FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORK PRACTICES

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Debate resumed.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang (Cheng San): (In Mandarin): I rise to support the motion standing in the name of Dr Lily Neo.

Today, the workplace is no longer the same as before. With new technology and widespread use of IT, new mindsets and different aspirations have drastically changed the way we work. The end result is a frenetic pace of work. We cannot stop or reverse the changes brought about by the new economy. Nor should we. We must be prepared to change or else change will overwhelm us and undermine our survival. Constant adaptation and upgrading of skills are the order of the day. Workers should be adequately equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge to enhance their employability. The changes taking place at work also have profound implications on the family. As a matter of fact, the trend of the new economy plus the development of our social and family structure have made it more and more difficult for our workers to strike a balance between the family and the workplace.

The present small-family structure has caused us to lose the closely-knit network and mutual assistance among members of the family. In a family where both the husband and wife have to go out to work, they no longer enjoy the support of other family members as in the traditional big families. Many workers are sandwiched between maintaining their parents and raising their young children. There are abundant problems.

Sir, more and more workers find it difficult to balance the demands of work and family. The gradual rise in women's participation in the work force is the key reason why the family is under more stress now than in the past. With more and more women participating in the labour force it has become more difficult. Therefore, we have to look at this problem. Although some women-folk are still at home looking after their family and children, many women have to go out to work because of the need for money. They have to return to the workforce to help contribute to the family.

Today, there are many women who possess stronger economic power. They work not merely to supplement the family income. In fact, the income of women nowadays contributes a greater portion to the total income of the family. Many women are in a situation whereby they simply could not afford to give up their jobs to look after the family because they know very well that once they drop out of the workforce, they will not be able to catch up with the fast pace of changes in the business world, and they will lose their employability forever.

Sir, from the above, we now need to have employers to look at avenues where they can put in place all the necessary facilities and flexi-working arrangement to help the women to balance the needs of work and the family.

During the 21st century, the male workers also need flexible working arrangements to help look after the family and their children. The tripartite partnership should help to look for such pro-family working arrangements so that they could balance the needs of family and work responsibility.

The statistics show that in Singapore the proportion of employees in the flexi- time work arrangement is only 0.06% in 1998 compared to 28% in the United States. The experiences of family-friendly companies in the US have manifested to them the benefits of productivity gains, higher staff retention and lower absenteeism and reduction in recruitment and training cost. The report also states that by the flexi-work schedule many advantages are derived, because every time an employee leaves his employment to meet family needs, employers not only incur cost in replacing the employee but also lose the wealth of experience and the tacit understanding and teamwork that has been built up over the years. This type of loss is very substantive.

This family-friendly sort of arrangement is not impossible in Singapore. In fact, some unions and management have worked out flexible arrangements, for example, Singapore Power, Singapore Technologies Aerospace and the restructured hospitals have enjoyed some very successful experience. At the Changi General Hospital and Kandang Kerbau Hospital, they had such a scheme for their staff two to three years ago. The results have been very encouraging. This experience should be a good example for the others to emulate. Besides lower absenteeism, staff morale is higher. Staff dedication and commitment became more prevalent and an enhanced level of service is for all to see. There are a lot of advantages in this sort of practice.

It is something that is worth a try. This is a win-win situation for both the employers and employees. There is no reason why we should not adopt such a practice. Flexible working schedules that incorporate lifestyle aspect is a much better arrangement. I feel that the employers should believe in such practices. Be prepared to give them a try and see how the system can evolve. The management must be the drivers of such changes. The employers have much to gain to explore initiatives such as flexible work arrangements so that they can attract and retain the best employees. This is evidenced by the experience in the United States and in some of the companies in Singapore. The Ministry of Education has set a good example by implementing the new part-time teachers scheme. With such an alternative, the teachers need not opt out of the labour market totally when they need more time for family commitments. So they can be said to enjoy the best of both worlds with a very good balance between family needs and work requirements.

Sir, with this very competitive environment, the company's business may go up, and sometimes they may go down. When there are more orders coming in, the companies will have to meet their obligations, and their margins are often very thin. If they have no orders and if there is no work to be carried out, the company's cost remains very high. Under the circumstances, if the employers do not find some ways to improve, and make the economics right, in the end it would be the workers who will suffer most. Many of them will lose their job because the company was relocated to save cost. I believe that all the workers and employers know the advantage of the flexi-time scheme, and many of the workers are actually taking the initiative to ask their companies to allow them to work on a flexible time system so that they can have more time with their families. So the management should respond promptly and find feasible ways to implement such flexi-time schemes.

The unions in Singapore support labour market flexibility with flexible work arrangements. The NTUC has, over the years, put in considerable efforts in promoting flexible and family-friendly work environment through a number of tripartite programmes such as back-to-work and setting up of eldercare and childcare cooperatives, etc. The NTUC also promotes the employment of part-time workers and articulates the relevant legislation to protect and enhance the benefits for part-time and contract workers, so that workers need not give up their work just because of family commitment. However, some workers may still perceive flexible work arrangement as their employers' way to squeeze more out of them so as to make more profit. Some see flexible work arrangement as temporary or short-term employment. I think that workers should not worry too much about this.

The labour movement would like to work with employers and the Government on this subject more actively. We will have to make sure that employers treat workers fairly when they reorganise work to gain more flexibility. We should also ensure that unions are consulted when companies implement new work arrangements. It is in the trade union's interest to help workers keep their jobs and have greater certainty in their incomes in spite of the peaks and lulls of the business cycle. This type of arrangement, on one hand, will improve the company's productivity and, on the other hand, will help the workers to look after their families. Whether the economy is booming or whether it is in recession, we must make sure that the worker's job is secure and he will have a steady income.

We do not need to have a uniform style or model and we do not need all the companies to implement such a scheme. Because in different companies, there are different circumstances and the companies should design their own work schedules in a way that is most suitable to them. In order for the companies to implement this flexible wage or flexible time arrangement scheme for the workers, the Ministry of Manpower may want to review the present legislation, for example, the present system of 44 hours a week. For some industries, particularly in the knowledge-based economy, we should review whether we should have a better reward system and better wages for the workers who are on this flexi-time arrangement. We should look at the results rather than the number of hours they work. In this way, the workers can have more liberty to allocate their time so that they have a balance between their work requirement and family needs.

Singapore has overcome many challenges over the years. Among others, this challenge of enabling our workers to balance the work with their family is a daunting one. But it is by no means insurmountable. We have proved to be very adept at finding innovative ideas and solutions to resolve our present problems in the past. This time round, I am sure, if we have to make changes, we should make them. Employers should take an enlightened view and with the encouragement from the Government and the cooperation from the unions and the workers, I am quite confident that we would be able to create an ideal work environment and an ideal home for our workers.