Singapore Opposition Leader Calls for Retrenchment Insurance

Singapore, Apr 30 (PTI) As the Singapore government on Tuesday said business reorganisation or restructuring remained the top reason for retrenchments in the first quarter of 2024, Leader of Opposition in Parliament Pritam Singh reiterated his party's call for insurance for retrenched workers for safeguarding their interests.

However, retrenchments in Singapore fell for the second straight quarter while the hiring outlook improved, according to data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

On Tuesday, the MOM said that business reorganisation or restructuring remained the top reason for retrenchments in the first quarter of 2024, as businesses press on with transformation efforts.

In a statement, Singh, the Workers' Party Secretary General, highlighted that the Singaporean workers “may have become pessimistic even with full employment” against the backdrop of companies' cost-cutting measures that have dominated headlines in 2024.

“If large companies and multinational corporations with deep pockets are finding it unsustainable to operate in Singapore due to the cost of doing business here, small and mid-size enterprises will be feeling more pressure,” The Straits Times quoted Singh as saying.

He also cited a survey of 605 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which found that half of Singapore's SMEs surveyed identified increased costs and reduced profitability as a top business challenge in 2024.

Singh also called on the Government to give SMEs more support in non-wage areas in line with his party's suggestions on this front that include talent and acquisition schemes, international expansion, rental assistance or rental support, and streamlining grant application processes to provide grants on a cash basis rather than reimbursement.

Meanwhile, retrenchments in Singapore fell for the second straight quarter while the hiring outlook improved, according to preliminary first-quarter labour market data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Retrenchments in the first quarter fell to 3,000 from 3,460 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The growth came wholly from Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs).

At the same time, non-resident employment contracted for the first time since the third quarter of 2021 due to cooling labour demand, mainly in construction as tighter foreign worker quotas kicked in.