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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - SG's productivity continues to decline..</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>12:38 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 10) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>14356.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Keep an eye on productivity decline
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LABOUR productivity - that is, output per worker - has dropped sharply in the downturn. It has captured less attention in discussions than, say, government absentee payroll and training subsidies to help companies retain employees. NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How did well to remind Parliament last week that the issue of worker output was as critical in the long term as stemming job loss in the short term. The continuous decline in productivity started in late 2007, a year before the recession began. It showed up in all sectors, except in construction. The 15.4 per cent drop in the first quarter of this year came after a 7.8 per cent decrease last year.
The sharp decline partly reflects the timeliness and effectiveness of tripartite attempts to keep the unemployment rate - 3.2 per cent overall and 4.8 per cent of the local workforce in the first quarter - from rising further than is tolerable. Output per worker will likely continue to decline as 94,000 employees from 1,400 companies that have so far committed to the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) turn up at training venues instead of at their workplaces. It is obviously in the country's social and economic interest in a recession to keep joblessness from spiralling even if that extracts a productivity cost.
Productivity loss and unemployment, however, have more than just a transient statistical relationship. Workers, employers and the Government need to deal with falling productivity as a structural issue that pre-dated and will likely outlast the downturn. Companies will do well to ponder Mr Heng's point about emphasising productivity in manufacturing and adding value to services over trying to get the lowest quote in labour cost. Far from easy, such an approach will have to contend with competition that will likely be fiercer than any that globalisation has brought in recent years. Protectionism will likely re-emerge as a challenge, as industrialised economies struggle to recover. The temptation to race one another to the bottom might continue to prove hard to resist. Vendors nevertheless have to compete on quality as well as price. Spur affords workers a much-needed opportunity to raise their productivity through upgrading or retraining. It is not and should never become a 'pretend' or 'make work' scheme. Beyond helping to stanch the jobs bleed, the programme must ensure training quality and relevance, despite the rapid expansion of courses and enrolments. Reversing productivity loss remains the preferable if not the only way to prepare for the upturn.
[email protected]
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LABOUR productivity - that is, output per worker - has dropped sharply in the downturn. It has captured less attention in discussions than, say, government absentee payroll and training subsidies to help companies retain employees. NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How did well to remind Parliament last week that the issue of worker output was as critical in the long term as stemming job loss in the short term. The continuous decline in productivity started in late 2007, a year before the recession began. It showed up in all sectors, except in construction. The 15.4 per cent drop in the first quarter of this year came after a 7.8 per cent decrease last year.
The sharp decline partly reflects the timeliness and effectiveness of tripartite attempts to keep the unemployment rate - 3.2 per cent overall and 4.8 per cent of the local workforce in the first quarter - from rising further than is tolerable. Output per worker will likely continue to decline as 94,000 employees from 1,400 companies that have so far committed to the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) turn up at training venues instead of at their workplaces. It is obviously in the country's social and economic interest in a recession to keep joblessness from spiralling even if that extracts a productivity cost.
Productivity loss and unemployment, however, have more than just a transient statistical relationship. Workers, employers and the Government need to deal with falling productivity as a structural issue that pre-dated and will likely outlast the downturn. Companies will do well to ponder Mr Heng's point about emphasising productivity in manufacturing and adding value to services over trying to get the lowest quote in labour cost. Far from easy, such an approach will have to contend with competition that will likely be fiercer than any that globalisation has brought in recent years. Protectionism will likely re-emerge as a challenge, as industrialised economies struggle to recover. The temptation to race one another to the bottom might continue to prove hard to resist. Vendors nevertheless have to compete on quality as well as price. Spur affords workers a much-needed opportunity to raise their productivity through upgrading or retraining. It is not and should never become a 'pretend' or 'make work' scheme. Beyond helping to stanch the jobs bleed, the programme must ensure training quality and relevance, despite the rapid expansion of courses and enrolments. Reversing productivity loss remains the preferable if not the only way to prepare for the upturn.
[email protected]
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