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SINGAPORE: What do Singaporean millennials do when they’re travelling overseas? Apparently, they just eat, eat, eat – and take a lot of food photos.

According to a new survey by Hotels.com, 87 per cent of Singaporean millennials admitted that food is the biggest deciding factor when deciding where to go – and 78 per cent said they spend most of their time munching their way around a place rather than visiting tourist landmarks (60 per cent) or shopping (40 per cent).

The global Tasty Travels survey, which was conducted by One Poll in March, included 9,000 respondents across 29 countries, including 300 Singaporeans, aged between 18 and 35 years old.

Topping the list of favourite destinations among Singaporean millennials was Tokyo, followed by Seoul, Paris, London, New York, Taipei and Bangkok.

Meanwhile, Paris topped the overall global list. It was followed by Tokyo, Rome, London, New York, Barcelona and Madrid.

But despite many of these places having quite a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, Singaporean millennials are actually looking at the other end of the spectrum when they eat – only 12 per cent prefer to check out fine-dining options and instead go for local street food (36 per cent).

On average, they also take around 157 photos during a weeklong holiday – a fifth of which are of food or F&B establishments. A third of the Singaporean respondents also admitted they preferred taking Instagram-worthy photos of their meals over photos with friends or selfies.

In fact, food figures so much that it’s what millennials remember most on their travels. A whopping 90 per cent said local food experiences are what stands out during holidays. Tourist attractions and shopping? Not so much, at 43 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.

“Experiences are the new wealth and food provides one of life’s most pleasurable experiences, where there’s always something new to try when you travel. So, it’s understandable that younger generations of travellers are defining their holiday by what they can eat, how they eat it, and how good the ‘Grams’ will be while they’re away,” said Jessica Chuang, Hotels.com’s regional marketing director of greater China, Southeast Asia and India.  

SINGAPORE: Robotics and Artificial intelligence (AI) are here to stay. 

AI applications are not just helping businesses become more efficient, they are more frequently visible in our everyday lives.

Consider virtual assistants such as Nanyang Technological University’s humanoid robot receptionist Nadine, and robotic instructors, known as RoboCoaches, that lead fitness classes for the elderly, demonstrate exercises, and offer encouragement here in Singapore. Not to mention the increasingly prevalent role of Alexa, Siri and Cortana in our lives.

READ: The rise of artificial intelligence and how lives will forever be changed, the Big Read.

READ: A while more before robots run our lives for us, a commentary.

As for businesses, AI is on the uptake, with research showing that 73 per cent of Singaporean organisations plan to make investments in AI over the next year.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS, HOT TOPIC

With AI occupying such a prominent place in Singapore’s business and social aspects of life, the recent announcement by Minster for Communications and Information S Iswaran on the appointment of a new council to advise the Singapore Government on the ethical use of AI and data is timely.

Not only is the council tasked with driving awareness of the benefits and challenges of AI, it will develop ethics standards and issue advisory guidelines and codes of practice for voluntary adoption by businesses.

Ethics and technology are an increasingly hot topic. Earlier this month, Stanford University, located in Silicon Valley, said it would introduce ethics into its technology and research programmes.

Meanwhile, MIT, recently appointed what it calls a “humanist chaplain” to help entrepreneurial students think through the ethical ramifications of their studies and work.

UNCHARTERED GROUND

It is good to see more people contemplating a host of issues, such as: Who is responsible for information and how is it managed? Are we prepared for the displacement of some old jobs and the creation of new jobs that require additional training?

How can technology and long-standing public institutions come together to make our new technology-driven world a place where we can enjoy all the benefits that AI provides, but within appropriate ethical boundaries? Who is responsible for the outcome of decisions made by AI?

More so than any other technology we’ve seen, AI is raising questions about “the unchartered”, or the unknown. Citizens and businesses are looking for answers to help navigate the new machine driven economy.

READ: The future of work, a dystopian reality? A commentary.

READ: Smart speakers will take over the world? Don’t make me laugh, a commentary.

This is where this initiative by the Singapore Government will play an important role in shaping the way AI is applied in the future, its impact on Singaporean citizens, and how both citizens and businesses approach it.

REDUNDANCY FEARS REMAIN, SO ENGAGEMENT NEEDED

One of the biggest fears of moving towards an AI-dominated world is the fear of redundancy – that our skills won’t be relevant anymore and we risk being displaced by something faster, more efficient, and smarter than us.

