Labour chief pays tribute to NTUC staff for their good work in upturning the downturn
26 August 2009
Media Release
1. In a round up to the Labour Movement’s National Day celebrations 2009, the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, Mr Lim Swee Say, paid tribute to the staff of NTUC’s Administration and Research Unit (NTUC-ARU) for their unrelenting passion, dedication and perseverance in helping workers, unionized companies, union members and their families overcome the economic downturn.
2. NTUC-ARU staff received a pat on the back for their individual and collective efforts at the National Day Observance Ceremony (NDOC) jointly organized by the Staff Union of NTUC-ARU (SUN) and NTUC-ARU. The ceremony was a befitting finale to the 35 joint labour-management NDOCs organised under the auspices of the Labour Movement this year.
3. The theme for the Labour Movement’s National Day celebrations this year is “Upturn the Downturn Together”. True to the spirit of this rallying call, as the ominous clouds of an unprecedented recession gathered over the Singapore economy late last year, NTUC-ARU staff went into overdrive to shore up defences for workers, union members and families hit by the recession. (Please refer to Annex for stories of the work put in by staff to Upturn the Downturn).
4. First to the frontline were NTUC’s Industrial Relations Officers (IROs) and e2i’s Employability Coaches (ECs). Armed with the Labour Movement mantra, ‘Cut Costs to Save Jobs’, IROs and ECs worked in tandem to ensure that retrenchments, the quick-fix solution to a downturn prevalent in economies elsewhere, would be a measure of last resort in Singapore’s unionised companies, and that retrenched workers would not necessarily end up as unemployed workers.
5. Often IROs are among the first to hear of impending retrenchments, and would take on the difficult task of mediating in union-management negotiations to ensure pro-worker, pro-business outcomes. Exploring other cost-cutting measures like shorter work week, wage cuts and temporary layoffs to help companies stay afloat; urging companies to take advantage of the Jobs Credit scheme to retain their workers and SPUR funding to send excess manpower for training; securing fair retrenchment benefits for workers that must be laid off; securing financial assistance from the Labour Movement’s suite of Care and Share initiatives for workers faced with the prospect of lower pay or no pay; these were some of the tasks that IROs tackled.
6. ECs, on the other hand, encouraged workers to up-skill and re-skill to secure their long-term employability; urged companies to send their workers for training as part of capability-building; partnered with companies in sectors that were hiring to identify job openings, organise recruitment fairs, and coach and place jobseekers. The work of IROs and ECs supported the Labour Movement’s core priority of avoiding massive retrenchments and guarding against a rapid rise in the unemployment rate during the downturn. As a result, structural unemployment was minimized.
7. Like their IRO and EC counterparts, NTUC-ARU staff in other departments also pulled out all stops to render assistance and keep spirits from flagging. The Labour Movement was mindful that vulnerable groups of workers like contract and casual workers, women, and older workers would need to be particularly supported during the downturn. NTUC’s Women’s Development Secretariat (WDS), for instance, pushed ahead with its effort to match women, who typically prefer part-time or flexi-work at a workplace near their home, with suitable employers, showing that the Labour Movement still had its sights on its long-term objective of bringing women back to the workforce, despite the immediate pressures of a downturn.
8. Believing that strong, loving and happy families are a vital bulwark of support for those hit by the recession, NTUC’s U Family rolled out the Resilient Family series of talks called “Outwit, Outlive and Outlast the Global Downturn”, to benefit some 4000 people. Spurred by the sagging spirits of our workers in a deepening recession, NTUC’s Youth Development Unit (YDU) organised a 7000-strong mass event, the May Day Solidarity Walk and Concert, to cheer up our members and their families. Recognising that to be an effective tripartite partner, the Labour Movement must be propelled by strong union leaders on the ground, the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute quickly developed a series of customized “Upturn the Downturn Workshops” to equip union leaders with the know-how to handle the recession; 34 such workshops were held benefiting some 1800 union leaders.
9. All this work put in by the staff of NTUC-ARU called for a single-minded devotion to mission, tenacity in the face of roadblocks and personal sacrifice. Staff had to be quick-thinking, look for creative solutions to achieve win-win outcomes, be willing to go the extra mile, and do whatever it takes. Often under time pressure, balancing conflicting demands, and faced with frazzled nerves, the staff of NTUC worked tirelessly round-the-clock because livelihoods were at stake. If it meant being shouted at by impatient jobseekers who wanted quick solutions, so be it. If it meant burning Christmas eve in a desperate bid to bring union and management to the negotiating table, so be it. If it meant meeting retrenched workers at the nearest MRT station and personally accompanying them to e2i to sign up for training so that they would not lose heart and turn back half way, so be it. If it meant taking calls in the middle of the night from retrenched workers afraid of what the future might hold, so be it. NTUC-ARU staff walked the journey, showed that the Labour Movement cares, gave hope and cheered the hearts of workers, union members and their families.
10. NTUC’s Director Staff-centric, Josephine Teo, said, “When our people join the NTUC, they know that they join a movement driven by passion and united by values. They are motivated by our strong sense of social mission and our relentless efforts to bring about better lives for the working people of Singapore, in good times and bad. It is no wonder then that our staff selflessly give of themselves to achieve this mission. Their dedication to serving our workers becomes especially pronounced in an economic downturn. It is thus befitting that we take the opportunity during this SUN / NTUC-ARU NDOC to recognize their outstanding contributions”.
11. Together with union leaders, the rest of the Labour Movement family and our tripartite partners, the staff of NTUC-ARU can take pride that theirs is no small role in the mighty effort to Upturn the Downturn.
