The IndustriALL Global Union held its 5th Steering Committee Meeting for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Electrical and Electronics industries in Mumbai, India on 28 to 29 May 2018.
The IndustriALL Global Union represents about 50 million workers in 140 countries in the manufacturing, mining and energy sectors, to advocate for better working conditions and workers’ rights.
Attended by over 40 union delegates representing 18 affiliated unions from 15 countries, the participants deliberated over issues such as evolving business models, increasing global competition, protection against precarious working environments and coping with manpower challenges faced by the respective unions and countries.
Challenges of Industry 4.0
Whilst the operating environment might differ across countries, one common trend which is affecting everyone similarly is the evolution of the sectors towards Industry 4.0 technologies. With more companies adopting advanced manufacturing solutions and automation, unions globally are grappling with the challenges of ensuring that their workers have the skillsets to remain employable and relevant for the future.
The increasing trend of shorter product cycles is also resulting in downstream consequences for workers and companies operating in the supply chain space. As compared to the past where a worker’s skills can remain relevant to complete a job task for three to five years, workers of today have to continuously find new ways to train and pick up new skills on a six to 18 months basis.
The Singapore Story
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong, newly elected president of the IndustriALL Singapore Council, lead a delegation from the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) for the meeting and spoke about Singapore’s efforts in tackling the challenges.
He elaborated on Singapore’s Industry Transformation Map (ITM) strategies for the electronics sector and highlighted how the country’s tripartite approach has begun to reap early success through the introduction of various initiatives such as the Smart Industry Readiness Index; National Robotics Programme; set up of an Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre; enhanced internship programmes to build deeper talent pipelines; and U Leap, a mobile e-learning platform launched by the Labour Movement to provide workers with bite-size training on the go.
The IndustriALL Singapore Council comprises Chemical Industries Employees’ Union, ExxonMobil Singapore Employees’ Union, Keppel Employees’ Union, Keppel FELS Employees’ Union, Metal Industries Workers’ Union, Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees’ Union, Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union, Singapore Shell Employees’ Union, UWEEI and United Workers of Petroleum Industry.
In his meeting closing remarks, Takahiro Nonaka, co-chairperson of the IndustriALL Steering Committee for ICT, Electrical and Electronics, echoed ASG Yong’s call for all unions and companies to work together to re-imagine the future of work, redesign jobs, work processes and business models, and reskill workers and employers.
Meanwhile a delegation from the Labour Movement also attended the IndustriALL Global Union’s annual regional conference in early July at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where ASG Melvin reiterated Singapore’s efforts in tackling the effects of Industry 4.0 with a focus on ITMs.
