A government task force has rolled out a series of measures to tackle the retail industry's manpower problems, but remains split on whether bosses should be allowed to import staff.
The Task Force on Manpower Development of the Retail Industry, comprising 16 members appointed in March, released its report yesterday.
It advised retail bosses to maintain competitive salaries to attract and retain staff, and to review and appropriately improve employees' working conditions from time to time.
The industry should work on improving its image to attract new blood, the task force recommended in its report.
The government should also consider a dollar-for-dollar matching scheme for firms that, for example, bought machines that could help ease a labour shortage, the report said.
The task-force members, mostly retail bosses, supported allowing employers to import workers through the existing Supplementary Labour Scheme.
The scheme currently excludes 26 job categories, including waiters and shop assistants.
