The inaugural U Associate (UA) Convention opened today at the NTUC Auditorium at One Marina Boulevard. NTUC President Diana Chia and NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say graced the occasion as Special Hosts. Keynote speakers include Professor Lui Pao Chuen, Mr Matthew Driver, President, South East Asia, MasterCard Worldwide and Ms Wong Su-Yen, Chairman (Singapore), Marsh & McLennan Companies. Over 500 participants comprising members from U Associate Partners attended the event. Key leaders who attended include Adam Khoo, Er Chong Kee Sen, President of Institution of Engineers Singapore, Mr Erman Tan, President of Singapore Human Resources Institute and Mr Chak Kong Soon, President of Singapore Computer Society, etc.
The first and core wing of the Labour Movement (LM) comprising 60 affiliated unions, one association and over 6,000 union leaders has contributed significantly to Singapore’s industrial peace and prosperity; with substantial results in pushing for better jobs and better wages for workers for over fifty years.
Besides reaching out to more rank-and-file workers, the Labour Movement is also seeing a steady growth of members who are professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). As the Labour Movement continues efforts to consistently develop and strengthen our first wing, it is evident that Singapore’s workforce profile is evolving and the proportion of PMEs is expected to increase rapidly in the future. NTUC must continue to remain relevant so that it can engage more PMEs to bring them under the fold of tripartism. Currently, there are over 285,000 union members who are PMEs. With upcoming changes to legislation such as the Industrial Relations (IR) Act, the Labour Movement, together with tripartite partners will continue to roll out more initiatives to serve their needs.
Expanding the “Second Wing” of the Labour Movement
NTUC is committed to grow and expand the U Associate (UA) Programme into the “second wing” of the Labour Movement. The UA programme is a key strategic effort of the Labour Movement to engage and support professional associations and PMEs. Dedicated account managers are attached to each UA Partner to serve as the bridge between NTUC and the association, so that both parties can work closely together on joint programmes and initiatives.
An example of such collaboration between NTUC and a UA Partner, the Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES), was on the launch of the Young Engineers Leadership (YEL) Programme, which is supported by the Devan Nair Employment and Employability Institute (e2i). This programme aims to equip young engineers with the necessary leadership skills and technical knowledge to take their careers to the next level.
NTUC also works closely with the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) towards conducive labour-management practices and a better understanding of workplace expectations. The Labour Movement’s participation in SHRI events and programmes demonstrates how strong relationships within the UA Programme can support joint objectives towards creating better workplaces for employees and enhancing employee welfare.
$3 million kick-starter fund for UA Partners
Moving forward, to encourage associations on their journey with the Labour Movement, the U Associate Grant is a $3 million kick-starter fund customised for UA Partners. Placing the needs of PMEs as the core focus, the grant is geared towards developing the capabilities of both the association and members. Disbursed over a period of three years, the Grant will support associations in initiatives to strengthen their membership base, as well as contribute towards professional development, employment upgrading and employability enhancement.
Singapore Chapter for the global Project Management Institute (PMI) and Financial Planning Association of Singapore (FPAS) become new U Associate Partners
Today at the Convention, the Singapore Chapter for the global Project Management Institute (SPMI) and the Financial Planning Association of Singapore (FPAS) signed separate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements respectively with NTUC to become the latest U Associate Partners. The agreement between SPMI and NTUC was signed by Mr See Chim Hock, Vice President of SPMI and Mr Vivek Kumar, Secretary of the NTUC Membership Council. Mr Umesh Ursekar, President of SPMI, said, “The team at SPMI is passionate about Project Management; the value that good project management practices could bring to enhance project success and productivity improvements and the benefits to the community at large. Embrace Project Management to enhance your project success! SPMI is very honoured to be a U Associate Partner to share our passion in Project Management with the PMEs.”
The agreement between FPAS and NTUC was signed by Ms Kimmis Pun, President of FPAS, and Mr Vivek Kumar, Secretary of the NTUC Membership Council. Ms Pun highlighted that “FPAS is delighted to partner with NTUC U Associates to promote financial education to consumers and advocate financial literary in the public. The partnership shall achieve mutual benefits to the members and deepen the relationship in future endeavours.” Both signings of the MOU agreements were witnessed by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Mr Patrick Tay, Mr Umesh Ursekar, President of SPMI and Mr Joseph Kwok, Honorary Secretary of FPAS.
Since the UA Programme was launched in March 2011, it has grown to encompass twelve UA Partners spanning the professional fields of engineering, human resource, information technology, motivational trainers, financial planners, etc.
Mr Vivek Kumar, Secretary, NTUC Membership Council said, “The Labour Movement represents over 285,000 PMEs now. Together with our U Associates, we aim to assist more PMEs on their Protection, Progression, Placement & Privileges needs. We have seen a growing demand for U Associate initiatives, such as the Young Engineers Leadership programme with the Institution of Engineers Singapore. This shows the domain-expertise of the U Associates and the strength of the Labour Movement can come together to effectively serve the PMEs. With twelve U Associates on-board the programme now, we shall be introducing more such programmes targeted at specific sectors to make our members future-ready.”
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