From Hospitality to Retail: A Job Match Made to Protect Livelihoods

Gina Ng, 59, has always worked in an office environment in her 34 years at Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel The Stamford.

As a senior administrative assistant in the hotel’s culinary department, she handled all banquet event orders and assisted with e-procurement.

Taking on a retail assistant role at NTUC FairPrice—which meant being on your feet, plus carrying and loading heavy goods—was a big change, to say the least.

Gina shared: “At the beginning, it was more of a mental challenge and worry if I could cope with the physical demands of a six-day work week on shifts.”

After being on the job for almost two months now, she found that the tasks she needed to do were not too difficult.

“It’s having to stand for long hours during shift that needs more getting used to. But all in all, I am thankful and would consider myself rather lucky so far,” said Gina.

Job Matching to Save Jobs

Gina is one of around 1,300 workers from over 30 hotels redeployed to companies in need of manpower resources.

This was an initiative by NTUC Job Security Council (JSC) to support at-risk workers and match them into new jobs.

The JSC worked with the Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) and RC Hotels, Gina’s employer, to place her on a three-month secondment to NTUC FairPrice.

“The hotel industry is very badly hit by the COVID-19 situation. They are facing difficulties due to the occupancy rate that is decreasing very rapidly. We have a good relationship with our management partners. So we extended our helping hand to various hotels, not only RC Hotels, but to many other hotels out there who are also badly impacted,” said FDAWU Deputy General Secretary Lim Wen Sheng.

In Gina’s case, the union and management worked together to provide relevant training to prepare her for the new role.

This included training in food hygiene and preparation, to boost her skillsets.

He added: “She gets to learn something very different from her usual work back at RC Hotels. It is a win-win situation because on top of what she used to do, which was admin work previously, she could actually be involved in even F&B operations as well when she goes back to the hotel.”

Job Matching to Protect Livelihoods

The management of RC Hotels has also committed that salaries for staff who are redeployed amidst the COVID-19 situation, such as Gina, will not be affected.

“We actually had a couple of town hall meetings with all our Singaporean and Permanent Resident staff to let them know that our number one priority is to keep people employed.

“And to do that, in agreement with the union, we've got this opportunity to outsource some of you. And if you're outsourced then you don't have to use your annual leave.

“We will continue giving your full pay, so we will top up the difference between what the outsourced pay is compared to what we pay,” shared Fairmont Singapore & Swissôtel The Stamford General Manager Marcus Hanna.

He added: “We're fortunate that a lot of our colleagues embraced that. And it's been heartening to see them enjoying a new experience, building new skills, and they're working very hard.”

Mr Hanna also wants to make sure that redeployed colleagues still feel they are part of the team. He and the leadership team have kept in touch with these workers.

“We want them to know we haven't forgotten about them, and we will get through this. We look forward to them coming back to the property when the situation permits,” he said.

Meaningful Work

Gina realises the importance of her role during this pandemic.

“I feel the work I’m doing now is meaningful and contributing to our community, as now supermarkets are the most important essential stores that stay open to cater to people’s daily needs,” she said.

“My family is very proud of me.”

When asked what she enjoys most about the job, Gina shared: “Looking at the neat and tidy shelves after completing stock replenishment is truly satisfying.”