A yearning to learn propelled the union journey of Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union (SIEU)
General Secretary and NTUC Central Committee member Luke Hee, 42.
NTUC This Week: What attracted you to the union?
Luke Hee: I had just started work in an insurance company and I was clueless about the role of a union. It was not until I attended the Basic Certificate in Industrial Relations course that I realised the Labour Movement is so much bigger than I thought, has so many aspects and plays a huge part in many things people take for granted. It allowed me to represent the interests of my colleagues and make a positive impact in the working environment.
How and why did you become a full-time unionist?
It was in 2000 when the SIEU leadership approached me about joining the Executive Committee. I hesitated because my shop steward, an old British term for Branch Chairman, I had grown to love very much and miss, was still around but she gladly gave way.
The bigger decision came in 2007 when the leadership asked whether I was prepared to go full-time. Going full-time means making sacrifices in career development in the company, but it gives me moral authority to speak on behalf of members. I became a full-time unionist in my early 30s when I was just starting a family but I am fortunate that I have an understanding wife. I thought and prayed very hard about it, and it was really a leap of faith.
What do you think are the challenges faced by the union?
High on the agenda is self-renewal and relevance in the face of a transforming economy and workforce profile. In the finance or insurance sector, 70 to 80 per cent of the workers are professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). To be relevant, the union has to be able to represent them collectively and extensively just like the 20 to 30 per cent who are rank-and-file workers. While we continue to be pervasive in our outreach with various schemes, it is more important to educate people about the importance of the industrial relations work the union does.
This is often hazy in the eyes of the public as people don’t really understand what industrial relations is about and how they have benefitted from it over the years.
