A 40,000-strong membership may sound overwhelming but based on the figures, the Healthcare Services Employees Union (HSEU) only needs 10,000 new members to reach their target by 2015.
Though this may not be an easy feat, reaching 30,000 members is already a milestone, according to HSEU General Secretary and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) President Diana Chia and at the HSEU Special Delegates' Conference on 20 September 2013.
'While we strive to engage and serve our members better, we are mindful of the growing population of PME members and will pay special attention to ensure that their needs are met,' she added.
President Chia also acknowledged that the Labour Movement has been moving towards providing better protection for Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs).
Within HSEU, 90 percent of its members are Ordinary Branch members. Among these, 60 percent are PMEs, an indication of the increasing professionalism of the healthcare industries.
From 1,000 members when it started in 1989, the HSEU has grown to 30,000 members as of June this year.
HSEU has explored different ways to reach out to the changing workforce. The union has planned several activities to attract more members such as organising the employees of Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).
Another core focus would be implementing exclusive programmes to take care of loyal members.
Said HSEU Executive Secretary Patrick Tay: 'I look forward to us in HSEU working harder to achieve our goal of 40,000 union members in 2015.'
Original article written by Naseema Banu Maideen, and can be found in NTUC This Week (27 September 2013)
