NTUC replies: Our recruitment policy has always been to hire Singaporeans first
Posted by temasektimes on May 19, 2012
Yesterday, we published a job advertisement put up by NTUC Fairprice in China last year to recruit cashiers and warehouse storekeepers. (read more here)
The Assistant Manager (Corporate Communications) of NTUC Fairprice, Mr Winston Ng has written an email to us on the same day in response to our article.
Attached below is his reply:
THE TEMASEK TIMES 
George said
Why don’t there hire staffs from India ?
Public said
How about publish in Face book instead, everyone can help to spread/forward the news to our neighbours who may not aware of such opening. Can Winston — NTUC withdraw the “from $980” starting basic salary? Basic salary should be started from $1250 – $1450 depending on experiences. No age/race discrimination, priority should be given to Singapore Citizen first before Singapore PR and so on….
Sgt33 said
When you say over 90% are sc & pr and over 80% are sc. You say that under 20% will consist of pr & ft. In spite of sourcing though all agencies to get sc. You are unable to do so. You must be offering peanunts to sc. That why nobody wants the job. Who is to believe what you say. Please don,t treat us like kids to believe your statement. NTUC is still a govt agencies.
FATHER OF FATHER OF SINGAPOOR said
YES. HEAD OF NTUC “LIM SIA SWAY” DON’T TELL STORY AGAIN. WE WON’T BELIEVE YOU ANY MORE.
A said
I think it will be a win win situation for both the Temasek Times and NTUC for the Temasek Times to advertise jobs in NTUC.
C.O.S. said
Allo winston ng ,
Who are u kidding….. ? My parents or great grand parents….???
90% of your staff are SGporeans….u serious….???
So SGporean shun the job offered and thats a good excused enough to get F Trashes from alien country.
Its Ok to accept your excused , wait till the day come when you are out of job ,,,, and go job hunting your self….as a Sgporean.
Good Luck…..and to those out there who currently are working please show respect to your fellow SGporeans when they come to apply for any vacancy coz you never know when is your turn….!!!
unlike our winston ng here….he can work till die @ntuc and the members have been his collateral damage…!!!
Eric said
1. I don’t believe you because why do you want to place advert in China? Why not Malaysia, the closest neighbour country? Is it because of the low pay u put up that Singaporeans don’t want to work at your place?
2. I don’t trust you. If you can’t hire Singaporean staff, don’t open extra branches! And stop
Eric said
1. I don’t believe you because why do you want to place advert in China? Why not Malaysia, the closest neighbour country? Is it because of the low pay u put up that Singaporeans don’t want to work at your place?
2. I don’t trust you. If you can’t hire Singaporean staff, don’t open extra branches! And STOP selling expensive stuff at your Finest stores in a bid to make money, your job is to stabilise food and commodities prices by offering the cheapest option for workers, STOP claiming you absorb GST then surreptitiously increase the price of goods, and STOP selling the same item at different prices at different stores in order to make money, your job is to offer the cheapest prices for workers all over the island.
ianclai@gmail.com said
hmmm… let’s see them post the Singapore recruitment adverts instead to prove that they have given the “Singaporean First” option a try…
bb said
All job vacancies should in all the social network eg Temasek Times, Temasek Review etc. Netcitizens will spread the news
fast said
The NTUC explanation is bullshit. They cannot find Singaporeans to fill the vacancy? LOL.. there are, but the wages they must be giving are so low that only Pinoys or Ah Tiongs can fill them!
Sheena said
Dear Winston Ng, there was a very recent post here, by a Singaporean lady – she previously worked in a library. She applied twice for the position of cashier and was rejected by the NTUC branch, that was just opposite the block where she lived.
I have nothing against PRC per se, but I have had several encounters with some who were doing frontline jobs such as cashiers and at information counters…and have been very frustrated when they could not speak even basic English. This is especially so at the cashier’s counter, where any problems will result in holding up the rest in the long queue!
So if NTUC does recruit cashiers from China, please ensure that they re able to speak and understand English to an acceptable level. If they are not up to standard, then keep them way from the frontline.
As your good self claims to be unable to feel get cashiers from Singapore, I shall pass the word around, and I shall get back to you directly if any of them encounter rejections like the lady who posted here previously. Of course, I will ensure that those who apply are suitable, that is presentable, literate and able to speak English.
