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Story by Ryan Chan
In the words of the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU) President David Teo, unionism is about both the union and the management parting ways amicably through discussions, understanding and building up relationships so that the winners will ultimately always be the workers.
The union is always by workers’ sides, especially through difficult periods such as retrenchments and personal problems.
“As a union leader, I must be able to ensure my members have the means to provide bread and butter for their families. One retrenchment is always one too many. Singapore isn’t a welfare state and we cannot rely on that.
“Self-help is always the best help, and the important thing when anything like this happens is to help workers get back on their feet,” said Mr Teo.
Personal Problems
Mr Teo also recounted a particular case of how the union strongly stood by a worker through personal difficulties.
A worker had anger management problems and, despite the union’s constant pleading of his case, repeated incidents led to the company bringing up charges against the worker.
“It came to a point where the company was considering terminating his contract, where finally, the union’s perseverance in believing in him finally had an effect. He finally realised losing his job would cause a bread-and-butter issue for his family. Henceforth, he was determined to change,” shared Mr Teo.
From the brink of termination, the worker’s contract was extended.
Strength in Numbers
Mr Teo said: “A lot of people don’t see the need for a union until a problem occurs. There is strength in numbers to give a strong voice to the union. My greatest fear is when companies face problems and take the easy way out through retrenchment.
“You not only retrench the worker, but also their family members, causing social and financial problems for them.
“Like what SG (NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing) has said, we should prepare our workers not only for future jobs. But these future jobs may one day become obsolete too. Through continuous upgrading, we can be better prepared when these times arrive.”
Source: NTUC This Week
