Greetings.
Recount purpose of UNITE.
Thank Union Leaders for good work. Thank their spouses for support.
Story of the martial arts student and his black belt -- a sequel to the story told by Thiaga at the recent OTCi Graduation Ceremony.
What is the true meaning of the Black Belt?
The Master said: “Yes. You have answered correctly. Here is your belt.”
Yes. Enduring Leadership is always about creating value at the most practical level, where it matters. Leadership is not drama. It is not self-serving. It takes much patience, perseverance and practice for it to be of good quality and effectiveness. Good leaders always seek better outcomes for the larger community. While its presence may not always be appreciated, its decline will always lead to growing aimlessness and suffering among the common people.
The Labour Movement (LM) knows that Strong and Principled leadership lies at the heart of our willingness and ability to
We are an Activist Labour Movement, one that walks our talk. Our leaders at all levels are practical people, focused people. We work for our members and for workers, and we take action!
Let me show you clear examples of what the LM’s leadership corps has done, advocating and pushing for improvements for workers of all levels:
For older workers:
Pushed for re-employment law – came into effect on 1 Jan 2012.
Advocated restoration of higher employer CPF contribution rates for older workers which saw improvements agreed by Government.
Continue to press for fair and effective employment terms and conditions for older workers toward age-friendlier, healthier workplaces.
For low-wage workers:
Progressive Wage Model for various Clusters and Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) – can see from media update 2 days ago. You would also have read in this morning’s newspapers how our Public Sector Union leaders negotiated hard for a year-end bonus payment for civil servants that had a significant dollar quantum in lieu of a percentage to benefit lower wage civil servants.
For mid-level workers:
Pushing for the Singapore Core, and for improved protection of PMEs as the Employment Act is reviewed.
For married couples:
Pushing for enhancements to the Maternity and Paternity benefits to support efforts toward a more fertile Singapore population.
And where it is right and necessary, we have not shied away from taking errant employers to the Ministry of Manpower and to the Industrial Arbitration Court to seek justice and fair treatment for our members and workers. For example, in 2012, we brought 4 cases to open court hearing at the IAC.
How did we manage to do all that? All these initiatives and drives are only possible when we have a strong Union Leadership pool.
This is why the Labour Movement emphasizes so much on Leadership induction, training, development, renewal and example. This is why we foster the 3-Flow approach and promoted it actively among our affiliates.
The strong endorsement of the 3-Flow concept by delegates at the Extraordinary Delegates Conference in October last year paved the way for numerous veteran leaders of the NTUC Central Committee to lead by example.
The affiliates saw and understood that our senior leaders have made the sacrifice so as to ensure that their unions and the LM as a whole can continue to serve with vigor and effectiveness well into the future. Theirs was an act of true Leadership and Vision, worthy of emulation by every succeeding generation.
I am happy to report that as a result of the strong ongoing effort and support from affiliates, very encouraging progress has been recorded in the 2-year period (2011-2012):
To generate even more momentum, the funding of 3F plans by affiliates from the NTUC 50 Fund was enabled in the last quarter of 2012. You will recall that the NTUC 50 Fund is a $50 million fund set up last year to spur leadership and membership development. Very quickly, 11 affiliates have already signed up for funding. They are (in alphabetical order):
BATU, ESU, HSEU, MIWU, PUBEU, SISEU, SPWU, SMEEU, SUBE, UWEEI, NTA.
Together, the leaders of these affiliates currently comprise 30% of the total leadership pool. Their faster growth and better development will enable the LM to do even more and better for our workers in the days to come.
We commend these affiliates for their strong initiative and keen focus on leadership development to ensure that they can continue their good work for members and workers well into the future. We also look forward to supporting the proposals for all other affiliates in the coming weeks and months as we step up the tempo.
As we intensify our efforts at Flow-in and Flow-up, we must gratefully acknowledge the gracious example that our Flow-on leaders continue to set. They have devoted years to the service of their fellow workers and their unions. They did not look upon their leadership positions as personal possessions to be hoarded, but as stewardship responsibilities to be faithfully discharged in their season. They saw beyond themselves and built the leadership pipeline beyond themselves, so that there is a future and a hope for their unions and their members. We are fortunate to have within our fold such leaders of Principle and Purpose who knew instinctively what were the right things to do, and then did them.
This year, we honour 7 of our Flow On leaders through the UNITE Awards. They are:
In a short while, they will share words of advice and wisdom with us. Even though they may say it differently, but at the core they all believed passionately in the cause of Labour. They spoke up for members and workers to make sure their views matter. And most of all, they kept on doing practical things to make life better for their members and workers.
These are the Black Belters of the Labour Movement. We salute and congratulate them!
Brothers and Sisters, thank you once again for your superb efforts and contributions to the Labour Movement during the year. You have all made a real difference! Have an enjoyable evening.
Thank you.
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