“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
- Vince Lombardi
Last week’s May Day Awards (MDA) announcement saw 29 organisations being conferred awards for their outstanding contributions in the advancement of workers’ wages, welfare and work prospects – also known as the 3Ws.
This week, NTUC and its affiliated unions and associations honour 105 individuals for being exemplary in advancing workers’ interests and who are themselves, role models.
Some 50 union leaders, 42 Labour Movement and tripartite partners as well as 13 model workers were honoured for their contributions towards the betterment of their counterparts’ 3Ws.
Three former NTUC Central Committee members were awarded with the Comrade of Labour (Star) (Bar) accolade, which is the highest award category conferred on unionists this year.
United Workers of Petroleum Industry Executive Secretary Karthikeyan Krishnamurthy
As a unionist of 34 years, Mr Karthikeyan always does his best to ensure that workers of all levels have equal working terms and conditions stipulated in the Collective Agreements (CA) between the union and the company.
He pushes for fair compensation for all workers; similar annual wage increments across all salary grades in the company; and that all workers enjoy the fruits of labour when the company performs well via the implementation of performance based wage and performance bonus schemes.
Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union General Secretary Tan Hock Soon
Active in union work for the last 35 years, Mr Tan helped to save workers’ jobs during the last two economic downturns, working closely with both management and workers to cut costs and save jobs.
During the global economic crisis in 2008, Mr Tan took the extra step to mobilise training providers to offer horizontal and vertical skills training for workers via the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) programme.
Metal Industries Workers’ Union Consultant Toh Hock Poh
Mr Toh has dedicated 41 years of distinguished service to the union and the Labour Movement.
Through various economic crises, he called for employers to be fair to workers, senior management to lead by example by taking earlier and deeper wage cuts than rank-and-file workers, and to implement other cost cutting measures before resorting to retrenchment.
Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers Former General Secretary G Muthukumarasamy (Posthumous)
Other outstanding 46 unionists have also been conferred the May Day Awards for their efforts in safeguarding workers’ welfare and improving their wages and work prospects. They include:
Comrade of Labour (Star) recipients
The May Day Awards were also conferred on management, tripartite partners and members of the Labour Movement family who advanced the interests of workers.
These include Meritorious Service recipient and NTUC LearningHub Chairman Kuah Boon Wee; Medal of Commendation (Gold) recipient and SMRT Corporation Ltd Chairman Seah Moon Ming; and Medal of Commendation recipient and Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong.
The Model Worker award was conferred on outstanding workers who exemplified traits of Worker 4.0, such as Readiness, Relevance and Resilience.
They improved their jobs through the adoption or initiation of productivity improvements; their employability through upskilling and digital transformation related training; as well as being adaptable to changing work environment.
Lauding the awardees for their dedication, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said: “The 105 individuals have displayed passion and commitment in caring for fellow workers, going the extra mile to ensure workers are protected and are able to rise up to challenges in today’s digital world.
“Among them are veteran union leaders that have dedicated decades of service to the Labour Movement and have made a real difference to the lives of workers around them. I am certain that they will continue to advance workers’ interests to the best of their abilities, especially in such challenging times.”
Learn more about all of this year’s awardees in the May Day 2020 e-magazine.