Please consider those who are retired – I have found that these aunties and uncles are usually patient, very hardworking and go the extra mile.
Sean said
yeah, that’s what they say now. & then soon they’ll be ADDICTED to cheap labor, & then >50% of the staff will be foreigners. just look at MBS. the percentage of locals there isn’t what was promised.
Singaporean said
It’s not because no locals wants to apply for the job. It’s because this kind of salary is damn insulting. In today’s world having high such high inflation, who can live with this kind of salary.
Yah so right said
How about getting them to explain why local were ask to “wait for my call” which never come before talking about hiring local… I am sure Ntuc is going to say if we dun cheap source we got to increase price … How about them taking about making less profit first. Remember you are NTUC not some MNC super mart
spotlessleopard said
will NTUC hire Singaporeans at a decnt wage? Or are they paying lower wages to China PRC workers and making themwork12hours?….If they really cannot get Singaporeans to fill the vacancies they can only hire FOREIGNERS PROVIDED THEY PAY SINGAPOREAN WAGES TO THE FOREIGNERS….do not EXPLOIT FOREIGNERS and in the process ACTUALLY CAUSE SINGAPOREANS TO BE UNEMPLOYABLE….if NTUC is doing that it is TREASON
kelviinkwek said
The chellenges all companies faces in Singapore is wants to provide 1st class or developed economy level of end product or services but at undeveloped, developing or 3rd world wages for these workers, to the benefits of high income. It’s all boil down to the pay, say you offer something sensible, $1800-$2000 for your kind of job offer, I believe the chelleges will diminish. Try it, cause $1800-$2000 is reasonable offer to those who can speak English but yet to complete secondary education or the Uncles or Aunties.
Please don’t offer salary that make people live “poorly”. At the end of the day, it’s the right pay for the right economy. Everything has a price, so is labour. Don’t keep on harping on productivity. Considering current current cost of living, these workers are “over-productive” at the level of salary that your company or any others in Singapore are offering.
Unixys said
They merely offer $650 or $4.50/hr to local aunty…. where got enough?
Cancer said
How to fill the vacancies when you are offering such low pay to Singaporeans? Just don’t buy your explanation
joeaudar said
Be sensible Mr Winston. Based on our current inflation rate, how can anyone survive on $980 monthly pay. You are very educated. Do your simple calculation based on normal Singaporean expenses, then come with a fair salary foe singaporean workers.
Come July 2012, the foreign worker levy will be at $400+ and whhy dont you save these levy and pass it on to your offer salary to Singaporeans.
Productivity No More! said
A better solution is for Fairprice to introduce self checkouts with a 10% discount for all items. The cost savings from hiring cashiers can go towards customers who use the self checkouts. This is a monetary incentive for customers to take advantage of the discount to maximize usage of the self check out counters. Initially have staff on standby to guide the customers on how to use it, also have clear cut instructions in all 4 official languages on how to use it. Gradually phase out the human guides once customers familiarize themselves with it.
Also Fairprice is ONLY giving lip service to productivity when it REFUSES to think outside the box to solve the manpower issues. Most European & American supermarkets make use of small forklifts that allow the it to pass thru the supermarket aisles to lift goods onto the shelves directly. Their aisles are built to accommodate the width of these small forklifts to cut down on labor intensive lifting & moving of goods from trucks to supermarket shelves. All this talk about productivity is going nowhere if you keep hiring cheap labor from third world countries.
Temasek TImes should write back to rebut the joker communications chap from Fairprice & cite Aldi, Lindl, Tesco, Walmart as fine examples of firm believers in productivity. Do NOT keep fooling local Sporeans that the only way is to hire cheap 3rd World labor.
loveSG said
I’m now overseas at work and even when I’m home, don’t really look at the papers’ recruitment section…
but has anyone noticed if they advertised in the papers?
Singapore should have some form of hiring law/regulation/policy… whatever you wanna call it, whereby if they want to hire foreigners, they have to post adverts regularly in the local papers for a month (or a reasonable time) and honestly interview viable local candidates before venturing overseas to search.
now, that would be a true “Singaporeans’ First” Policy
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