and recommend adjustments in the level of compensation to reflect rises in the cost of living and wages.

As a hedge against inflation, the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board will allow members to use their CPF contribution to purchase private residential properties for their own occupation or for rental. The Board also intends to review its investment policies and the rate of interest to be credited to members.

The CPF Board plans to introduce insurance schemes to protect dependants of members who die or are incapacitated from ever working again. The schemes will cover outstanding mortgage payments for HDB/JTC/HUDC/Mindef flats as well as provide for a sum of money to assist the family following the member's death or incapacity.

Industrial Safety and Health

The Ministry will help factories improve their safety and health administration. It will take steps to get top management personally committed to industrial safety and health.

Standards of safety and health will be improved. Statutory medical examination of workers in certain hazardous industries will safeguard workers' health.

The Ministry will monitor the introduction of new industrial processes such as the Sumitomo Petro-Chemical Plant to eliminate or minimise safety and health problems.

ONG TENG CHEONG Minister for Labour