More companies pledging to treat staff fairly

SINGAPORE: More companies are promising to treat their employees fairly by signing an employer’s pledge.

The number of companies coming on board has increased — from 602 in 2007, to hit over 2,000 in 2012.

The pledge is an initiative by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, which shared that some of the top complaints of unfair practices relate to race and age issues.

More employers now realise that treating employees fairly can help retain staff and alleviate the manpower crunch.

Orchard Hotel is getting its chefs to learn how to prepare different dishes so that when the different festive periods come around, they can help one another.

The hotel’s general manager said while having a multi—racial team can help improve productivity, it has not been without challenges.

Andrew Tan, general manager at Orchard Hotel, said: "We have three challenges. The first challenge is to persuade the workers to cook different types of cuisines. The second challenge is during their work time, we have to find time for them to go and learn and the third challenge is keeping and maintaining the food quality and standard."

— CNA/xq