By Ryan Chan and Shukry Rashid
The May Day Awards held on 29 April 2016 saw 91 people receiving awards from 12 categories. They were made up of union leaders, management partners and companies who were recognised for their significant contributions to the Labour Movement.
The awardees have also demonstrated their support in promoting harmonious labour-management and tripartite relations. They have improved the lives of workers by supporting the Progressive Wage Model and various other initiatives. These include productivity boosts, skills upgrading, re-employment of mature workers and enhancement of workers’ welfare.
The event was attended by some 1,600 guests comprising government officials, management partners and union leaders.
Tripartite Partners to Up their Game
Our tripartite partners are key towards helping us negate through the cyclical and structural forces that will impact the Singapore economy.
That was the message that NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing shared at the May Day Dinner 2016.
“Our challenge is to make sure we can continuously upgrade our workers to be ready for not just today’s jobs, but also tomorrow’s jobs,” he said.
SG Chan identified three key areas that the Labour Movement has to their advantage to help workers weather the challenges ahead: resources, partnerships and attitude.
Resources
SG Chan said that NTUC intends to grow the Singapore National Employers Federation as a strong pillar of support, especially with initiatives like the SAPPHIRE (SNEF Agency for Productivity Practices, Human Resources and Industrial Relations) programme, which benefits small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
On the Government front, he also spoke of the close ties that NTUC has with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
“NTUC works closely with (these three ministries): MOM – to make sure that we have the jobs of the future; MOE – to make sure we have the skills of the future; and MTI – to make sure we have the careers of the future,” he said.
The Labour Movement has also been actively growing its outreach to all workers through efforts like the U Associate programme and U SME.
Partnerships
SG Chan also shared how the Labour Movement’s tripartite partners will take their efforts up a notch in the coming year for training upstream, midstream and downstream.
Upstream, schools will have job counselling to ensure students get into the correct courses from the onset. NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) will work with MOM to grow a pool of career counsellors.
In the midstream, SG Chan said that NTUC is working with MTI and MOM to map out sectoral manpower plans for the various industries in Singapore. They will also enlist the help of the Economic Development Board to identify future industries to ensure workers can prepare themselves and stay relevant.
Downstream, SG Chan pledged to see how the Labour Movement can extend the working life of mature workers beyond the age of 60.
He said: “What we are interested in isn’t unemployment insurance, but employment insurance – how to make sure our workers continue to stay relevant, not lose their jobs and don’t need unemployment insurance. That is a better strategy than to try to fix the problem after (it has occurred).”
Attitude
In order to properly mobilise these efforts, good leaders are required, SG Chan said, especially ones with the correct attitude and values.
“(We need) leaders who will not flinch in the face of challenges, leaders who will always put the priorities of workers first, leaders who will never abuse privileges and leaders who are good stewards of the resources that have been endowed upon us by our previous generation,” he said.
NTUC President’s Address
Delivering her opening address at the May Day Dinner, NTUC President Mary Liew touched on tripartism and its role in the future.
“As tripartite partners, we must work together to ensure that our Singapore will continue to have many more 50 years thereafter,” she said. She added that this year’s Budget provides a strong foundation for everyone to work together to transform the economy through enterprise and innovation, while ensuring that the society is not left behind.
Care, Fair, Grow
With this year’s May Day theme of “Care, Fair, Grow”, President Liew said that the Labour Movement strives to be a caring one by: helping workers lead better lives through better jobs and higher income growth; ensuring there is fairness and welfare for workers; and enhancing workers’ employability.
Tribute to Former President
President Liew also paid tribute to NTUC Immediate Past President and Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) General Secretary Diana Chia, who was conferred the top May Day award – Distinguished Service (Star) award – at the event. President Liew said: “Our leaders remain key in our efforts to reach out to workers in need … Even after flowing on from the Central Committee, she continues to make a difference to the lives of workers.”
Source: NTUC This Week
