By Lim Wei Chean

UNIONS, employers and the Government are gearing up to help workers cope with the economic downturn, and one key area being looked at is providing companies with funds so that they can send staff for training.

The strategy for coping is two- pronged: Reduce the cost of doing business to save jobs and companies, while finding ways to 'step up the investment in new capabilities', labour chief Lim Swee Say said yesterday.

The aim: Keep job losses below the 29,000 level experienced in 1998, when the country was reeling from the effects of the Asian financial crisis.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.