President of National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU), NTUC Central Committee, NTWU Council of Advisors and Executive Committee, Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen.
1 Yesterday, I spoke on three challenges facing union leaders at all levels at the 8th Triennial Delegates’ Conference of the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union.
2 In brief, these three challenges are:
3 First, to go against the global tide of rising unemployment and under-employment, we will have to focus on job, job and job - creating new jobs, re-creating old jobs, and reclaiming jobs in sectors that are overly dependent on foreign workers.
4 Second, in view of growing concerns over an ageing population and structural unemployment, we will pay more and more attention to worker, worker and worker - upgrading of workers’ skills, raising of workers’ effective retirement age, and re-employment of vulnerable workers.
5 Third, to ensure the long term survival of the labour movement, we will step up our efforts on union, union and union - in attracting more workers (young and old) to join as union members, encouraging more members to become union activists, and nurturing promising, capable and committed union activists into future union leaders.
6 Today, I would like to make a couple more points.
7 My first point is that while our primary objective in the Job Re-creation Programme (JRP) is to turn dirty jobs with lousy pay into meaningful jobs with decent pay for our Singaporean workers, we intend to go beyond this.
8 Our ultimate objective is for JRP to lead the way to a nation-wide upgrading of service standards, professional standing and social status of a great variety of jobs. This is necessary for JRP to become a sustainable movement in Singapore.
9 This also explains why we have not confined JRP to just cleaning jobs at the hawker centres and HDB housing estates. In fact, the scope of JRP today has already been broadened to reach the schools (teaching assistant), libraries (library assistant), hospitals (healthcare assistant), retail outlets, gardens (landscape technician), construction sites (crane operator), security services, public transport (bus and taxis) and so on.
10 This list will grow even longer as we widen the reach and coverage of JRP in time to come.
11 Another point I wish to emphasise today is that the three challenges of “job3, worker3 and union3” are inter-related and inter-dependent.
12 As union leaders, it is critical that we tackle these challenges in a holistic and forward-looking manner, all at once.
13 The transportation sector is a good example.
14 For many years, management, union and workers have worked closely to enhance jobs and improve productivity: from two-men-operation to OMO; from single-deck buses to double-deckers and reticulated buses.
15 Just last month, we took another major step forward in our efforts to attract more Singaporeans to take up the position of Bus Captain.
16 Under the JRP, NTWU and SBS Transit re-structured the wage system. Comrade Ong Ah Heng, who is the key driver behind JRP for the public transport sector, told me that in less than a month, more than 170 Singaporeans applied for jobs as Bus Captains, with 52 of them selected to undergo training.
17 If we are able to sustain this level of interest among our Singaporean workers, there is a good chance that we are able to succeed in increasing the proportion of Singaporean bus captains in SBS Transit to more than 50% in the near future.
18 The development of union leadership is also showing positive signs of progress.
19 At the branch level, 300 branch officials were recently elected. Out of which, 30% are new branch officials. At the EXCO level, 12 out of 30 are new members and their average age is only 38. This augurs very well for the future development of NTWU.
20 In terms of membership, the union now represents about 17,000 workers in 42 branches. It is worth noting that as a member-centric union, NTWU takes care of not just the workers, but their children too. Since 1999, NTWU has set aside $100,000 every year as scholarships and bursary awards for the children of low income workers.
21 Notwithstanding the good progress made, we are fully aware that our job as union leaders and as a labour movement is never done. At the same time, the pace of restructuring and rationalisation in the major transport companies will continue to be fast and intense.
22 Therefore, we will have to keep our focus on job re-creation, skills re-development, and workers’ re-employment. Additionally, we have to concentrate on serving the interests of our members and their families, reaching out to more workers, and nurturing some of our members into union activist and leaders.
23 Today, as we gather here for the 9th Triennial Delegates Convention, I congratulate the NTWU union leaders on your achievements in the past term of office. I also wish you (the new and existing members of EXCO and branch officials) all the very best as you work together as one united team to protect and further the interests of our workers.
Have a fruitful convention. Thank you!
