Singapore — SingPost has launched a hiring freeze and certain upper-level management employees will be receiving reduced pay from April.
SingPost Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Coutts announced these measures in an internal message to staff on March 4 (Wednesday). The measures will be implemented in order to address the economic fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak.
He added that because the Government and top businesses have begun announcing initiatives that would tackle the impact of the coronavirus spread, SingPost was following suit “amid this uncertain and challenging environment in a show of solidarity”, according to straitstimes.com.
The hiring freeze takes effect immediately (March 4) and is applicable throughout the whole company, except for essential positions, and subject to approval.
And beginning from April 1, a pay cut of 5 per cent will be applied to SingPost personnel at senior vice-president level and higher. For those in assistant vice-president and higher positions, pay and promotion increments will be frozen.
But for SingPost employees at senior management rank and below, the new measures will have no effect.
These measures will be reviewed quarterly by the management committee of the company, according to Mr Coutts.
“We seek your support as we tighten operations and practise prudence in our spending against the backdrop of a weaker economic outlook. Our growth plans for the future of SingPost will not be affected and I cannot wait to share more on the next phase of our strategy once we turn the tide against the epidemic,” he said to SingPost staff.
Other companies such as Temasek, including CapitaLand, SMRT, SATS and Singapore Airlines, have implemented similar measures.
On Feb 28, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in Parliament that all ministers and other holders of political office will be taking a one-month pay cut to show solidarity with Singaporeans amid the Covid-19 crisis. He said Singapore will win the war against the coronavirus as one united people.
Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister, added that President Halimah Yacob had volunteered to take a similar one-month pay cut.
The allowance of every Member of Parliament (MP) will also be cut by one month, and certain senior public service officers will be taking a half-month cut in their pay.
In the meantime, the public officers who have been hard at work on the front lines in the battle against Covid-19 will be receiving up to one additional month of special bonus, according to Mr Heng.
Among them are the numerous healthcare officers in restructured hospitals and the Health Ministry, and officers in front-line agencies battling the disease. /TISG
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