SPEECH BY MR TAN CHUAN-JIN, ACTING MINISTER FOR
MANPOWER AT THE TAFEP EXEMPLARY EMPLOYER AWARD
PRESENTATION CEREMONY 2014 ON 28 APRIL 2014 AT 9.00AM,
PAN PACIFIC SINGAPORE
Mr Bob Tan, Vice-President, Singapore National Employers Federation, and
TAFEP Co-Chair
Mr Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General, National Trades Union
Congress, and TAFEP Co-Chair
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning.
Introduction
1. I am happy to join you at this year’s TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award
ceremony. This event is important for a number of reasons. It seeks to
recognise those who have made a difference to their employees. I hope that
your examples would also show other employers that this is possible. Great
work-life practices, as I shared during MOM’s Work Plan Seminar, is
something I feel particularly strongly about. We know the impact on us
when we have enlightened bosses, and that’s when we feel that we’re
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prepared to go the extra mile. I think many of us would have had that
experience before. But I hope that in the same way you would be able to
replicate that to your staff, because that is really the key to long-term
employee retention in any organisation.
2. Before we start, I wonder how many of you have caught TAFEP’s radio
advertisement Fair@Work? It has done really well. It won the hearts of the
judges and importantly, the votes of the public to win the Listeners’ Choice
Award in Mediacorp’s The Laurels 2014. Let’s listen to it
3. It shows very clearly that fair and non-discriminatory employment practices
are important. And that is why the TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award is
important, because it recognises employers who have done well in
championing fair and inclusive employment practices in Singapore. This is a
mindset that we would like to see all our employers in Singapore embrace not just to say, but to do it and manifest it in the way you operate on a dayto-day basis.
We all know that Singapore is very much part of that
globalisation process, and Singapore’s evolving demographic profile has
resulted in a very diverse workforce. Employers must learn how to manage
workers of different genders, ages, races, religions and nationalities.
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4. As you all know, in 2006, tripartite partners came together to set up TAFEP
to promote fair employment practices –to educate and persuade employers to
recruit employees on the basis of merit, treat them fairly, and reward them
based on ability, performance, contributions and experience. Some would
feel that we need to take harder measures. I think in certain instances,
regulations and laws can be put in place. It becomes a bit tricky when you
want to use these things to change mindsets. Once you go down the legal
route, it becomes very hard-line. We believe that (moral suasion) will be a
mainstay of TAFEP’s approach.
5. Eliminating bias at the workplace is a core element of TAFEP’s mission.
Individuals cannot realise their full potential and employers cannot achieve
organisational excellence unless employers assess individuals based on their
skills and abilities, and not on less relevant factors.
6. I am glad to see the progress made by TAFEP in this area. There has been a
steady increase in the number of employers who have committed to
implementing fair employment practices over the years, from only around
200 pledge signers in 2006 to over 2,600 in 2013. The number of
participants who attended training workshops and seminars organised by
TAFEP has also more than doubled from 2,725 in 2008 to 5,752 in 2013.
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Recognising Exemplary Employers Who Champion Fair Employment
Practices
7. Today, we recognise and honour a very special group of employers who
have demonstrated leading practices in fair employment. They are role
models whom their peers should emulate.
8. A very common refrain I hear is that only the bigger firms have the capacity
and ability to adopt fair and inclusive employment practices. Well, you
would be glad to know that there has been an increase in the number of SME
submissions for the TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award. This year, TAFEP
received 36 submissions from SMEs, nearly 1.5 times more compared to the
15 submissions received in 2012, when the Award was last held. So this is
very encouraging, and I hope to see more SME employers come on board.
This is important because over 90% of all enterprises in Singapore are
SMEs, and 7 in 10 workers here work in SMEs. Can you imagine the
difference they make to Singaporeans, if SMEs are able to put in place these
practices?
