By Fawwaz Baktee
When the Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) was set up on 1 April 1982, Abdullah Talib became its first General Secretary. He has also served as President for the Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union (AREU). Mr Abdullah has been active in the Labour Movement since 1978 and at 69-years-old today, he continues to contribute to the Labour Movement by being in charge of Union Relations for NTUC Club.
NTUCtw: How did you end up in the Labour Movement?
Mr Abdullah: I was working for the United Pulp and Paper in the 70s. The Pioneer Industries Employees Union (PIEU) came down to the company to organise us, but at that time I didn’t fill up the form. And when they had a General Meeting to elect Branch Officials, I wasn’t around; I was in the workshop doing my work as I thought it was only for union members who signed up. Without my knowledge, they elected me as Branch Chairman. I told them that I wasn’t a union member but they said that it was alright and told me that my outspokenness would make me a good branch official. I relented and filled the form up. Soon after, I found myself being co-opted into PIEU’s Executive Committee.
What’s the one thing you remember most in this journey?
I remember clearly there was one incident that involved BATU organising quarry workers. The workers filled up the membership form, but they hadn’t paid any union fees.
Unfortunately, one of the workers was killed in a quarry accident. Even though he hadn’t paid his union fees, we represented him and gave his family compensation. No matter what, he had intended to join the union. It was within my means to help his family and we can’t be too technical about such matters.
His wife was really grateful that we reached out to help. And when I looked at his three young children having lost their father at such a young age, I felt really sad. That was the determining point in my Labour Movement career.
How has the Labour Movement changed over the years?
The union-management relationship years ago wasn’t like how it is today. It was very turbulent.
Human Resource people were very different then. They wanted workers to work like machines and they called unionists troublemakers. They had a false perception that workers who joined the unions were lousy workers, that’s why they had to join the unions to protect themselves. The management of companies acted tough with us, so we had to do the same.
But as time went by, both the management and the Labour Movement evolved for the better. Today, we sit to discuss our differences and come to solutions that are beneficial to all parties.
It was also a challenge to recruit members at that time. Unions could only offer workers protection. That’s all we focussed on as there was nothing else we could use to pull workers to join us. It’s unlike today with all the privileges of becoming union members.
Source: NTUC This Week
