I REFER to Saturday's report, 'Labour movement's top 3 priorities', which listed Labour chief Lim Swee Say's top three priorities for Singaporeans in the current downturn.

The priorities are similar to those adopted in the past few crises Singapore experienced. The first - cutting costs to save jobs - is obvious as companies will continue trimming costs to cope with the recession.

The second - retraining - is a constant refrain and echoes the Government's call during the Sars crisis in 2003.

But the group the current crisis has struck hard are the professionals, managers and executives. This group is highly qualified and may not benefit from such retraining. Retraining is largely best suited for workers down the line who can be easily upgraded to take on certain jobs in the healthcare or hospitality sector.

Professionals such as accountants and engineers are harder to retrain and redeploy elsewhere because of the far lower pay grades and non-complementary skills set. For example, an accountant will have difficulty taking on a healthcare job due to the much lower salary and status.

More can be done to help this growing group of unemployed who continue to be left out of government initiatives. For a start, they should have access to some useful programmes like support group activities and job counselling.

They can also hopefully be able to tap on some funds for courses that are best suited to their professional needs. Many will benefit from enrolling in a post-graduate or degree programme, which may enhance their employability when the market turns around.

As unemployment benefits are not a feature of government policy, we should consider a fund whereby each professional contributes at least one per cent of his income, subject to a minimum sum.

This fund can then be used to provide unemployment welfare to breadwinners who have lost their jobs.

How many Singaporeans have done the careful thing and set aside six months' income for contingencies?

Many of us scrape by even when we are working.

The unemployed currently face the constant challenge of having to find employment in a very difficult labour situation and still continue to pay their bills regularly.

I hope that the labour movement will continue to explore unorthodox ways to solve the current, deepening crisis.

Gilbert Goh

This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 06, 2009.