9. Some of these companies had been nominated by the employees of the
SMEs themselves. I see this as an encouraging signal that not only the bigger
companies can adopt fair employment practices, but SMEs can do it too. If
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you treat your employees fairly and with respect, I can tell you that they will
in turn go the extra mile for you. The issue is, do we have faith that that is
going to happen? Climate and environment do not just happen like that, they
come by design, by nurturing, and certainly from the bosses who set the
example. Hopefully you will remember that, and with your present capacity
to make a difference, you will begin to think about how that is being
translated to your present workplace as well.
10.To create effective and meaningful change, we need more employers of all
sizes to implement fair and progressive employment practices. This will not
only be better for workers themselves, but I think it will in turn be better for
the companies as well. We must have faith that it is a virtuous cycle. I
believe that it is resoundingly so.
Helping Employers Put In Place Fair and Progressive Employment
Practices
11.While it should be common sense and common decency to many, there will
be those who just haven’t been conscious of fair and progressive
employment practices, much less how to put in place these practices. For
some of them, even if they are aware of these practices, such practices may
not rank high on their list of priorities. We do hope employers can join this
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process. Long-term sustainability and success sometimes involve putting in
effort in these long-term measures that will make a difference for your
companies. If you are unsure about how to get started, I do encourage you to
contact TAFEP for advice and assistance. We look forward to providing you
with access to an extensive range of resources, including toolkits, research
reports, guides and training workshops. It’s not going to solve everything,
but it will help you kick-start the process.
12.One of the best ways to learn is to look at the examples of those who have
walked the talk.
13.Let me share with you the story of Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, one of our
award winners today. Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium went the extra mile to
welcome and support people with disabilities. For instance, before someone
with disabilities starts work at the hotel, they and their families are invited to
attend site visits to better understand the work environment and job
responsibilities. To provide further support, employees with disabilities are
also
assigned
buddies
during
their
customised
orientation
programmes. Holiday Inn also believes in recognising the strengths of their
employees and providing support for them to grow. One such employee is
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Mr Thng Kai Bin1, who joined Holiday Inn as a trainee in 2011 and was
subsequently offered a permanent position as a Public Area Attendant in
2013. As a Public Area Attendant, Kai Bin does cleaning in public areas and
was not expected to interact much with guests. Noting his outgoing and
friendly nature, the management decided to transfer him to the frontline as a
doorman a few months later. Kai Bin has been performing well in his new
role and is very happy to have been given this opportunity. He enjoys
working at Holiday Inn where the staff is treated like one big extended
family. Such examples of inclusiveness are truly worth celebrating.
14.We hear of these stories from time to time. This is a great story in particular;
I think many of us will feel moved by it. Don’t just be moved by it - do
something. I was at the SG Enable Awards a couple of days ago, and it
struck me that there are no government agencies that won the award.
Indeed, at the Ministry of Manpower, we try to advocate these practices. So I
hope that the example of Holiday Inn would inspire us to go that extra step
to begin to put in place some of these practices.
15.I would also take this opportunity to tell you about Fedex Express Singapore,
another winner. Fedex believes in being inclusive at all levels in the
organisation. The Managing Director (MD) Advisory Board of Fedex sees
frontline staff such as couriers being involved in policy making and strategic
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Kai Bin is a 22 year old Singaporean, mildly intellectually disabled and has been employed by Holiday inn
since 2011.
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decisions. This is based on the belief that the frontline staff have valuable
insights to share as they have the most direct contact with customers. In fact,
many valuable suggestions have come from the couriers. One example is the
use of a bar-coding system for couriers to draw their equipment before they
go out for deliveries, which reduced equipment collection time by half. This
was suggested by Mr Derrick Teng, who started his career as a courier, and
has since risen through the ranks to become a senior operations manager.
Derrick is a prime example of how Fedex values internal talent and how
being inclusive is pervasive at all levels. When individuals begin to see their
suggestions being listened to, and input being put into practice, they will
begin to feel that it’s worth their while to think harder, to work harder at it,
to come up with a list of suggestions, rather than pay lip service. I suspect it
applies the same to governance as well – we encourage feedback, we need to
listen, and we need to put it into practice and translate it to reality as well.
