HOTEL INDUSTRY (Manpower shortage)

Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour (a) whether the hotel industry is now facing a shortage of manpower; (b) how acute this problem will be by the late 1980s, taking into account the growth of the tourist industry and the construction of new hotels; and (c) what measures will be taken by Government to alleviate the problems.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour (Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Sir, from various sources, including hotels, the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board and the Singapore Hotel Association, the Ministry gathers that the labour shortage in the hotel industry is not acute. The shortages are mainly in occupations such as waitresses and chambermaids.

To alleviate the immediate shortage of workers, the Government has recently reviewed and liberalized work permit policies allowing the service sector, including the hotel industry, to employ workers from traditional as well as non-traditional sources.

Over the next five years, another 13,500 rooms are expected to be added and more workers will be required. However, over the long term, after the implementation of the wage correction policy, the industry is expected to introduce measures, such as computerization and mechanization to raise productivity and to economize on its use of labour. Nevertheless, the Ministry will continue to monitor the labour situation in the industry and will introduce remedial measures as and when required.

Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi (Kampong Kembangan): Sir, taking into account that, up to the late 1980's, there will be an increase of 13,500 hotel rooms, in the opinion of the Ministry what would be the increase in the demand for the workforce? Secondly, would the traditional and, non-traditional sources of labour that we depend upon, be able to meet this demand?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Sir, according to the Singapore Hotel Association, an expected number of about 16,000 workers will be required, but this is a rather high figure because the staff to room ratio used is about 1.2:1. If we take the more advanced countries, such as the United States, Japan and even Hawaii, the staff to room ratio is about 0.5:1. If we assume that the hotel industry take heed of the Government's call to mechanize and computerize, and finally achieve a staff to room ratio of 0.5:1, then the present staff should be sufficient to cater for the needs of the future.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon (Alexandra): Sir, in view of the fact that hotels depend on the provision of good service to their guests, would it not be dangerous to rely on imported workers to solve the problem, without first ensuring that they are properly trained?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: First, I would like to stress that it is important for the hotel industry to mechanize, and through mechanization the unnecessary labour in the various sectors of the hotel industry will be released to perform work in areas where service is most required. On the other hand, by liberalizing the work permit schemes, people will be brought in to fill in the areas where chambermaids and waitresses will be used, and training will certainly have to be provided by the hotel if they want to remain viable.

Dr Augustine H.H. Tan (Whampoa): Sir, the Government has been concerned with the upgrading of the skills of our workers. To what extent does the Parliamentary Secretary think that the hotel industry, however it chooses to automate or upgrade by mechanization, would be able to produce the kind of skills that we require?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: If the hotel industry is interested in remaining viable, then I think it will surely have a plan to train its workers. In September 1979, the hotel industry itself carried out a survey of 20 hotels representing about 51% of the total workforce of the hotels and have come out with their own recommendations such as providing a career development to promising staff, conducting in-house training, improving meritorious and long service benefits and offering more incentives to attract part-time workers, and farming out certain services that could be farmed out, such as security and laundry.

Dr Augustine Tan: Would the Parliamentary Secretary agree with me that a chambermaid using a broom and a chambermaid using a vacuum cleaner is still a chambermaid?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: When we talk about mechanization, perhaps it will be best for the hotel industry to seek its own advice. But when we talk about mechanization, we are certainly encouraging the hotels to mechanize in order to save unnecessary labour.

Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, before asking a supplementary question, let me express my thanks to the Parliamentary Secretary for making an attempt to reply. However, he himself has stated that there will be an increase of 13,500 hotel rooms by the late 80's. This means more than 100% increase when compared to the present number of hotel rooms in Singapore. Bearing in mind the fact that there would be competing demands from the other industries and also the fact that it is not always easy to solve the manpower shortage at the managerial and supervisory grades - at the moment this is a crucial problem - I wonder if the Ministry could consider having serious discussions with interested bodies, so that the private sector, the Government and possibly the Labour movement, could together look into this problem of labour shortage in greater depth.

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Sir, I must thank the hon. Member for his concern, but may I just enlighten him on the latest survey results that we have received. In fact, this survey was done by the Ministry of Labour. In 1980, for instance, administrative and managerial workers totalled 717, out of which there were only two job vacancies. So the problem really is not that serious. There will be a few vacancies in each industry once in a while.