PSA PORT GROUP TO PAY COMPENSATION TO LAID-OFF WORKERS

PSA PORT GROUP TO PAY COMPENSATION TO LAID-OFF WORKERS    Singapore-based international terminal operator PSA Corp. has reached an agreement with employee unions on severance payments for laid-off workers.
   PSA announced on Feb. 17 a restructuring plan containing a cut of 800 jobs from its total workforce of 5,700.
   Under an agreement with the Singapore Port Workers Union and the Port Officers’ Union on the retrenchment package, staff with more than three years’ service will get one month’s salary for every year of service, subject to a maximum of 25 years. Staff with less than three years’ service will get 0.5 month’s salary for each year of service. Longer service staff will also get a training grant to assist their move to a new job.
   “Retrenchment is a painful process,” said Stephen Lee, chairman of PSA.
“We fully understand the anxiety of our staff. Being mindful of this, everyone has been working extremely hard over this whole week to speed up the process,” he added.