This year’s May Day Awards recognises outstanding men, women and organisations that have created a significant impact on the lives of workers in Singapore. And to honour them, our unions have nominated a total of 89 out of the 141 awardees this year.
Look out for more in upcoming weeks as we continue to shine the spotlight on our winners in this ongoing series.
Hasnah Hassan, Assistant General Secretary, Singapore Malay Teachers’ Union (Comrade of Labour)
Hasnah brings a personal touch to her union work, which has led to a better understanding of members’ problems. She attends to their grievances personally and advises them on ways to cope and overcome their grievances. Her involvement in NTUC Women’s Committee meetings and activities allows her to offer valuable advice to SMTU members and Malay or Muslim organisations.
Nominated by Singapore Malay Teachers’ Union
Goviden Sathasivam, General Secretary, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers’ Union (Comrade of Labour)
Goviden is a determined and passionate leader when it comes to addressing workplace issues. His sense of impartiality and drive has won him the support of both the workers and management. A strong advocate of workers’ rights, Goviden served in the negotiation team for Collective Agreements and annual increments. He has also represented union members in workplace grievances and wrongful dismissal matters.
Nominated by Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers’ Union
Grace Tan, Executive Committee Member, Singapore Bank Employees’ Union (Comrade of Labour)
The labour-management relations at the OCBC Branch has set a standard for other banks to emulate, something that Grace has contributed to in no small measure. At the union headquarter level, she was part of committees such as Women’s, Sports & Recreation, Care & Share and Scholarship (EduGrant). As the Secretary of SBEU Care & Share Sub-Committee, Grace carries out various community outreach service projects for the less privileged in society and low-income wage earners within the SBEU Membership.
Nominated by Singapore Bank Employees’ Union
Association of Certified Security Agencies & Security Association Singapore (Partner of Labour Movement)
With an agenda on a bigger picture, both associations set aside their differences and agreed to come together and work with the Union of Security Employees (USE) to bring the security industry forward. USE had engaged both the Association of Certified Security Agencies (ACSA) and the Security Association Singapore (SAS) separately on a regular basis as part of building labour-management relations. As the industry transformation efforts gathered momentum and there were still many challenges to overcome, USE proposed to both associations for all three parties to come together with USE to form the Security Industry Council (SIC) to steer the security industry towards higher standards.
Nominated by Union of Security Employees
Alcon Asian Manufacturing and Logistics Pte Ltd, Baxter Healthcare SA (Singapore), Edwards Lifesciences (Singapore) Pte Ltd (Partner of Labour Movement)
NTUC's e2i and Chemical Industries Employees' Union (CIEU) have been working on the Medtech Industry Transformation Map with key players that include Alcon Asian Manufacturing and Logistics, Baxter Healthcare SA (Singapore) and Edwards Lifesciences (Singapore). They have been focusing on skills-upgrading, recruitment and productivity. The strong and close partnership between e2i, CIEU and the three companies has enabled quick adoption of various initiatives, especially important since Alcon, Baxter Healthcare and Edwards Lifesciences together employ more than 4,000 workers.
Nominated by Chemical Industries Employees' Union and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute)
Landscape Industry Association Singapore (Partner of Labour Movement)
The Landscape Industry Association of Singapore (LIAS) is closely involved in the review of the landscape Progressive Wage Model (PWM) as a member of the Tripartite Cluster for Landscape Industry. The landscape PWM aims to uplift the industry’s image by providing a clear training and career progression pathway for resident landscape workers and for them to earn higher wages as they obtain better skills and become more productive. The Association has been very prompt and supportive in gathering information from its members and sharing it with the NTUC U Care Centre (UCC) and Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) to provide a better understanding of the current landscape industry.
Nominated by Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees’ Union
