<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>'Don't be like dodo birds' in crisis
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Manpower Minister tells young unionists to stay flexible during dialogue </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
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Mr Stephen Tan (right), 26, and his father Tan Kong Seng, 56, once lived on public assistance of $200 a month. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IN HIS teen years, unionist Stephen Tan and his disabled father lived on public assistance of about $200 a month.
But it did not stop him from going to a polytechnic, and later a university for a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree.
Today, the 26-year-old is an intensive care nurse at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
He related his story yesterday when he urged his generation to be self-reliant in the face of current economic downturn.
His call at a Young NTUC dialogue with Mr Gan Kim Yong won praise from the Manpower Minister, who urged those present to stay optimistic, adaptable and continue to upgrade.
'There are a lot of help schemes available,' Mr Gan told about 80 unionists.
'But workers also have to take responsibility and respond positively to the crisis - (to) look for jobs, go for training, upgrade themselves, find ways to survive.'
By doing so, they will be like 'geese that can fly long distance' as a team, and not like a dodo bird that cannot fly, he added.
The dialogue was part of a day-long programme to help the unionists build bonds and learn about the labour movement.
The current recession, however, was on the top of their minds, with jobs and layoffs dominating the dialogue.
One unionist asked if a fresh graduate who accepts a blue-collar job could be at a disadvantage when he applies for a professional position after the downturn.
Citing his private sector experience, Mr Gan said employers regard favourably those who are flexible enough to take up any job - including a blue-collar one - compared to those who stay jobless because they cannot find the job they want.
'An employer in recruitment will always ask, why haven't you been working for the last one year?
'If the answer is well, there are no jobs available, employers will not believe (this), because there are always jobs available,' he said.
Another unionist wondered what values companies were communicating to young people when they want long-time employees who are laid off to leave within the day.
Mr Gan said significant progress had been made in ensuring that employers handle layoffs responsibly, but agreed that there was 'still some way to go'.
He recalled that when he was in the private sector, his company would keep employees with a family member who has a chronic disease, because if they lose their job, they would lose the medical benefits for the family member.
Mr Gan worked for listed company NatSteel in 1989 when he left the civil service. He rose to be its chief executive.
He also assured the unionists of the viability of the integrated resorts (IRs), seen as a key generator of jobs for Singaporeans.
These are not just casinos like those in Macau and elsewhere, which are seeing falling revenue. Singapore's IRs, he said, will also have other features that will target conferences and families on vacation.
Also a worry is how employers view graduates of private universities here against those from public universities.
His ministry, he said, was not in a position to dictate to employers their hiring practices. It was up to the universities to market themselves and ensure their courses are up to mark.
Mr Tan, in an interview with The Straits Times, said he went to the Singapore Institute of Management to build on the diploma in nursing that he obtained at Nanyang Polytechnic, where he received a bursary.
He was 12 when his father, an odd-job labourer, suffered deep-vein thrombosis and had his left leg amputated.
The family went on public assistance but the executive council member in the Healthcare Services Employees' Union, said he 'fought hard' as he 'did not want to be at the bottom of the food chain'.
'If you want to survive, you have to do something for yourself,' said Mr Tan. [email protected]
Not happy ah? Then bootlick yourself to $$$million minister like me lah! *hee*hee*
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Manpower Minister tells young unionists to stay flexible during dialogue </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Goh Chin Lian
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Stephen Tan (right), 26, and his father Tan Kong Seng, 56, once lived on public assistance of $200 a month. -- ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IN HIS teen years, unionist Stephen Tan and his disabled father lived on public assistance of about $200 a month.
But it did not stop him from going to a polytechnic, and later a university for a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree.
Today, the 26-year-old is an intensive care nurse at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
He related his story yesterday when he urged his generation to be self-reliant in the face of current economic downturn.
His call at a Young NTUC dialogue with Mr Gan Kim Yong won praise from the Manpower Minister, who urged those present to stay optimistic, adaptable and continue to upgrade.
'There are a lot of help schemes available,' Mr Gan told about 80 unionists.
'But workers also have to take responsibility and respond positively to the crisis - (to) look for jobs, go for training, upgrade themselves, find ways to survive.'
By doing so, they will be like 'geese that can fly long distance' as a team, and not like a dodo bird that cannot fly, he added.
The dialogue was part of a day-long programme to help the unionists build bonds and learn about the labour movement.
The current recession, however, was on the top of their minds, with jobs and layoffs dominating the dialogue.
One unionist asked if a fresh graduate who accepts a blue-collar job could be at a disadvantage when he applies for a professional position after the downturn.
Citing his private sector experience, Mr Gan said employers regard favourably those who are flexible enough to take up any job - including a blue-collar one - compared to those who stay jobless because they cannot find the job they want.
'An employer in recruitment will always ask, why haven't you been working for the last one year?
'If the answer is well, there are no jobs available, employers will not believe (this), because there are always jobs available,' he said.
Another unionist wondered what values companies were communicating to young people when they want long-time employees who are laid off to leave within the day.
Mr Gan said significant progress had been made in ensuring that employers handle layoffs responsibly, but agreed that there was 'still some way to go'.
He recalled that when he was in the private sector, his company would keep employees with a family member who has a chronic disease, because if they lose their job, they would lose the medical benefits for the family member.
Mr Gan worked for listed company NatSteel in 1989 when he left the civil service. He rose to be its chief executive.
He also assured the unionists of the viability of the integrated resorts (IRs), seen as a key generator of jobs for Singaporeans.
These are not just casinos like those in Macau and elsewhere, which are seeing falling revenue. Singapore's IRs, he said, will also have other features that will target conferences and families on vacation.
Also a worry is how employers view graduates of private universities here against those from public universities.
His ministry, he said, was not in a position to dictate to employers their hiring practices. It was up to the universities to market themselves and ensure their courses are up to mark.
Mr Tan, in an interview with The Straits Times, said he went to the Singapore Institute of Management to build on the diploma in nursing that he obtained at Nanyang Polytechnic, where he received a bursary.
He was 12 when his father, an odd-job labourer, suffered deep-vein thrombosis and had his left leg amputated.
The family went on public assistance but the executive council member in the Healthcare Services Employees' Union, said he 'fought hard' as he 'did not want to be at the bottom of the food chain'.
'If you want to survive, you have to do something for yourself,' said Mr Tan. [email protected]
Not happy ah? Then bootlick yourself to $$$million minister like me lah! *hee*hee*
:oIo:
