The Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) celebrates its 35th anniversary this year.
As the celebrations ring through the year, UTES General Secretary and NTUC Central Committee Member Thuvinder Singh Bachan Singh has this to share with members: “…cultivate a positive mindset and attitude to embrace changes that will come along with the evolving technology.”
Mr Thuvinder has been the General Secretary of the union since 2012. UTES has some 8,100 members. We catch up with him to find out what more the union has been doing for its members.
NTUC This Week: Tell us more about how the close relations between the union and management have benefitted UTES members.
Thuvinder Singh: Our close relations between the union and management over the past 35 years have been built through concrete efforts by the council and branch committee members and the staff from the headquarters. They have all worked together to provide many benefits to our members. We have a Memorandum of Understanding to represent professionals, managers and executives in the Singtel Group of Companies under limited representation. When the Government announced the SkillsFuture Credit with an opening amount of $500, we approached Singtel to offer two days leave for staff who enrolled themselves for courses. Singtel was very forthcoming in embracing our initiative to help members upskill themselves for the future.
Q: Which segments of the workforce are of concern to the union?
A: The key concern is our ageing workforce. Their skillsets may no longer be relevant in the future. With Information Technology (IT) having a vast impact on our lives and at the workplace, gaining the understanding of our ageing members to have a positive mindset to embrace the changes, upgrade and upskill is somewhat still challenging. We are looking into various avenues to connect them with IT. In one company for example, a fiesta is held annually to engage workers and brief them on being future ready.
Q: How is leadership renewal taking shape in UTES?
A: UTES currently brings in new people as observers in our Young UTES committee to let them have an overview and a deeper insight into the union’s work. We believe this will help them to build up their ability to serve the union and their sense of dedication.
Q: What is it that keeps you going in your union work?
A: It is passion that keeps me wanting to continuously look into the needs of my members. I do not wait for negotiations to take place when a Collective Agreement is about to expire. I start the negotiations as and when the need arises. My personal wish to my members, not only on this anniversary but always, is to cultivate a positive mindset and attitude to embrace changes that will come along with the evolving technology. More importantly, support the union as we race constantly to seize every opportunity to improve the working lives and conditions of our members.
Source: NTUC This Week
