Labour Movement gives out highest number of May Day Awards this year
29 April 2008
Media Release
1. 78 individuals and companies will receive the prestigious May Day Award this year, which recognises their significant and valuable contributions to the Labour Movement! (Please refer to Annex C for award breakdown.)
2. This year, 10 different categories of May Day awards will be presented and there is also an increase in the number of awards conferred on unionists and companies in recognition of their contributions to the Labour Movement such as promoting good industrial relations and fair employment practices.
3. Through their efforts, these awardees have strengthened the Singapore workforce by supporting training, workfare and welfare, and have helped thousands of workers at their workplaces. All this helps to create a positive impact on Singapore’s economy and reputation as a vibrant place for people to work in. The stories behind the awards are an inspiration and speak of true passion, hard work and determination for the betterment of workers’ lives.
4. The top six May Day honours are from these categories: Distinguished Service (Star), Distinguished Service (Labour), Meritorious Service, and Comrade of Labour (Star). Please refer to Annex A for their full citations.
Distinguished Service (Star)
5. This year’s Distinguished Service (Star) is awarded to Mr Yeo Liat Kok, Philip, Chairman of Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (Spring Singapore) and Special Advisor for Economic Development in the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr Yeo was the former Chairman of the Economic Development Board from 1986 to 2001. He is instrumental in transforming Singapore’s economic landscape which has in turn created the conditions for Singaporeans to enjoy more and better job opportunities.
Distinguished Service (Labour)
6. The Distinguished Service (Labour) award is given posthumously to the late Comrade Nithiah Nandan s/o Arumugam. Mr Nithiah was a remarkable unionist who devoted his life to uplifting the lives of workers, especially low-wage workers. He was a daily-rated worker who chose to remain a daily-rated worker so that he could champion training and skills upgrading for his co-workers. He helped more than 2,000 daily-rated workers move on to better lives.
Meritorious Service
7. The Meritorious Service award is presented to Mr Khoo Teng Chye, who is the Chief Executive of Public Utilities Board since December 2003. He was the previous Group President of PSA Corporation from May 1996 to April 2002. Under his leadership at both companies, the management and Singapore Port Workers Union, Port Officers’ Union and the PUB Employees’ Union (PUBEU) have enjoyed excellent labour-management relations. Mr Khoo has partnered PUBEU in many worker-centric initiatives such as the training and re-employment of mature workers, introduction of performance-based salary framework and Workplace Safety and Health programmes.
Comrade of Labour (Star)
8. The Comrade of Labour (Star) is given posthumously to the late Comrade Swithun Lowe who was a passionate advocate for teachers’ welfare. He made growing the “business” of union and speaking up for teachers’ welfare – in light of their increasing workload – his top priority.
9. Another recipient is Comrade Pang Koon Seah, Victor, who has always been the workers’ voice on bread and butter issues. One who is not afraid to speak his mind and sincere in his approach, Comrade Pang’s fluency in several languages come in handy in addressing issues involving workers and management.
10. Comrade Thomas Thomas’ dedication to union work and belief in training is inspirational. Under his leadership, the Singapore Shell Employees’ Union had Collective Agreements with Shell that made its employees among the best paid and treated in Singapore.
11. Other awardees include 4 non-unionists who made outstanding contributions to the labour movement, 43 unionists who have served the Labour Movement tirelessly, 7 senior management representatives who have helped promote good industrial relations and workers’ training, as well as 18 companies who have supported NTUC programmes consistently. Last year, the Labour Movement presented 57 May Day awards.
12. Mr Thomas Tay, one of the co-chairpersons of the May Day Dinner sub-committee said, “The awards are a way of honouring unionists and non-unionists as well as companies who have contributed significantly to the Labour Movement. We hope the winners of these awards will inspire other individuals and companies to do more for the Labour Movement!”
13. The May Day Dinner, which is held in Suntec City Convention Hall, will see some 1,800 tripartite guests in attendance, comprising senior government officials, company management and unionists.
14. This year’s May Day Celebrations is especially significant as the Labour Movement launched its new brand. The new brand, logo and hallmark were launched on 27 April 2008 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at Downtown East. More than 80,000 unions members, workers and Singaporeans are expected to this year’s May Day.
16. The May Day sub-committee would like to acknowledge Main Sponors: NTUC Club, NTUC FairPrice, NTUC Income and the Singapore Labour Foundation for their generous support, without which, the May Day Dinner 2008 would not have been possible.
ANNEX C
Distinguished Service (Star)
Conferred on non-unionists who are active and are continuously rendering significant contributions to the Labour Movement.
Distinguished Service (Labour)
Conferred on non-unionists who are active and are continuously rendering significant contributions to the Labour Movement.
Meritorious Service
Conferred on non-unionists who made outstanding contributions to the Labour Movement.
Friend of Labour
Conferred on non-unionists who have made significant contributions to the Labour Movement.
Comrade of Labour (Star)
Conferred on serving and deserving trade unionists who have made significant contributions to their unions and the Labour Movement.
Comrade of Labour
Conferred on serving trade unionists who have made contributions to their unions and are still active in their unions’ executive committee and NTUC related functions.
Veteran of Labour
Conferred on retired trade unionists who have made significant contributions to the Labour Movement continuously.
Medal of Commendation
Conferred on Senior Management personnel, who besides promoting good industrial relations, also initiated workers’ training and skills upgrading programmes, and welfare of workers, etc.
Plaque of Commendation (Gold)
Conferred on organisations who continue to make significant contributions towards promoting good industrial relations, workers’ training, etc:
Plaque of Commendation
Conferred on organisations that promote and support:
