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CSR Malaysia

Sunday
Feb 05th
Home arrow News arrow Asia arrow Singapore Tries To Save Jobs
Singapore Tries To Save Jobs Print E-mail
Saturday, 10 October 2009

According to Singapore's Trade and Industry Ministry survey, only three in ten companies in Singapore practise corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, Manpower Minister, Gan Kim Yong, was reported to have said that tripartite partners came together to issue guidelines to firms on how best to manage excess manpower and to save jobs, in keeping with CSR.

Mr Gan was reported to have said, "Companies were urged to save jobs by implementing alternative ways to manage their excess manpower, such as through shorter work weeks or to send their workers for training during downtimes and consider retrenchment only as a last resort.

"This creates a win-win situation for both the company and the workers as the company is able to retain experienced workers and reposition itself for the eventual upturn, while the workers are able to keep their jobs."

According to the report, out of the 1,900 companies surveyed, two-thirds stated they had no plans to retrench workers. As for the rest, four out of five of them postponed their retrenchment decisions as a result of the guidelines.

Mr Gan said such efforts to save jobs are a clear example of how CSR can work.

In line with this trend, it has been reported that more Singapore companies have signed on to the United Nations Global Compact, which champions CSR. From just ten signatories in 2005, the number has grown to 72 in 2009.

Executive director of Singapore Compact for CSR, Thomas Thomas, was quoted as saying, "We want to tell organisations and companies that we can achieve environmental, social and economic progress together. People, planet and the profits can go together."
 

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