There is a Chinese saying about how a home with a senior citizen is like one with a treasure.

As an employer, PUB believes in re-employing retired employees who possess the required skills and competencies for the job.

"Depending on the organisation's needs, they may continue in the same job they were before their retirement or be assigned to a new job with a different scope and responsibilities. The new salary would commensurate with the scope of the new job," said Mr Lawrence Tan, PUB's Director of Human Resources.

For employees past the retirement age, PUB has in place a system for them to apply for re-employment. Regular reviews are conducted to match these employees to vacancies within the organisation.

For example, PUB's Catchment & Waterways Department presently re-employs about 20 retired employees. They were selected for their skills and experience which facilitated their re-training and suitability for their new jobs.

ONE MAN'S COMEBACK

Senior Technician Ho Thian Chye, 63, was re-employed by PUB last year. His new job in the Catchment & Waterways Department involves the surveillance of PUB's water catchments and waterways. Before his retirement, he had worked in the Water Service & Operations Centre (WSOC) where he attended to customer feedback on water supply problems with his mobile crew, liaised closely with his working partners to provide temporary water supply to customers and supervised contractors in pipeline leak repair work.

Mr Ho's new job scope involves leading a team to patrol and survey water catchment areas.

"This is a refreshing change. Besides learning to use the computer to write reports on observations made during site visits, the PUB courses I attended on service excellence and the on-the-job training have built up my confidence and equipped me for my new job," said Mr Ho.

PUB works closely with the PUB Employees' Union (PUBEU) to ensure that officers identified for re- deployment are well prepared, and given all the necessary skills needed.

Dialogue sessions are also held jointly with the Union to help address the concerns of employees before any re-deployment.

"PUB has gone a step further in preparing officers nearing retirement by providing a customised Transition Training Course where they are taught skills ranging from self-improvement to family, financial and heath management. This prepares them for the future, whether they continue to work in PUB, outside PUB or go into full retirement,"added Mr Tan.

By RAMAHAD SINGH