Professionals, managers and executives demand additional monetary assistance, apart from current grants such as Covid-19 relief grants and help for the self-employed. Lack of job security, adequate training and uncertainty in employment being the major areas of concern for professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).  NTUC and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices are working towards providing assistance to PMEs.

Addressing the issue at hand, Patrick Tay, the assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) revealed growing tensions and uncertainty among mature PMEs (over 40 years). Tay, citing the takeaways from a recent study that featured around 9000 PMEs, revealed workplace discriminations issues, anxieties and fear among PMEs belonging to the age group 20-40. This is due to age, nationality and extended financial commitments including, taking care of parents and children, college fees, etc. He further mentioned providing monetary support to mature PMEs when transitioning from one industry to another. Such transitions are likely to render pay cuts and can take more time to find another job.

It is crucial to analyze the issues leading to the employment crisis for PMEs, solutions to help employees and the extent of monetary assistance. Tay, speaking about the monetary support to PMEs, stated that additional monetary assistance will be subject to active labour market policies, like those introduced in Britain and the Scandinavian countries. The idea is to encourage employees to remain engaged in work. The policies need to be curated in such a way that unemployed workers do not consider the same as handouts but encourage them to diligently look for other career options.

Tay revealed that there are already a number of schemes to assist employees financially such as Covid-19 relief grants and help for the self-employed. But for unemployed workers, it is vital to think thoroughly and formulate a high priority scheme.

A major chunk of the population (39%) in Singapore is ageing, escalating the employability concerns. Consequently, NTUC will be working to generate more employment opportunities, quality jobs, up-skilling of workers and other opportunities for career growth. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices is focusing on making workplaces and hiring procedures fair and non-discriminatory. The Alliance might be empowered with laws and regulations to control the situation.

Further recommendations and regulations will be announced later this year, keeping in to purview the findings of the study, online surveys, focus group discussions and engagement sessions.