Employees are CDL’s key stakeholders and invaluable assets. Through active involvement, empowerment and engagement, CDL aspires to be the place where our people can contribute to the sustained growth of the Company. CDL takes a three-pronged approach — developing, engaging and caring for employees. The Company has in place comprehensive strategies on employee retention, employee attraction, training and development, work-life and work-health policies and initiatives. CDL continues to innovate to implement creative initiatives to increase employee engagement and participation.
JOB SECURITY
CDL adheres to the Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower issued by MOM together with its tripartite partners, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).CDL supports and shares a similar philosophy with the Tripartite Guidelines which strongly encourage companies to manage their excess manpower and to consider reorganisation only as a last resort. The guidelines also suggest company retraining programme for workers, redeployment of workers to alternative areas of work, implementing shorter work-weeks, temporary lay-offs, flexible work schedules or other flexible work arrangements, and managing wage costs through the use of the flexible wage system.
There has been no major reorganisation in the past five years. In the event of termination or an employee resignation, there is a minimum one to three month-notice period that needs to be fulfilled, depending on the employee job grade. Due to operational requirements, mid and senior management are required to provide two and three months of notice period respectively.
RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
CDL respects all employees’ fundamental rights to freedom of association and the right to be members of trade unions. Although CDL is not a unionised company, it is guided by the Industrial Relations Act that allows representation of employees by trade unions for collective bargaining thus providing them with an avenue to seek redress for their disputes. As part of our efforts to recognise employees’ participation in professional bodies, CDL supports employees’ subscription to these professional bodies.EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
CDL stands by our position on non-discrimination and fairness, and ensures that the recruitment process adhere to strict guidelines. There is no preference of gender, ethnicity and age mentioned in the recruitment advertisements. CDL hires based on competencies and the appropriate fit within the Company.Training, promotion, opportunities for advancement, compensation, recognition of achievements, discipline and other conditions of employment are provided on the basis of merit, and without regard to a person’s race, sex, marital status, age or religion.
Understanding that some employees need time to attend to special family needs, a number of employees have over the years converted to a part-time work schedule (and back to full-time) on a need-be basis. In 2011, there were two female managerial employees working on a part-time arrangement. The employment contract offered to part-time employees are on a case-by-case basis and benefits such as annual leave may differ from that of the full-time employees.
Beyond recruiting and retaining female employees, CDL also provides a conducive working environment and fair career development opportunities, which is reflected in the gender profile of Heads of Department.
73.48% of our employees hold tertiary qualifications and above (this includes holders of diploma, degree and Masters qualifications).
62% of our workforce falls between the ages of 31 and 50, representing the majority of our workforce.
A better understanding of the younger employees from the next generation, GEN Y, is critical to CDL’s business growth and development so as to ensure business sustainability. GEN Y is the fastest growing segment of the Company’s workforce and is also emerging as a potential customer group. 47% of new recruits in Year 2011 are born in 1978 or later. In other words, GEN Y is injecting into CDL, the GEN Y thinking and philosophy of life.
In view of developing and attracting young talents through scholarships, CDL has offered seven local undergraduate scholarships to date and 18 internships to young talents in 2011.
2011 also witnessed 23.2% of employee promotions going to GEN Y employees and 5.7% of our managers are 30 years and below, representing a good percentage of GEN Y amidst our managerial employees, injecting perspectives and creativity of the younger generation to ensure continual renewal of people assets for the Company.
CDL began to monitor and track incidences of discrimination in 2008 and there have not been any reported incidents.
