MINISTRY OF MANPOWER (Implementation of four-day work week and job sharing)

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MINISTRY OF MANPOWER:

(Implementation of four-day work week and job sharing): 5.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Manpower (a) if he will update the House on the newly announced four-day work week and job sharing that his Ministry has implemented in its own set up; and (b) what are some of the guidelines that have been drawn up to assist corporations to better identify operations that can support a four-day work week.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Manpower (Mr Hawazi Daipi) (for the Minister for Manpower): My Ministry is not promoting a 4-day work week, as wrongly headlined in a recent press report. We have clarified this to the newspaper. What MOM has put in place are flexible work options, such as flexi-time, telecommuting, working from home, job sharing and part-time employment.

Like many other companies with flexi-time, some MOM officers start earlier or later than the official starting time of 8.30 am. For other options like telecommuting and part-time work, approvals are granted selectively for limited periods and when the performance and productivity of the officer and his or her division are not compromised. Currently,about 1,080 staff in MOM, 9 or 0.8%, are on these schemes, and they aretypically mothers.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: In view of the competitive environment that we are encouraging in Singapore and the recent calls for flexibility in our work patterns, will the Ministry actually be working out some schemes to provide some guidelines on how flexible working hours or flexible work week can actually be implemented in organisations?

Mr Hawazi Daipi: Flexible work arrangement is practised widely in the

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industry. The Ministry would not want to prescribe a certain formula for different industries and companies to subscribe to. What we would like to see is arrangement that would be mutually beneficial to both the employees as well as the employers. So as long as the rights of the workers and the interests of the companies, as a whole, are well protected and taken care of, we would encourage different kinds of flexi arrangements.