By Aaron Low

MURATA Electronics has become the first unionised company in Singapore to take advantage of a new government- sponsored programme aimed at saving jobs.

Yesterday, the Japanese company sent the first 50 of 200 workers for training under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) scheme.

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The $600 million scheme, introduced on Dec 1, will pay for part of the workers' wages while they are on training, a move to encourage employers to send their workers for retraining, rather than retrench them.

For Murata, Spur will bring savings of $143,875 in wage costs while the workers are on their 31/2-month training course.

The scheme will also pay up to 90 per cent of the course fee, leaving the company to pay only $13,429.

In sending off his workers yesterday, Murata's managing director, Mr Masatoshi Koike, painted a grim picture of the economic crisis. 'The current situation is critical, and it is an 'enemy' we have never faced before.'

He said the company had embarked on several cost-cutting measures, including reducing overtime and temporarily suspending operations at one of its factories.

But these moves are not enough, he added.

Praising Spur, he said it would help companies deal with excess capacity while preparing workers for an eventual upturn.

Murata employs about 1,700 workers here. The remaining 150 workers selected for training will attend the course next year. Teamwork and communication at the workplace are among the topics to be covered by the course.

National Trades Union Congress deputy secretary-general Halimah Yacob hailed Murata and the workers for their pioneering role and urged other companies to tap into Spur, which she described as a 'win-win' proposition.

'During this difficult period, Spur will help a company to reduce its payroll cost. At the same time, it gets to keep its experienced workers and help to upgrade their skills in preparation for better times,' said Madam Halimah.

So far, 22 companies have made a commitment to send about 2,500 workers for the Spur programme.

Of these, Madam Halimah said 10 companies are from the electronics sector, including big manufacturers such as Delphi, Infineon, Chartered Semiconductor and Murata. Together, they will send around 1,500 workers for training under Spur.

Madam Halimah also addressed worries that Spur, being a temporary measure to cut wage costs, will solve the problem only as long as the worker is on training.

'We really can't predict what is going to happen in the next year because the global situation is unwinding day by day,' she said.

'As of now, this is a useful approach we are using to work with the companies.'

Murata has taken steps to assure workers like Mohamad Affendi Adamin that they will have a job when they return from training.

Mr Affendi, 27, who earns about $1,300 a month, said he was happy twice over when he heard he was selected for the training.

'They told me I will have my job when I get back. Also, training is a good break from work for me to learn new things,' he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on December 16, 2008.