A dedicated and strong leadership is as important to unions as it is to organisations. NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng said this during the Education Services Union’s (ESU) 12th-anniversary dinner and dance on 17th August 2018 held at Marina Mandarin Singapore.
SG Ng added: “Unions must place equal emphasis on leadership renewal as on leadership retention. New leaders bring in new ideas and new perspectives, which complement and build upon the organisation’s foundations put in place by past and present leaders.”
He was speaking on this topic just as ESU concluded its fourth General Convention of Delegates earlier the same day. ESU now has a new executive committee for the term of 2018–2022.
ESU leaders who have flowed on include former General Secretary Leonard Lee and former President Calista Geraldine Roch.
Over 500 branch officials, union members and management partners attended the event.
Health Renewal and Growth
In the past term of office, ESU surpassed the 25,000 members mark in 34 branches. This is a stark difference from the 4,400 in six branches it started with in 2006.
ESU also has a healthy leadership renewal rate, with over 30 per cent of the current branch leaders stepping up to serve the union for the first time.
Besides emphasising on leadership renewal, Mr Ng also said that the Labour Movement must continue to be close to the ground to understand the concerns that workers have and add value to the members.
