22 May 2010
1. As we emerged from last year’s economic doldrums in a stronger and more optimistic position, the Labour Movement organised the May Day Family Fiesta today at NTUC Club’s Downtown East to show appreciation to union members and their families who have demonstrated great resilience during the downturn. As an all-inclusive and member-centric event, May Day Family Fiesta provided some 40,000 union members of all collars, ages and nationalities and their family members good cheer and opportunity to celebrate the upturn together.
2. The May Day Family Fiesta’s key highlights included “A Healthy U”, which saw 2,000 participants from all walks of life and ages engaging in an energetic mass workout and enjoying a nutritious breakfast afterwards courtesy of Nestlé at D’Marquee. Guests-of-Honour, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Central Committee (CC) members, also joined in the exercise to drive home the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, as we move towards transforming our economy, upgrading our workforce and raising our productivity. In view of today’s ageing population and longer life expectancy, it is imperative to ensure good health so that one can continue to contribute productively to the economy.
3. “The Labour Movement encourages more older workers, back-to-work women, low-wage contract and casual workers to pay heed to their health and keep fit, so that they can stay employable and productive till old age. A healthier and happier employee begets a more productive workforce. This is in line with our rallying call to strive towards a Cheaper (More Productive) Better (More Capable) Faster (More Flexible) economy,” explained Ms Nora Kang, Chairperson for the May Day Family Fiesta committee.
4. “Nestlé fully supports the Labour Movement initiatives and as the leading nutrition, health and wellness company in the world, we are committed to bringing all Singaporeans great-tasting and nutritious food that can be part of their daily diet. A balanced diet, along with an active lifestyle is vital to physical and mental health, which in turn fosters a sense of overall well-being that makes not just a happier and healthier employee, but a better person who can contribute to the company, society and nation,” added Mr Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director of Nestlé Singapore, the official partner for the “A Healthy U” workout session.
5. In today’s competitive global economy, the need to stay nimble and flexible, as well as to maintain social connections, has become stronger than ever. To this end, May Day Family Fiesta also showcased innovation in new infocomm at the “New Infocomm and U” booths put up by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) at D’Tent.
6. Elaborating on the debut highlight at an NTUC May Day event, Ms Nora Kang said: “The new infocomm stations allow our members, especially those who are not IT-savvy, to embrace the new digital age and stay abreast of cutting edge technology. We also want our members to ride on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and blogs to communicate with their children or even grand children. More importantly, we want them to work smart to generate higher productivity gains by leveraging innovation and technology. In short, to become more capable and more versatile to prepare for the Cheaper Better Faster economy.”
7. RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay of IDA said: “Infocomm has become an integral part of the way we live, learn, work and interact. In Singapore, we are becoming more connected where 81% of our households have Internet access and 75% of enterprises use the Internet in their business. Our workforce and the general public can benefit from using infocomm technology to work more effectively and be well connected with family and friends. IDA is happy to work with the Labour Movement in events like May Day Family Fiesta to reach out to its members and encourage them to enjoy a digital lifestyle both at home and at work.“
8. As part of this year’s rallying call by the Labour Movement, May Day Family Fiesta also organised a special Cheaper Better Faster Challenge (CBF Challenge) at D’Marquee to enable our union members to have a better grasp of what it means and takes to become Cheaper Better and Faster. To enhance the spirit of camaraderie and show support for the event, the NTUC CC members formed teams with union members and their families to pit their skills against one another.
9. Ms Nora Kang explained the objectives of the CBF Challenge, “It is not merely a game of fun and laughter to foster team spirit and strengthen ties among union members and their families. The activities played at the various CBF stations are intentionally designed by our organising committee to raise awareness about the significance of raising our productivity, becoming more capable and being more flexible.”
10. In celebration of May Day and NTUC’s 49th anniversary, Ms Nora Kang also presented two weekly lucky draw prizes to two NTUC members under the month-long ‘Power of U’ campaign. Into the third week now, this week’s first lucky draw winner walked away with a million LinkPoints while the second member won $5,000 worth of NTUC Income GrowthLink policy. A Grand Lucky Draw with $25,000 worth of prizes will be conducted on 30 May 2010 to wrap up the campaign.
11. During May Day Family Fiesta, The Labour Movement also announced the target set for its U Care Fund this year as well as the broad areas to which the funds will be channeled. (Please refer to separate media release for more details).