This applies to businesses as well and the risk of an industry or service becoming less relevant.  

The truth is technology innovation does lead to disruption and oftentimes displacement. However, the solution isn’t to stop evolving and innovating.

Rather, businesses, workers as well as the Government need to anticipate disruption and proactively build strategies to develop the skills and jobs that will be needed in the future. 

This is why we all need to be engaged in this discussion to ensure that as a society we’re moving towards embracing AI in an ethical manner, finding a place for everyone and making sure that that we focus on the right things to propel us forward as a society.

READ: Digital readiness blueprint needs to consider ‘invisible illiteracies’, a commentary.

A SHIFT, TECH IN EVERY INTERACTION

There’s a transformation at play – a shift beyond digital into an era where tech is built into every single interaction.

It’s important that executives understand the IT trends that are rapidly reshaping not just daily life but society as a whole, and that businesses – in every industry – reimagine what is possible.

This is where ethics come into play – providing guidelines and boundaries for the ways that industries will have to change in terms of accountability and responsibility for the decisions that machines make on our behalf.

While we can’t expect all the questions surrounding AI to be answered by the council itself, this new council is a step forward in bringing some clarity to at least the unanswered questions surrounding ethics and the ethical boundaries of how AI is likely to shape businesses going forward.  

AN INGREDIENT IN A TRANSFORMING CITY

AI can be used as a transformational business tool and a very useful consumer service. It is changing how companies operate and people live.

But executives shouldn’t just look at it as a means to grow their businesses and people shouldn’t just think of it as a nifty extra.

We should look at AI as a tool that enhances human capabilities – making people better and happier at their jobs, prompting customers to be more satisfied with services and confident in a company’s brand. 

It should be an ingredient in creating a city that transforms the way of life of its citizens, boosting quality of life. Used ethically, we can all look forward to a new and exciting future with opportunities far beyond our imagination.

Gianfranco Casati is Group Chief Executive Growth Markets at Accenture. Teo Lay Lin is country managing director at Accenture Singapore.

SINGAPORE: Growing up, 14-year-old Nur Eynarah used to watch as her brother come home from football practice and matches covered in mud.

“They played on a normal field, and if it was raining, he used to come back very dirty and muddy,” said the Secondary 2 student at Woodlands Secondary School. “The normal fields are very muddy, and if it’s raining…I don’t like getting dirty.”

Despite her interest in sports, Eynarah was reluctant to join her school’s girls’ football team because of that. But she had a change of heart when she found out that the field she would play on was made of synthetic turf – which meant she would be less likely to return home from games or practice dirty and covered in mud.

Woodlands Secondary is one of 142 schools in Singapore to have benefitted from the Education Ministry’s Synthetic Turf Programme. The programme, which has been implemented since 2006, hopes to give schools more flexibility to schedule PE lessons, field sports and games without having to worry about over-use affecting the condition of the field.

And cleaner students are indeed another benefit, according to Woodlands Secondary’s head of PE Mohamed Razif.

“We use the field not just for football training, but for PE lessons as well, and students would have to return to class right after that,” he said. “So when we only had the natural field, the students would get muddy on rainy days, which was quite a big disadvantage.”

SYNTHETIC FIELDS MORE COST-EFFECTIVE IN THE LONG RUN: MOE

But cleanliness aside, MOE said these fields are more cost-effective in the long run compared to natural turf. The ministry told Channel NewsAsia that each synthetic turf field costs an estimated S$200,000 to S$500,000 to install, depending on size.

It is also cheaper to maintain – costing about S$3,000 per year. At Meridian Junior College (MJC), maintenance takes place about four times a year. It involves topping up the rubber infill granules, and brushing the artificial grass with a tractor – a process which takes about three to four hours, according to MJC’s head of PE and CCA Seah Joo Yee.

In contrast, the process of maintaining a natural field could take much longer, according to Woodlands Secondary’s Mr Razif.

“When we had our normal field, we would have to request that the maintenance be done during the holidays, because it could take about a month or so,” he said. “They would have to put in more soil, and wait for the grass to grow, and even then, it doesn’t always turn out that well because of the rain.”

MOE said synthetic turf fields allow “schools with heavy field usage and niche field sports to schedule more outdoor field activities and develop competitive field sports.”