16. What this shows is that, to create fair and inclusive workplaces, everyone
has a role to play. Relying only on the CEO or the HR department will not
work. What we need most is to create a climate for that buy-in at every level
of the organisation, a shared mindset that each and every individual should
be treated fairly, without prejudice. Everyone must be prepared to play their
part to embrace fair and merit-based employment practices.
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Progressive Employment Practices are key to businesses’ success
17. Besides fair and merit-based employment practices, businesses also need to
consider how to lead and engage better and to also adopt other progressive
employment practices. If the hearts and minds of your employees are with
you, frankly what is there that you cannot do? I think we all know that, but
somehow, I am not sure how many of us actually put in enough man-hours
to back this up by action. We are pretty good at sending people for courses
for professional knowledge, but to really nurture and grow your leaders, you
(need to) spend time coaching, spend time giving feedback. Many of us
don’t spend time doing that, but through that process we help individuals to
grow. If we are able to do this well, I think it has an impact certainly on
productivity, as well as retention and recruitment. Even if it is not for
altruistic reasons, I think there are very practical reasons to do it - but I think
this is the most important reason to do it: it is the right thing to do for our
people.
18.In a tight labour market, organisations which struggle to fill their vacancies
need to ask themselves some searching questions. Can the organisation make
use of better progressive employment practices to better attract workers from
different segments? Can employers attract back-to-work mothers by putting
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in place more flexible work arrangements to enable them to balance their
family and career demands? Can employers put in place effective age
management practices to better attract and retain experienced and skilled
older workers? Every organisation needs to consider these questions
seriously. The labour market will remain tight in the foreseeable future, so I
do urge you, again for practical reasons, to begin to look at these things.
19.If I may emphasise this - putting in place progressive employment practices
should not be treated as an after-thought or a “co-curricular activity”, or
CCA, to be run by the HR department in their spare time. It is something
that everyone needs to embrace fully, not just in your spare time. These
practices should be, and have to be, part of the core values as they reflect the
way your company regards your people. It requires dedicated effort and
commitment from all members of the organisation.
Building on TAFEP’s progress
20.TAFEP’s experience has shown that promotion and education is an effective
tool in improving workplaces. With that in mind, the tripartite partners have
agreed to expand TAFEP’s mandate to include the promotion of progressive
employment practices such as work-life harmony and age management.
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Since 1st April this year, TAFEP has been expanded as the “Tripartite
Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices”. TAFEP’s new
name reflects its expanded focus into progressive employment practices.
21. TAFEP will also help employers to understand and comply with basic
employment standards mandated by Singapore’s employment laws. Greater
awareness of these laws is a necessary first step towards better working
conditions for all employees, and towards becoming a progressive employer.
22.The expansion of TAFEP’s role is exciting and is only possible because of
the strong relationships, and the strong trust and confidence we have built up
between employers, unions and government. TAFEP will continue to build
upon the bedrock of tripartite relationships to improve employment practices
in Singapore.
Conclusion
23.I would like to congratulate all our winners for their dedicated efforts in
embracing fair employment practices. We are very heartened, and all of us
are inspired by your efforts in championing fair employment, and hope that
other employers will follow your example. For those who did not win the
Award this year, do not be discouraged. I hope that you will realise that just
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the sheer process of actually putting in place these practices would have
done a tremendous amount of good for your organisation, and made this
journey a rewarding one. Many of you didn’t do this with the award in mind,
but you did this because it’s something you believe in, and I hope you would
have realised right now that it has a very real, emotive impact on your staff
as well.
24.Lastly, I would like to ask all of you to continue to champion fair
employment, and going forward, progressive employment practices as well.
For all of you who have been doing it, keep up the good work! For many of
you who have been thinking about it, I do encourage you to take the first
step, and a great first step is to really look at the examples that have been
shared about many of the winners, and just emulate what they are doing.
25. With that, thank you very much.
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