What would life be like working overseas in a neighbouring city? What is the state of the Labour Movement and workers there? With technology advancing quickly, what kind of impact has it made on jobs?
These were some of the questions that saw NTUC Membership Department organise a learning journey to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for 16 staff and 70 representatives from 39 unions.
Learning Points
Through visits to the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong province and company visits to Il-VI and Wizline, participants got to appreciate what good labour-management relations look like. Similar to what is enjoyed in Singapore, they also saw how harmony between the workers and businesses in the industrial park contributed to productivity and economic growth. Participants found their Vietnamese counterparts eager to embrace technological changes and upgrade themselves.
The trip’s programme also included a dialogue between the union representatives and two Vietnamese startups, CrewFire and MimosaTek. Key takeaways from the session included understanding just how digitalisation can play a big part in transforming companies for future challenges, the importance of communication between companies and their staff for relationship building.
“The highlight was definitely getting to learn from and interact with Vietnamese working people, startups and artificial intelligence company [Wizline] to have an exchange of culture and working habits. I will share the learning points with my fellow members, especially on the need to equip ourselves with future ready skills,” said Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees (AUSBE) Assistant General Secretary Nurul Husna Ghali.
