The International Transport Federation (ITF) opened its Southeast Asia Sub Regional Office in Singapore on 6 September 2017. It is located at the SOS Seacare Building at Chin Swee Road.
The Singapore Choice
Speaking at its opening, NTUC President and General Secretary of the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union Mary Liew said the office signified the commitment of ITF to advance the interests of transport sector workers in the region.
She further elaborated that ITF’s General Secretary Stephen Cotton had shared with her their choice of Singapore.
“Brother Steve had wanted the Singapore office to be the centre of excellence for resources and governance and thought that Singapore’s good infrastructure, easy connectivity to the rest of the world and a stable political and legal environment would be conducive to the creation and functioning of such a centre of excellence. Brother Steve further said that the Singapore tripartite model of industrial relations had been proven to work, and it was his wish that the ITF could promote some of the good practices of Singapore to its affiliates,” she shared.
ITF has nine offices worldwide, including three in the Asia Pacific region.
Next ITF Congress
Meanwhile, Mr Cotton revealed that its next ITF congress will be held in Singapore in 2018.
“Organising that is giving us the chance to work even more closely with our affiliates here. The congress will see trade union representatives from 150 countries coming into the country and the new office is going to play a massive role in coordinating that,” said Mr Cotton.
