HR TOP HITS ATTRACTING TALENT DIVERSITY FRAUD MINIMUM WAGE Asia – While Singaporeans are most attracted to the local hospitality and recreational industries, foreign workers in the country are being encouraged to speak out against employers who don’t provide them adequate accommodation.
A recent Randstad Award Survey, which polled 4,000 employees in the country, revealed
36% of respondents viewed the hospitality and recreational sectors as having interesting job content. A further one-third (33%) said they believe both industries have a pleasant working atmosphere, and 19% said the industries offer good training.
Meanwhile, the engineering, construction and energy sector rated highest for long-term security (19%), while the banking and financial services sector rated most competitive for salary and benefits (21%).
Deb Loveridge, Randstad Asia Pacific managing director, said all companies, regardless of industry, need to look at their full employee value proposition and offer employees a complete package - including benefits and entitlements - in the tight labour market.
This is also applicable to companies that employ blue-collar foreign workers. To increase the welfare of these workers, the
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will be holding an outreach programme in July to educate them about their entitled housing standards.
The drive will include road shows and printed pamphlets and posters in the workers’ native languages. To encourage them to speak out against employers who short-change them, the ministry will provide them with a hotline number to call with complaints.
“Accommodation may not be a priority for many workers here. Many just want to work and earn money for their families, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be given proper housing,” Alan Lam, who heads MOM’s Housing Enforcement Branch, said.
“We want to send them the message that they are entitled to a good living environment and that they should let us know when their living conditions are not meeting the standards.”
Across the causeway, the
Malaysian government has set a minimum wage in the country. Labourers working in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak will receive a pay of at least RM800 (S$326) per month, while those in the remaining stats will receive RM900 (S$367).
Once the policy is in place, employers will be given six months to implement it. Micro-enterprises will be given up to 12 months, because they will need more time to make the necessary adjustments.
The move marks a “historic moment” for the country, according to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Bin Abdul Razak. However, Daniel Martin, Asia economist at Capital Economics in London, warned while the policy will help ease poverty, it will drive up inflation.
Across Asia Pacific,
leaders are seeing the need to integrate international talent into their workforce as organisations increasingly become global, a new Mercer research found.
Top diversity and inclusion programmes include offering flexible working options (52%), offering mentoring and family-friendly policies (43%), and having multiple generations within the workforce (43%). The three main drivers behind these strategies are the recruitment of talent (48.8%), employer branding (43.1%) and access to untapped talent pools (38.6%).
Along with the changing demographic trends, the findings suggested human capital strategies in hiring and recruiting practices (61%), career pathing (54%), all HR (41%), and compensation and benefits policies (35%) are most likely to evolve in the coming years.
In the US, a
transport authority employee was fired for a second time after his employer learnt about his attempt to cheat the organisation of US$10 million (S$12.5 m) more than a decade ago. In 2010, Jimmy Roemer was hired to work for a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) project under subcontracting company Dragados-Judlau - shortly after his release from prison. In 2003, he had pleaded guilty to six counts, including fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prior to serving his jail term, he was working on another MTA project under a different subcontracting company.
Sean Clevenstine, his supervisor at Dragados-Judlau said he was aware Roemer had served time in prison when he hired him — but he didn’t know why and didn’t ask.
“Honestly, it [Roemer’s criminal background] wasn’t that big of a deal to me at the time,” he said. “He told me he was convicted, he told me he did time, he told me he paid restitution. I never got into the particulars and the specifics because, to me, I was filling a union position with a union employee.”
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