May Day 2009 Model Partnership Awards

May Day Model Partnership Awards recognise strong links at various levels

This year's May Day Model Partnership Awards emphasised on recognising the strong links between individuals at the company and national levels during the economic downturn.

The awards were given out to 126 individuals and 173 unions.

They received the Institutional and Individual awards, two categories introduced this year.

The Institutional award recognises partnerships between the management, union, workers and government in helping to cut cost, save jobs and build new capabilities through re-skilling and upgrading.

The Individual award highlights partnerships between the worker and those who help him or her gain new skills, acquire a new job or re-enter the workforce.

One of the companies which received the Institutional award is Singapore Power, which managed to save jobs while cutting costs. It also sent its workers for re-skilling and upgrading.

The company is also committed to long-term employment initiatives. Last year, it re-employed 50 workers and had flexi-work arrangement for women. - CNA/vm

By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 16 May 2009 2032 hrs

Working together to save jobs

Sticking together with its workers during the recession has helped Tesa Tape Asia Pacific, a global leader in self-adhesive products, to keep to its longheld policy of not retrenching.

Though production demand has dipped by 30 per cent since last August, the company has kept all its 110 workers - and also protected their pay.

How? It worked closely with workers and unionists to cut costs with measures such as shorter work weeks and plant shutdowns during festive seasons.

The German firm, which has never laid off a worker since setting up base here in the mid-1970s, has also since last September used the lull to upgrade workers' skills.

It has conducted in-house training and sent workers for basic English and mathematics courses under the $650-million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).

This and the Jobs Credit scheme, which subsidises part of the wage bill, have helped Tesa Tape avoid cutting its employees' pay.

Its manufacturing director Daniel Ng said: 'We never retrench. We're staying united to survive this tough period because we want to keep our skilled workers in preparation for the upturn.'

Its close partnership with workers and the Chemical Industries Employees' Union was why it was among 50 companies that bagged the May Day Model Partnership Award on Saturday.

At a ceremony held at Downtown East in Pasir Ris, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) also gave awards to 66 workers who have shown resilience - for instance, by taking on new jobs.

Three tripartite leaders gave the awards: Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, NTUC president John De Payva, and Singapore National Employers Federation vice-president Bob Tan.

By Kor Kian Beng