In a nutshell, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Lim Swee Say’s May Day 2014 speech can be summed up as this: Honouring workers and appreciating their contributions; and ordinary workers who make extra-ordinary contributions. The Better Movement is a campaign which the Labour movement kicked off on 1 May 2014, calling on Singaporeans to be ‘Better Employers, Better Workers, and Better Customers’.
Appreciating workers
SG Lim reminded that while Singaporeans live in a city where things work better than other places, “we do not live in a world of zero defects,” he said, referring to the recent bouts of incidents where Singaporeans raised much concern about issues like the delay and breakdowns in public transport and bed crunch in hospitals.
He noted that it may be human nature to be unhappy when things go wrong. But he urged Singaporeans not to forget that for every day that some things go wrong, there are many days where “most things go right.”
“There are hundreds and thousands of workers… working hard, working smart behind the scene, so that things can go right for all of us,” said SG Lim, referring to a video shown at the Rally of workers who work tirelessly in the wee hours of the morning.
Honouring workers
“Whether as employers, workers or customers, we depend on each other,” said SG Lim, adding that each has a role to play to make things better for the other.
He called on employers to learn to bring out the best in every worker and to treat each worker better.
To workers, he asked that they value their jobs more and take greater pride in what they do.
On the part of customers, he urged a respect for service staff as they are people too.
“Let’s treat each other as equals with courtesy, respect and appreciation,” said SG Lim.
“Let us not wait for each other. Be the first to change, and make things better for all our fellow workers… Not just on May Day, but everyday…” encouraged SG Lim.
