DBS To Give All Employees Two Days Annually For Volunteer Work

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Responds To PM's Call For More Volunteerism

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Challenges Other Singapore
Companies To Follow Its Lead

SINGAPORE, JULY 9 - DBS Group said today it would grant all of its more than 8,000 employees in Singapore two days of paid time annually for community service.

The Bank's announcement was in response to Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's call yesterday for Singaporeans to get more involved with their community and with community organizations that need their help.

The programme will be open to all DBS' employees in Singapore. This translates to about 136,000 hours of volunteer time, or the equivalent of about 50 full-time volunteers on an annual basis, that DBS' employees could give back to the community.

"The Prime Minister struck a respondent chord with his comments yesterday. Singapore, especially its volunteer organizations, needs the help of people. And we have good people who can help, if they have the time. It seemed a simple thing to do to grant them the time to help make this happen," said DBS Chairman, S Dhanabalan.

"We're all busy," said Dhanabalan, "and while I believe most of us want to help others, between work and family commitments there just doesn't seem to be the time available. We'll no longer be able to use 'lack of time' as an excuse, and this should prove a great benefit to Singapore," he said.

For this year, just one day of paid volunteer leave will be granted each staff member DBS said. Effective January 1, 2001 all staff will have up to two days of paid volunteer time available.

Details of the program will be worked out and announced to staff shortly.

"And we want employees to be free to choose the organization they wish to assist. Our community organizations will get more attention and better work from people who identify with their goals. We will not be directing staff to one organization or another," Dhanabalan said.

"While we hope this action by DBS sets a good example, we clearly can't solve the volunteerism challenge alone. But the simple system we are establishing should demonstrate that it is possible for companies of virtually any size to respond in similar fashion on their own. We would encourage them to get on board this important initiative," he said.

"No one should misunderstand. We are not offering two days of paid vacation. We are offering an opportunity for staff to contribute, and for community organizations to benefit. The effort will only be successful if our hands and legs, hearts and minds are employed on behalf of the community organisation that can benefit from them," he said.

DBS for many years has been encouraging staff to participate in various community service activities through its recreation club. In 1999, DBS was awarded the Corporate Volunteer Award (Private Sector) from the National Council of Social Services in recognition of its volunteerism efforts.