The Synthetic Turf Programme is being rolled out to schools in phases, and schools can opt in based on their usage needs. According to Budget 2018’s revenue and expenditure estimates, the total project cost of the Synthetic Turf Programme is about S$83.5 million, of which slightly over S$42 million has been spent so far.

Schools which already have a synthetic field include Dunman High School, Bukit Panjang Government High School and Riverside Secondary School. An additional 10 schools will be getting a synthetic turf by 2019, said MOE.

BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE DRAWBACKS, SAY SCHOOLS

Apart from maintenance, schools with such fields also highlighted another benefit: That the conditions of the synthetic field remains the same regardless of what the weather conditions are.

“It wasn’t as conducive to play on natural grass, because some areas were balding from repetitive use, and after it rains, the grass comes out when you kick it,” said MJC’s Ms Seah. “(The synthetic grass) is softer, and there’s less impact on the students’ knees and ankles when they run.”

For serious football players like JC2 student and captain of MJC’s football team Nathanael Chin, the synthetic field also makes his gameplay more consistent.

“When I play on a natural field, the ground condition can vary according to the weather,” he explained. “When it gets hot, the conditions are very hard and bumpy, and when it rains, it gets soft and muddy.”

“All this will affect the way I pass the ball, run or move in the field.”

Both teachers admitted there are drawbacks. For example, field events such as discus and javelin could no longer be done on the field, for fear of spoiling it. But this, said MJC’s Ms Seah, is “not much of a concern”, as the focus in the PE syllabus for schools has shifted away from such events.

The rubber infill from the field also, according to Woodlands Secondary’s Mr Razif, “follows the students everywhere” after they use the field. “We always tell them to clear the black granules from their shoes before going for class,” he said.

Nonetheless, both teachers stressed that the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks.

Furthermore, Nathanael noted that it is becoming increasingly uncommon to find fields with natural turf.

“I used to play outside leisurely, and I’d have to travel around different fields to use their facilities,” he said. “Most of them are synthetic fields, whether it’s located in a school or in a stadium.”  

“Having the field here in the school also helps our students when they go out and play,” added Ms Seah.

“It’s easier for them to adapt, and in fact, there is no transition for them at all.”  

SINGAPORE: The deafening silence at Changi Prison on Thursday afternoon (Jun 21) was suddenly broken by a loud voice over the public address system. 

“All inmates, sit up straight. Look into the camera,” ordered a Singapore Prison Service officer, who works at Institution A4, the women’s prison. 

“All inmates, at ease,” she added, barely a minute later. 

The prison was testing what is known as an automated muster checking system, one of three new technological initiatives SPS is trialling as it moves towards automating work processes in prison – or what it calls a “prison without guards” concept.

Currently, muster checks are done manually by prison officers on the ground to account for inmates. The process has to be repeated a few times daily. 

SPS is trialling facial recognition technology to replace these manual checks. Cameras located in the cells would capture the facial images of inmates and verify them with the records in the database, SPS said. 

“Only discrepancies will be highlighted to prison officers for further verification, cutting down the time spent on manual checks,” SPS added. 

Superintendent Chan Kai Yuen, who is the senior assistant director at SPS’ transformation and technology division, told the media that the automated muster checks would make the process quicker. 

He explained that manual checks would typically take 20-30 minutes, but facial recognition allows the process to be completed in 10 minutes. 

Besides that, SPS is also trialling a human detection system known as Avatar. The system uses prototype video analytics to detect and alert prison officers to abnormal activities, such as fights, in cells. 

“Making use of video analytics, this surveillance system can detect acts of aggression using an algorithm that captures high intensity, erratic motions and various interaction points between two persons,” the agency said. 

Avatar is currently being experimented in a cell in a men’s cluster at Changi Prison. According to Mr Chan, the test has so far been “very promising”. 

“It has detected actual fights that occur in the cell. We are testing it in one cell now … when the technology is ready, we will introduce this to all cells,” said Mr Chan. 

He added that SPS is still ironing out “false alarms” that could be triggered when inmates are exercising, for instance. 

SPS is also trialling self-service vending machines that dispense items as varied as snacks and soaps.

This process is done by matching an inmate’s identity – via wrist tags embedded with electronic chips – with his weekly spending allowance. 

