The Singapore National Day Awards are given out every year to recognise various forms of merit and service to the country. A total of 4,985 individuals in 21 award categories received National Day Honours this year.
Nine of them have either served or are currently serving in the Labour Movement. They are:
We spoke with three awardees who have won the Public Service Medal:
Ms K Thanaletchimi: Public Service Medal
In her 27-year union career and still going, Ms Thanaletchimi’s priorities has always been to improve the well-being of healthcare workers. These include issues relating to workers’ employment rights, as well as whether they have adequate opportunity to upskill and upgrade to remain relevant to the needs of their industries. She has championed for older workers, low-wage workers, women in the workplace as well as PMEs. She actively promotes good labour-management relations.
Ms Thanaletchimi is currently the President of the Healthcare Services Employees Union (HSEU) and is also an elected member of the NTUC Central Committee. She is also the chairman of both the NTUC Women’s Committee as well as the NTUC Membership Committee. From March 2016 to September 2018, she represented the Labour Movement as a Nominated Member of Parliament of Singapore.
“I feel delighted and humbled to be given the award. I strongly believe the award also belongs to the HSEU team. I truly appreciate the support NTUC has given us over the years. Together, we have pushed for many things to bring about better things for our healthcare workers. We need to continue ensuring that workers remain employable and have career progression. I’ve seen many professional career programmes rolled out, and seeing workers succeed in their jobs after going through the programmes has truly given me great satisfaction.”
Find out more about the good work she has done.
Mr Lim Teck Chuan: Public Service Medal
For the past 25 years that he has been with the Metal Industries Workers’ Union (MIWU), Mr Lim has served in various capacities: Committee Member, Secretary, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Branch Committee. In 1999, he was elected to the Executive Council, eventually working his way up to be the Second Assistant General Secretary and subsequently, to his present position as General Secretary since 2011.
His contributions go beyond MIWU, dedicating his time and energy to various NTUC committees since 2003 such as Industrial Relations (Industrial Sector), Electronics and Precision and Machinery Engineering (EPME) Cluster and International Relations as an Alternate Member. In 2006, he was presented the Comrade of Labour Award at May Day for his contributions to MIWU and NTUC.
“It’s an honour to receive this award. It tells us that union leaders have an important role to play in our nation. Union work is all about having the passion. We need to go the extra mile to serve members. I hope to help more workers pull through this transformation period so they can succeed in the next phase of our industries.”
Find out more about the good work he has done.
Ms Komalavalli Pakirisamy: Public Service Medal
Ms Komalavalli has been serving with distinction in her 26 years as a union leader with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Staff Union (IRASSU). Ms Komalavalli strongly believes in fostering and developing good Labour-Management Relations (LMR) and championing the welfare of workers. Under her leadership as President of IRASSU, the union and IRAS have forged a highly collaborative employer-union relationship. She is also a strong advocate for leadership renewal, devoting her time to recruiting and inducting suitable candidates to serve in IRASSU’s executive council.
Ms Komalavalli has also served as a member in various NTUC committees such as Industrial Relations (Public Sector), Financial and Business Services Cluster, Public Service Cluster, Women, Employment and Employability, and Stewardship and Governance Committees and Training Council. She also held the position of Alternate Member to the National Wages Council negotiations in 2016.
“Union work to me means being able to help every worker, especially the most vulnerable. In my personal capacity, I hope to continue to advocate for the reskilling and upskilling of workers. There are a lot of workers who don’t know how to navigate this era of transformation. So I will continue to be there on the ground to look out for people who are struggling and help them move up.”
