SINGAPORE : Singapore General Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital have retrenched 108 general maintenance staff from their Facilities Plant Engineering Department.
The department will be outsourced to Keppel Facilities and Management Operations (Keppel FMO) from July 1.
The staff, who perform operational suppport work such as air-conditioning maintenance and furniture dismantling, were informed of the retrenchments in March this year.
A total of 82 from SGH and 26 from KKH were affected.
They will receive compensation of one month's base salary for each year of service.
They will also receive extended medical coverage and training grants if they remain jobless for the next 12 months.
In a joint statement, the two hospitals said the rationale behind the retrenchments was long-term cost-effectiveness.
They said outsourcing daily maintenance services to a vendor was expected to save them more than 20 percent of total annual operating costs.
The retrenched were offered jobs by Keppel Facilities and Management Operations, and 70 percent of them have taken up the offer. - CNA/de