<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Jobs Credit payouts begin
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>First tranche of $920m goes out to 100,000 employers </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
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Tat Hong Holdings CEO Roland Ng (centre, in white) says the heavy equipment supplier will save over $76,000 monthly with Jobs Credit, which it will use for staff training and skills upgrading. The first of four payments under the one-year scheme went out yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A KEY safeguard to help halt more job losses kicked in yesterday when $920 million in Government cash started flowing to over 100,000 Singapore employers.
Companies big and small, employing more than 1.3 million workers here, are receiving cash grants under the Jobs Credit scheme, part of the $20.5 billion Resilience Package announced on Jan 22.
The cash - equivalent to a 12.5 per cent subsidy on the first $2,500 paid to an employee's monthly wages under the Central Provident Fund - is aimed at easing a firm's wage costs.
The first payment, based on wages between October and December last year, was made to companies yesterday.
Businesses can expect to receive four quarterly payments from the one-year initiative. Subsequent payouts will be on June 30, Sept 30 and Dec 31.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said the largest payout given to a company amounted to some $9.5 million, but declined to give further details.
Firms affected by the slowdown have welcomed the extra cash and say it will help subsidise their heavy wage costs.
'In these tough times, every bit counts. This scheme will more or less help - especially in terms of staff wages,' said Mr Dick Lee, a director at Small Tool Technologies, a local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
Mr Raymond Ang, general manager of Meritus Mandarin Singapore, says the cash will enable employers 'to retain staff for a minimum of three months'. The hotel employs 750 people, more than 70 per cent of whom are Singaporeans.
Besides preserving jobs, firms say, the scheme gives them more options in human resource management and planning.
'For those who are not sure if they can employ more workers or are considering retrenching staff, the additional funds will give them more options,' said Tat Hong Holdings president and chief executive Roland Ng.
'For some, it can also mean helping them withhold their retrenchment plans, thus saving jobs.'
Mr Ng, whose firm supplies cranes and heavy equipment, said Jobs Credit will help his 2,000-strong business save over $76,000 a month, enough to subsidise part of the wage bill for 25 to 30 staff.
'But in our case, we're not retrenching, so we will use part of the additional funds to send some of our staff for training and skills upgrading,' he added.
For companies like Asia Polyurethane Manufacturing, which employs 28, the scheme has even helped create new jobs.
'We are recruiting more because our business is starting to grow and, with Jobs Credit, we were able to open up three new positions,' said Mr Erman Tan, its chief executive.
To make it easier for employers to benefit from the scheme, no applications are needed. According to the Ministry of Finance, the cash grants are calculated based on historical CPF computation data and are paid out automatically.
Worker unions report that Jobs Credit has heralded a new approach by employers towards retrenchment.
'I do see a significant change in the way the banks are approaching issues like retrenchment since Jobs Credit was announced in Parliament,' said Mr Bobby Tay, secretary-general of the Singapore Bank Employees' Union, which represents some 4,700 bank staff.
'The feedback I am getting from workers we represent and bank management indicates that they are indeed cutting costs to save jobs, instead of the other way round,' he added.
Some companies, however, told The Straits Times that they still fear the scheme alone may not be enough to save jobs during the downturn.
'We have tried our very best to retain our staff...However, the effect of the Jobs Credit scheme may not be sufficient if the economic crisis becomes protracted,' said Ms Goh Ai Lin, corporate development manager at Lawton & Yeo Design Associates, a local SME.
Lawton & Yeo, which gets $58,000 from the first Jobs Credit payout, wants to see other measures such as opportunity creation, business matchmaking and networking opportunities.
'These can help SMEs like us to generate business revenue, which may be more of a long-term solution,' she added.
[email protected] Additional reporting by Linette Lai
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>First tranche of $920m goes out to 100,000 employers </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Tat Hong Holdings CEO Roland Ng (centre, in white) says the heavy equipment supplier will save over $76,000 monthly with Jobs Credit, which it will use for staff training and skills upgrading. The first of four payments under the one-year scheme went out yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->A KEY safeguard to help halt more job losses kicked in yesterday when $920 million in Government cash started flowing to over 100,000 Singapore employers.
Companies big and small, employing more than 1.3 million workers here, are receiving cash grants under the Jobs Credit scheme, part of the $20.5 billion Resilience Package announced on Jan 22.
The cash - equivalent to a 12.5 per cent subsidy on the first $2,500 paid to an employee's monthly wages under the Central Provident Fund - is aimed at easing a firm's wage costs.
The first payment, based on wages between October and December last year, was made to companies yesterday.
Businesses can expect to receive four quarterly payments from the one-year initiative. Subsequent payouts will be on June 30, Sept 30 and Dec 31.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore said the largest payout given to a company amounted to some $9.5 million, but declined to give further details.
Firms affected by the slowdown have welcomed the extra cash and say it will help subsidise their heavy wage costs.
'In these tough times, every bit counts. This scheme will more or less help - especially in terms of staff wages,' said Mr Dick Lee, a director at Small Tool Technologies, a local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME).
Mr Raymond Ang, general manager of Meritus Mandarin Singapore, says the cash will enable employers 'to retain staff for a minimum of three months'. The hotel employs 750 people, more than 70 per cent of whom are Singaporeans.
Besides preserving jobs, firms say, the scheme gives them more options in human resource management and planning.
'For those who are not sure if they can employ more workers or are considering retrenching staff, the additional funds will give them more options,' said Tat Hong Holdings president and chief executive Roland Ng.
'For some, it can also mean helping them withhold their retrenchment plans, thus saving jobs.'
Mr Ng, whose firm supplies cranes and heavy equipment, said Jobs Credit will help his 2,000-strong business save over $76,000 a month, enough to subsidise part of the wage bill for 25 to 30 staff.
'But in our case, we're not retrenching, so we will use part of the additional funds to send some of our staff for training and skills upgrading,' he added.
For companies like Asia Polyurethane Manufacturing, which employs 28, the scheme has even helped create new jobs.
'We are recruiting more because our business is starting to grow and, with Jobs Credit, we were able to open up three new positions,' said Mr Erman Tan, its chief executive.
To make it easier for employers to benefit from the scheme, no applications are needed. According to the Ministry of Finance, the cash grants are calculated based on historical CPF computation data and are paid out automatically.
Worker unions report that Jobs Credit has heralded a new approach by employers towards retrenchment.
'I do see a significant change in the way the banks are approaching issues like retrenchment since Jobs Credit was announced in Parliament,' said Mr Bobby Tay, secretary-general of the Singapore Bank Employees' Union, which represents some 4,700 bank staff.
'The feedback I am getting from workers we represent and bank management indicates that they are indeed cutting costs to save jobs, instead of the other way round,' he added.
Some companies, however, told The Straits Times that they still fear the scheme alone may not be enough to save jobs during the downturn.
'We have tried our very best to retain our staff...However, the effect of the Jobs Credit scheme may not be sufficient if the economic crisis becomes protracted,' said Ms Goh Ai Lin, corporate development manager at Lawton & Yeo Design Associates, a local SME.
Lawton & Yeo, which gets $58,000 from the first Jobs Credit payout, wants to see other measures such as opportunity creation, business matchmaking and networking opportunities.
'These can help SMEs like us to generate business revenue, which may be more of a long-term solution,' she added.
[email protected] Additional reporting by Linette Lai