The cost of the items bought is automatically deducted from the inmate’s allowance. 

“This removes the need for officers to manually collate the inmate’s purchase orders, update their allowance account and distribute the canteen items,” SPS said. 

Commenting on all the three technologies that are being trialled, Mr Chan said it allows officers to spend less effort on routine, more labour-intensive activities and free up their time to focus on “higher order work” such as rehabilitation. 

“We can sit down and talk, interact and understand the inmate better … and help in charting a relevant rehabilitation programme,” he said. 

On top of the three systems being trialled, SPS has piloted an automated security equipment cabinet that allows officers to draw and return equipment safely, and a digital rehabilitation records management system that tracks inmates’ movements. Inmates are also able to access e-books and e-learning through shared tablets. 

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SINGAPORE: It is not a concoction from the fictional world of Willy Wonka but an actual beverage by Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) students, which even made it to the finals of the 12th World Dairy Innovation Awards on Jun 20.

The Fleuryo High Calcium Yoghurt Drink was a finalist in the Best Dairy Drink and Best Dairy Product from Asia categories. The unusual drink is the brainchild of students Ong Han Xuan, Chong Ke Ann, Tang Hwee Peng, and Nur Syafiqah Bte Zakaria from NYP’s Food Science and Nutrition department.

Made with ingredients such as heat-treated egg shells, yoghurt, earl grey tea and chia seeds, a serving of Fleuryo is said to meet the recommended daily intake of calcium for adults aged 19 to 50 years old, according to the press release from NYP.

So what does it taste like? Imagine a flavour profile similar to Thai milk tea, with and chewy bits of chia seeds for texture – something the team wanted to replicate to appeal to the bubble tea-loving crowd.

Egg shells were used because they are some of the most calcium-rich ingredients in the world. Instead of sugar, the students used monk fruit extract, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories.

It is supposed to offer a convenient drink that is low in fat, high in protein, and has live yoghurt cultures, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and calcium, according to the NYP press release.

BEATING CP-MEIJI AND GENERAL MILLS

Along with the Fleuryo High Calcium Yoghurt Drink, the Aloha Bliss Frozen Yoghurt was the only other student submission to qualify for the finals – and went even further. It even beat other international entries, such as those from CP-Meiji and General Mills to win Best Dairy Snack.

The NYP student team, comprising Regine Lee, Liu Teng Hui, Tricia Kuai, Chang Wee Ling from the Food Science & Nutrition department, and Phoebe Ng Zi Yin from the Visual Communication department, created Aloha Bliss Frozen Yoghurt’s three bite-sized treats with familiar Asian tastes and textures, such as chrysanthemum, wolfberries, yam, coconut and chia seeds.

The two creations took the Diploma in Food Science & Nutrition students four months to research and develop. Both dairy inventions are not available commercially yet.

SINGAPORE: I recently had a conversation with a relative who started work after completing her Higher NITEC Certificate and for many years worked in the F&B industry.

She now works as a restaurant manager, earns about S$2,300 a month and has been in this job for almost eight years now.

She shared with me that she has often been recalled back during public holidays, and have had to stay back after work to look into receiving supplies to the restaurant and when repairs to the air-conditioning had to be carried out.

I casually asked if she was paid overtime and she answered in the negative. She shared that as recent as 2014, her boss amended her employment contract when they promoted her to a restaurant manager and included terms (such as the power to hire and fire, supervisory and managerial responsibilities) which suggested that she was a PME (Professional, Manager and Executive).

As such, they said she was outside the scope of Part IV of the Employment Act which excludes coverage of managers and executives. This meant that she was not entitled to overtime payments for her work in excess of the normal working hours.

Is this really a case of a proper classification of a PME? By and large, her job is no different from any of the sales and F&B staff serving customers, save for the responsibilities to ensure the till is correct and the supplies and shop are in order.

She may not have a senior management decision-making role at the restaurant as the onus still resides with the restaurant owner.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

This is an example of a “disguised PME” scenario in that the worker is a de facto PME. While it is a personal anecdotal example, I am afraid this may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Considering we have more than 770,000 individuals in our resident workforce who are PMEs and 1,220,000 who are PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) based on Ministry of Manpower (MOM) figures as at 2017, it is estimated that there are more than 30,000 who are classified as PMEs earning less than S$2,500 per month.

