Singapore's alliance of the labour movement and employers' federation expects more workers to lose their jobs in the coming months, and urges them - as well as bosses - to work with it to soften the blow.
Calling the outlook "sobering", National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng forecast an uptrend in retrenchments in 2024, a year described as "fragile" by economists, given geopolitical tensions and technological disruptions.
He said: "It is going to be a tough year for our workers. We are already starting to see signs, particularly with retrenchment figures doubling and wage growth stagnating, or even declining." In 2023, when the Singapore economy grew 1.2 per cent, 14,320 workers here were let go, more than double the number in 2022 when growth was 3.6 per cent.
The growth forecast for 2024 is between 1 per cent and 3 per cent.
While the labour movement has stepped up its work to prepare workers for new jobs and careers, the fall from the axe this year could, at best, be cushioned.
Recent rounds of layoffs are rising due to the structural alignment of businesses into new opportunities and the exit of lower valueadded businesses from Singapore, said Mr Ng.
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