May Day Awards 2020: 29 Organisations Honoured

Taking place against the unprecedented backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s May Day Awards (MDA) will have no large gathering, no sit-down dinner, no lively ceremony.

But the awards must go on!

NTUC will continue to honour exemplary union leaders, workers and tripartite partners who have made significant contributions in improving workers’ lives and livelihoods, in different ways.

Kicking Off with Company Awards

This year, 29 organisations were conferred awards for their outstanding contributions in advancing workers’ wages, welfare and work prospects.

Two companies were awarded the Plaque of Commendation Gold, conferred on organisations which after having received the Plaque of Commendation Award, consistently made significant contributions towards promoting and supporting Labour Movement initiatives.

Eighteen were given the Plaque of Commendation, conferred on organisations that promoted and supported Labour Movement and its initiatives.

Meanwhile, nine received the Partner of Labour Movement award, which honours associations and partners in the Labour Movement’s network that have made significant contributions through collaborations, projects or initiatives of national impact, as well as promoted and supported the Labour Movement and its initiatives.

Organisations like Chye Thiam Maintenance Pte Ltd, who have paved the way for the cleaning industry by being the first company in the sector to set up a Company Training Committee (CTC) with their union – the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union (BATU)

CTCs, composed of company management staff and union leaders, help nurture workers into Worker 4.0 – charting out skills and competency requirements, putting in place training programmes and scheduling trainings to minimise operation downtimes.

This was in line with the Chye Thiam Maintenance’s core belief in constant innovation, technological and infrastructure investment, while upskilling their workers in technical and technological skills.

Another awardee, SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP), displayed strong commitment to the welfare and development of their workers.

SHP, together with tripartite partners such as the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU), the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Public Healthcare Clusters, conducted regular reviews of the salaries of healthcare professionals within the industry across all job levels – ensuring that they remained competitive yet fair to the workers.

The Spirit of May Day

Showing his support for the MDA 2020 awardees, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said: “In the spirit of May Day, we want to honour our May Day Awards 2020 recipients who have been working very hard behind the scenes to ensure our workers are protected and cared for.

“It is during such trying times that outstanding organisations should continue to do good and set a positive example for others to follow. I am confident that our awardees will do their utmost to better the lives of our workers especially as we ride out this storm together.”

Full citations of MDA 2020 institutional awardees are available at www.ntuc.org.sg/MayDayAwards2020.

Note: More awardees will be announced later in May.

Learn more about all of this year’s awardees in the May Day 2020 e-magazine.