By Fawwaz Baktee
In his 24 years serving as a union leader, Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) President Effendy Mohd Shariff, 50, puts his members before himself. This, says the senior technician, is the responsibility of a union leader.
NTUC This Week: How did you first start being involved in the union?
Effendy Mohd Shariff: I started as a branch official for my company soon after CIEU unionised us with a secret ballot. In fact, I was the one of the first few to join the committee.
This took place over 20 years ago and at that time, the industrial environment was still quite hostile and those in management were not receptive to unions.
I didn’t know what to expect when I first joined the branch committee. In our first negotiation with the management, there were 10 of us representing our workers on one side of the table and across us were 10 people from the management. During the negotiation, both sides were banging on the table and tensions were really high.
I was young then and wasn’t really that vocal. Being that young and in such a hostile environment, I was honestly really scared. It took quite a bit of getting used to. I slowly learned the ropes and started voicing out more.
How has the relationship between union and management been like since?
From my experience, it’s not the company culture that makes a relationship between union and management good or bad. It all depends on the individuals who run the show. It’s always been like that but now with the good tripartite relations, we have learned to give and take. All parties have learned to compromise.
When there’s new management who is unfamiliar with our good tripartite relations they will, of course, be wary when engaging with the union. But this often changes once they realise we are all working towards a common good.
What is the most pressing issue facing your members today?
Of course, as we know, the economy isn’t doing very well. In fact, my company is also facing a restructuring as it will be shifting to China and Thailand in 10 months’ time. And I’ll also be affected. But as a union leader, it is my responsibility to put my own worries aside and help my members first.
What I’m more concerned about is whether my members can find new employment. When the news broke about my company having to restructure, I met the members of my company. When I look at their faces, I feel for them. So many of them still have young children to feed and raise. One is a 60-year-old whose child is still in school. Another member has a special needs child. I wonder what will happen to them. I worry if they can get new jobs.
I believe jobs will always be there but it’s whether we are able to match our skills to them. Workers need to help themselves. They must be willing to upgrade and reskill. They can even use their Union Training Assistance Programme and the SkillsFuture Credit to upgrade. If they need more assistance, they don’t have to worry because the union will always be here for them.
Source: NTUC This Week
