The Bus Contracting Model has changed the whole concept of public transportation in Singapore and President of the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) Rosmani Juraini is proud to have been part of the discussions.
Under the Government contracting model, the Land Transport Authority will determine the bus services to be provided and the service standards, while bus operators bid for the right to operate these services. They will be paid fees to operate the services, while fare revenue will be retained by the Government.
At age 53 and into his first term as President of NTWU, Rosmani shares with us the ins and outs of being a union leader.
NTUC This Week: Tell us a little about your union journey?
Rosmani Juraini: I joined SMRT in 1986. After the company became unionised, I was invited to join the second committee because the union leaders felt that I had the interest in union work and also I had the abilities to speak to the management when issues came up. But in 2004, I stood down for a while to concentrate on the family. I returned prior to the 2008 NTWU election. After that election, I was made the assistant general secretary. In the next election in 2013, unfortunately our president lost in his section elections and I was asked to take over. It was with a heavy heart that I took over… you can consider me a reluctant replacement. I have been president of NTWU since September 2013.
What were your immediate priorities when you took over as President?
When I was in the Executive Council of the NTWU, I recognised that a lot of our union leaders lacked training, especially in the union work areas like Collective Agreements and our labour laws. I realised that when we have platforms like the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute, why not use it? We can spend and invest more in these training programmes, then the chances are we will get better leadership and better union leaders. We embarked on a lot of programmes with NTUC and now the quality of leaders in NTWU has significantly improved.
What are some of your key takeaways from your union work?
I have started to listen more than talk and by listening more, the chances are you learn a lot more about the issues being faced by union members.
What is your advice to younger unionists?
I notice that for the younger leaders, those with five to 10 years of experience in union work, they don't have the confidence to raise issues before our national and union leaders during dialogue sessions. Some choose to remain silent when they have such opportunities. So my call to them, build up your confidence.
