At the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) May Day Awards 2019 ceremony held earlier today, 117 awards were presented to deserving Labour Movement (LM) leaders, tripartite partners and model workers who have made significant contributions in making a difference to the lives of our workers in Singapore. Held at the University Cultural Centre, the ceremony was hosted by NTUC President Mary Liew and NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng for more than 1,000 awardees, union leaders, tripartite partners and guests.
This year’s NTUC May Day Awards 2019 acknowledges deserving individuals and organisations who have supported the LM’s initiatives and outcomes for our workers and strengthened labour-management relations. These include improving our workers’ wages by helping to manage their costs of living with sustainable wage increases; strengthening their welfare by protecting and advancing their interests; and advancing their work prospects by securing better jobs with better wages.
Prioritising Workers, Advancing Tripartism
This year’s highest May Day Award – the Medal of Honour – was presented to Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan. The Medal of Honour award is conferred on special individuals who have rendered distinguished services to the Labour Movement. Mr Khaw’s belief in prioritising workers and his continuous efforts in advancing tripartism left a lasting impact on our workers’ lives. Throughout his career, he has had numerous interactions with unionists and often sought their feedback and counsel whenever he had to enact policies that affect workers.
As Minister for Transport, Mr Khaw has supported various tripartite efforts in the transport industry and together with the National Transport Workers’ Union, helped to set up centralised academies, like the Singapore Bus Academy and Singapore Rail Academy to prepare public transport workers for the future.
Mr Khaw has always been a firm believer in promoting productivity in the healthcare sector. When he helmed the Ministry of Health, he worked closely with unions in the healthcare sector to enhance workers’ welfare while advancing this sector.
As the Chairman of the Council of Advisors of the Education Services Union (ESU) since its inception in 2006, Mr Khaw was instrumental in the formation of the union and in identifying the rapid growth in the private education industry. Under his guidance, ESU membership increased more than fivefold from 4,500 members in 2006 to 25,000 members today.
Standing With Workers, Serving with Passion
Among the higher award categories are the Comrade of Labour (Star) (Bar) and Comrade of Labour (Star), which were conferred on union leaders – former General Secretary of Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, Mr Yeo Chun Fing and former General Secretary of Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union, Mr Philip Lee respectively. Both union leader exemplified strong passion in speaking up for the interests of workers at various union and national platforms; and actively pushed for equitable treatment of and enhanced employability for our workers.
Another award which honours union leaders is the Comrade of Labour award, which is conferred on serving union leaders who have made significant contributions to their unions and have served LM continuously for more than five years. We recognised 42 union leaders this year. These union leaders have shown that they are caring, committed and selfless in helping our workers, being by their side through the good and challenging times.
In recognition of retired trade unionists who have made significant contributions to LM continuously for 15 years or more, the Veteran of Labour Award was conferred upon former Branch Chairperson of Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union, Ms Lucy Wong; and Mr T Onn B T A Murad, former Executive Committee Member of Singapore Maritime Officers' Union, for their lifelong dedication to the cause of our workers.
Becoming Ready, Relevant and Resilient for the Future
In addition to the traditional May Day Awards, a new award – Model Worker, was presented to recognise breakthrough initiatives that impact the lives of our workers. This award is conferred on outstanding workers who exemplify the spirit of Worker 4.0 by displaying the traits of being ready, relevant and resilient. These involve the improving of their jobs through adopting or initiating productivity improvements; enhancing their employability through up-skilling; and being adaptable to the changing work environment.
Additionally, the Partner of Labour Movement award has been expanded to recognise associations as well as partners in the LM’s network that have made significant contributions through collaborations, projects or initiatives of national impact, as well as promoted and supported the LM and its initiatives.
In summary, the NTUC May Day Awards 2019 celebrates the dedication, commitment and valuable contributions of our LM leaders, tripartite partners and model workers. These awardees will continue to inspire others towards strengthening the wages, welfare and work prospects of our workers because every worker matters.
Note:
Please refer to Annex A for Mr Khaw’s full citation. In conjunction with the NTUC May Day Awards 2019, LabourBeat (http://www.labourbeat.org/) did an exclusive interview with Mr Khaw as well.
Please note that any extracts from the full interview transcript in Annex B should be attributed to LabourBeat.
The full list of NTUC May Day 2019 awardees can be found in Annex C.
The full citations for the awardees can be found at http://bit.ly/maydayawards2019.
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