Gunasekaran Sivaganam – Public Service Medal
Mr Gunasekaran Sivaganam’s journey as a unionist began in 1978. Changes to Singapore Air Transport Workers’ Union saw it becoming the Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union (SATSWU) in 1984. In 2010, he was elected as SATSWU’s general secretary.
Key Achievements
Value in mature workers – Believing that mature workers are valuable assets, Mr Gunasekaran pushed for the removal of wage cuts for workers at age 60 and 62. He sat in Collective Agreement negotiations and was eventually successful.
Workers’ wages – As part of these negotiations, he also pushed for the introduction of the Progressive Wage Model in 2014 and the review of employees’ salary ranges to ensure they were in line with market trends.
Workers’ welfare – He was pivotal in the launch of mobile food kiosks for apron workers in Changi Airport. The easier access to food meant better working conditions for the back-end workers of the airport.
“This award which I share with my fellow union leaders is validation that being of service to others is indeed fulfilling and gratifying. This recognition inspires me to intensify my personal efforts to augment the number of helping hands in the union as challenges that are in the offing requires more hearts and minds.”
