The Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) Quadrennial Delegates Conference on 27 July 2018 reshuffled roles and welcomed new additions within its executive council (exco) for the term of 2018 to 2022.
We meet up with two members to find out how they are dealing with their new positions.
Latiff was an executive councillor in UTES exco up till recently, when he assumed a new position as the second assistant general secretary.
Mohamed Latiff, who joined SingTel as a technician in 1998, has progressed to his current supervisory role as an associate engineer. The 47-year-old has served in UTES exco since 2008, and is currently in his third term of service.
We were in a different department back then. There was no representative from our side in the union, so certain news was not delivered to my colleagues. They were lost. When they had a problem, they didn’t know who to look for in the union. I wanted to make sure they did not miss out on anything, including important labour messages, as well as employee and union member benefits.
The technical officers' branch I'm representing now comprises largely of supervisors.
As a supervisor, the way you handle things is totally different. I had to delegate jobs as evenly as possible, and manage queries when my department went through a re-organisation.
You have to get them your team members to understand your job. It is not easy, because workers on the ground have a different mindset. You must juggle very carefully. Sometimes, to take care of their hearts, you have to put aside your own wants and make sacrifices. There are still a lot of things I need to learn.
With drastic changes to our mobile network, our work and job scope will expand. For example, there are equipment that need to be installed at various sites in preparation for the 5G network.
You have to think positively. If you think about who does more or less, there will be no end to it. You will hold grudges. I always tell my staff, “do it from your heart, as this is also for your family.” The satisfaction is there when you complete jobs quickly, when you do what is right.
Simon, taking on the role of an executive councillor, is a new face in UTES exco.
Ng Chin Hock Simon, 47, has worked at SingTel since 2007. He started serving as a branch official for customer service in 2014. The service assurance executive now represents the admin branch.
I was elected by my colleagues. I felt that it was a call of duty that I cannot turn down. Since then, I’ve never looked back, never regretted. Along the way, my colleagues and my fellow members got to know me better as a person, shared experiences with me through the union work that I do. So, I think it’s a win-win situation for me and my colleagues.
Our branch carries diverse portfolios, from clerical work to service assurance and credit management. My immediate priority is to gain a holistic understanding of our members.
The challenge is to get everybody from different layers to be aligned. It’s easier said than done, as there are differentiated views on what should be taken care of first – welfare, jobs, perks or social benefits.
However, at the exco, we all share a common goal in the end, which is to serve the needs and wants of our members.
As the telecoms industry goes through dynamic digitalisation and transformation, all workers - union members or not - will need to have a very open mind towards the changes that come their way.
This will definitely involve learning new things, even if they have to un-learn what they have learned before and re-learn, to keep them competitive and employable. They have to see this as a benefit for them.
Some think, “I’m already reaching retirement, I don’t think I need to participate in this transformation process.” I think it’s very wrong. My message to mature workers is not to underestimate their own strengths.
If they have self-belief, I think half the battle has won. The other half is to get them into the continuous learning spirit. Age is not a barrier as long as they put in the effort. The job may be in another dimension, but it is there for them.
