Eatery makes a difference with auto-stabilising tables

Eating at uneven tables can leave a sour taste in the mouth of diners and restaurant staff, who have to prop up the tables with folded newspapers and the like.

A-One Claypot House owner Richard Ter solved this problem last year by buying auto-stabilising tables for three of his nine restaurants.

The tables, each costing about $300, come with an in-built hydraulic liquid system to ensure balance.

He tapped a $100 million productivity boosting scheme set up in 2010 by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

Administered by the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) has supported more than 1,600 projects.

e2i chief executive Gilbert Tan said yesterday that about $63 million has been committed so far.

"The programme has helped fund projects that make companies efficient and improve their profits," said Mr Tan.

"In turn, they pass on the benefits to their staff by raising their salaries," he added.

About 83,000 workers - all from companies that have received IGP funding - will get salary increases of about 10 per cent on average by this year.

Mr Tan was speaking at a showcase of A-One Claypot's productivity projects at its outlet in Kallang Wave mall.

Mr Ter said he has also redesigned menus that are easier to read, and bought glass-washing machines. "My staff are happier as their workload has been cut down," said Mr Ter, who employs about 170 people.

"Previously, about six workers would quit every month. But now, only one will leave, and usually, because of family reasons," he added.

A-One service crew supervisor Ong Ai Leng, 59, whose pay has increased by about 15 per cent over the past year, said the morale of her colleagues has improved.

She said: "Many of us are in our 50s. It is tiring to bend down to place newspapers under the table to ensure it is even. Now, we do not need to do that. We feel our boss cares for us."

ameltan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on February 18, 2015.
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