You can say that union work runs in his family. Even though he is currently just 31 years old, Muhammad Faisal Mohamed Rashid did not hesitate to take up the mantle of union leader when he was called to the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority Workers’ Union (SURAWU) executive committee (exco) two years ago.
After all, his father Mohamed Rashid Misgon was the former Public Utilities Board Employees’ Union (PUBEU) assistant general secretary and a long-time unionist before he flowed on in 2016.
Currently a planning executive in the development control department for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Faisal has been a SURAWU member for the past seven years. He is also a member of Young NTUC.
How instrumental was your father when you decided to become a union leader?
Faisal: My dad played a significant role in me being where I am today in SURAWU. As a long-time union leader himself, my father advised me to step up and serve in the union. To be honest, I didn’t see myself becoming a union leader when I was growing up. But I saw the satisfaction and fulfilment it gave my dad, and that was what spurred me to step up and serve SURAWU and its members.
It helped a lot that my father was working in the Public Utilities Board (PUB), a statutory board. There are some things that I could relate to and apply to my work in SURAWU as well.
Did your age deter you from becoming a union leader?
No, it did not. I may be one of the youngest union leaders in SURAWU, but I have used it to my advantage. As a young unionist, many of my colleagues in URA can relate to me. The needs and aspirations of young workers are totally different from those in the older generation. The younger generation does not see a need to join the union. It is becoming harder to recruit new members as the older generation of workers retire.
How do you persuade and recruit younger union members?
My dad used to use the NTUC GIFT life insurance provided by NTUC when recruiting new members. Back then, members valued certainty and stability. Now it is different with the younger generation of workers, and that tactic does not work as well anymore. As a person who plays a lot of sports, I organise union activities around sports to invite members to participate in. For me, Mondays are soccer, Tuesdays are club training for floorball, Wednesdays are URA floorball training, and Fridays are badminton. On top of that, I participate in regular competitions over the weekends. With these sports activities, I have managed to recruit a few members every few months.
