SHORTLY after being crowned a superstar for the restaurant service sector, Mr Kalaichellvan Krishna was offered jobs by other restaurants and hotels.

Even though the assistant manager at Jack's Place politely refused, this was ironically the very scenario the Minister in the Prime Minister's office Lim Swee Say highlighted at the Excellent Service Awards ceremony in the Raffles Convention Centre on Tuesday.

Before handing out the top service honours to ten outstanding service workers, Mr Lim urged these staff not to job-hop and employers not to poach them.

Mr Krishna, 26, who works at the steakhouse's West Coast Recreation Centre outlet, did not say which companies made the offers at a tea reception after the award ceremony on Tuesday morning.

'They told me come and join us. We will pay you better. But I said no,' he said. 'My customers know me. Without them, I couldn't have won this award.'

Singapore's job market is white-hot now, with the jobless rate falling to 1.7 per cent in the third quarter, down from 2.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

This has caused a scramble for workers, pushing up wages and business costs. The labour market will get tighter, said Mr Lim.

This may lead to job-hopping and lower service standards, he added, because each time a worker switches jobs, he would need to learn the ropes all over again.

'For workers to job-hop for a few dollars more during good times, is a very shortsighted move, because the journey towards excellence is a long one,' said Mr Lim, who is also the labour chief.

He also urged employees not to take 'short cuts' and poach staff.

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