SINGAPORE - The labour movement wants to get its workers into shape, literally.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Women's Development Secretariat (WDS) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) will start encouraging healthy lifestyle practices among employees, since cultivating healthier work place practices will translate into "higher productivity, a reduction of unnecessary health-related costs and a stronger morale among employees", said WDS director Halimah Yaacob at the International Women's Day celebrations at West Coast Park.

The initiative will be rolled out in April 2010.

A National Health Surveillance Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in 2007 found that obesity has increased steadily among adults aged 16 to 69 from 5.1 per cent in 1992 to 6.9 per cent in 2004.

The survey also found that 55 per cent of the women polled did not exercise at all when they had the time, compared to about 45 per cent for the men.

"The link (between productivity and health) is very obvious ... if an employee falls sick, then the company's MC (Medical Certificate) levels go up," said Mdm Halimah, who is also NTUC deputy secretary-general and Member of Parliament for Jurong Group Representation Constituency.

"That is a cost to the employer. That's not to say employees aren't allowed to take MC but generally a person who is unhealthy cannot perform well".

Companies planning to help provide a healthier working environment can expect a lump sum grant of $200 from HPB and another $100 from NTUC.

"There are absolutely no qualifying criteria for the grant," she added.

The new initiative indeed will benefit the workers as they will get more opportunities to exercise during their working hours. Many executives have started taking up fitness/exercise classes during their free times as more are getting health conscious and understanding the needs and benefits of regular exercise.

While some prefer to engage in regular group exercise which gives them the motivation to come for classes, there are also a growing number of people who prefer to engage in private classes as they want more attention from the trainers/coaches.

NewAge provides different forms of fitness classes incorporated with Tai Chi or Wushu and Kickboxing for both individual and group classes. We also conduct regular Health talks and seminar for corporate to promote a holistic healthly lifestyle to the working environment. For more information, click here