WITH difficult times lying ahead, labour chief Lim Swee Say says the critical question that bosses, unions and the Government must ask is this: 'Do we focus our minds and efforts on cutting jobs to save costs, or cutting costs to save jobs?'
He is clear about what the answer must be - a uniquely Singapore solution: 'In Singapore, instead of focusing on cutting jobs to save costs, we focus our energy, our efforts on cutting costs to save jobs.
'This is the way to ensure that not only will we be able to achieve the right outcomes for businesses, but at the same time, a good outcome for workers. And this is a win-win outcome - one that will strengthen trust, not weaken trust, one that will strengthen tripartism, not weaken tripartism .'