We have also seen PMEs in similar situations coming to NTUC for workplace advisory. Although we have not monitored actual numbers, the most recent case was in May this year, involving a union member who works as a site engineer in an IT firm.

He earns S$2,000 a month and has been asked to work overtime based on operational needs but was not paid overtime pay in accordance to Part IV of the Employment Act. Instead, his contract stipulates an allowance for work after office hours.

We are still in the midst of assisting him in his claim against his employer and we hope to help him get the compensation he deserves.

WHO IS AN ‘EXECUTIVE’?

A fortnight ago, a High Court case reported saw Justice George Wei noting in the deliberation that “executive position” was not defined in the Employment Act. Black’s Law Dictionary defined “executive” as a “corporate officer at the upper levels of management”.

The judge also examined statements made by MOM in Parliament during the recent amendments to the Employment Act to extend coverage to junior managers and executives. In arriving at his decision for this case, he took into account Parliament’s view that managers and executives were persons who were in a better bargaining position, whereas Part IV was meant to protect the more vulnerable employees who were engaged in manual labour or paid lower wages.

Justice Wei pointed out the fact that a worker is in a supervisory role does not in itself make him an executive. Such a worker may even be a “workman”. Much would depend on the nature and level of the supervisory powers he is given, alongside other circumstances.

In this case, the claimant was in charge of a team and made decisions daily, including conducting toolbox meetings and confirming whether safety requirements were met before work could begin. But the tasks he undertook did not go beyond regular on-site routine administrative work.

Even though he had influence over his team members’ appraisals and could provide feedback on their performance, the judge found he did not have direct authority to hire, fire, promote, transfer, reward or discipline them.

The judge made it clear that an employee is not a manager or executive merely because he can give feedback and thereby “influence” his superior’s assessment of a team member.

In view of all these factors, it was decided that the claimant was not employed in an executive position, was covered under Part IV of the Employment Act and was therefore entitled to overtime payments.

IMPACT ON UNIONS AND PME REPRESENTATION

Although this recent case touched on who is an executive, it also positively impacts how our unions are better able to represent PMEs. The Industrial Relations Act was amended in April 2015 to give all unions the ability to collectively bargain and represent PMEs across all companies.

We have made good progress in extending the scope of representation of PMEs across our unionised companies. However, this recent case is a stark reminder to all employers and human resource leaders to use the terms managers and executives with care and due diligence.

Some have been known to wrongly classify their workers to avoid them being represented by unions on the basis that they are in a conflicted position given their managerial and executive powers.

More importantly, all workers in any company or business must be aware that they can become union members. All workers can be represented (whether collectively or individually) by unions, save for senior management and selected conflicted roles.

REMEDIES, RECOMMENDATIONS

The proportion of PMEs have increased and will continue to increase. The proportion of the workforce with specialised qualifications has also increased over time.

Qualifications do not guarantee bargaining power as many low-earning employees with specialised qualifications are not deployed to jobs with managerial duties or decision-making powers.

I urge all workers whose employers classify them as PMEs, especially those whose monthly salary is lower and below $2,500, to re-examine their employment contract, job role, scope and powers as they may fall within Part IV of the Employment Act and be entitled to overtime payments.

Union members can approach their unions, and all workers can seek assistance from the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) or MOM.

Tripartite partners can help to better articulate the case law position of who is a PME. Existing web content on MOM’s website on who is a manager and executive may also need to be revised to remove mention of professionals with tertiary education and specialised knowledge as well as provide clear examples of actual managers and executives who earn less than S$2,500 in basic salary.

Assessments must be based on the job scope instead of the job title. For manager and executive jobs, they should be in substantive positions of authority, including possessing an authority to hire and fire, being in charge of business units and functions, or directly managing and running the business.

Another way around this would be for Part IV of the Employment Act to cover all who earn S$2,500 and below, regardless of whether they are a rank-and-file office worker or a PME. This was something we floated with our tripartite partners in the latest review of the Employment Act.

With the exponential growth in PME numbers, I look forward to the day when we will eventually remove this dichotomy between the rank-and-file and PME workers. In the meantime, I hope for greater awareness among workers and employers so that workers are treated fairly, and the wrongful classification of workers as managers and executives is eradicated.

Patrick Tay is NTUC Assistant Secretary-General. This commentary first appeared in LabourBeat. Read it here.