Imagine for a moment that it is already 2050 and Singapore has succeeded in phasing out petrochemical industries and fossil fuel reliance from its public infrastructure. What does this mean for the workers that used to be employed in these industries?
Based on longitudinal studies of worker layoffs in a range of countries and industries, blue-collar workers are likely to bear the brunt of the transition as they face more difficult challenges compared to white-collar workers when it comes to finding new jobs. The principle of just transition is that the state subsidizes part of all of the direct costs of transition. Two large direct costs are the living expenses during the unemployment period, and the education expenses for retraining. For workers exiting the petrochemical industry in Singapore, a transition allowance of S$1000 per month for two years and an additional one-time payment of up to $6000 for retraining with costs could help significantly in supporting the worker. Retraining will take the form of months-long courses with a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge, aimed at re-skilling these workers for new jobs in sunrise industries like renewable energy.
In order to diversify the exposure of the workers, the government should also work with the private sector to ensure that there is a range of providers for training, who will then add on practical exposure to the theoretical training. This has been proven effective in Shenyang and Wuhan, two industrial cities in China, where workers laid-off during industrial closures underwent training for a duration of one month (in Shenyang) to two or three months (Wuhan). In order to ensure that training does make a quantifiable impact on re-employment chances, certification and international benchmarking of training standards can be carried out.
One example where highly qualified training programmes were brought in would be that of the workers exiting the coal industry in Moravia and Silesia, in the Czech Republic. The training partners were the German organisations Qualifizierungszentrum Region Riesa GmbH and the Technology Centre Großenhain. These two institutes provided professional advice and support based on many years of involvement in professional retraining centres in Germany. The training covered not only theoretical work but also practical production experience.
Finally, we would also propose to utilise social media and information and communications technology – for example, publicising job openings on a national jobs web portal with job fairs, and creating a national jobs call centre for both job seekers and employers.
These retraining and job-matching measures are by no means exhaustive. Do you have ideas or past experiences navigating the issues of worker retrenchment and restructuring? Join us today and share your expertise in helping to co-create a just transition for Singapore!