May Day Rally Speech by Ng Chee Meng, Secretary-General, NTUC on 1 May 2021

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[Opening Video]

 

You know, each time I watch this video, it energises me, knowing that NTUC makes a real difference in lives and that there is true meaning to the motto that we wear on our back – “Every Worker Matters”. It is good to see Brother Nachi, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year, [in the video] exemplifying all the things that we do on the ground each and every day, with his hand around the young worker as he counselled them.

 

Good Morning Prime Minister Brother Lee Hsien Loong, Sister Ho Ching, President Sister Mary Liew, my fellow CC (Central Committee) Members, Deputy Prime Minister Brother Heng Swee Keat, Ministers, a special shout-out to Sister Josephine Teo, Brother Tan See Leng, President of SNEF (Singapore National Employers Federation) Brother Robert Yap, tripartite partners, PAP comrades, Sisters and Brothers.

 

I am really glad that this morning, we can come together to have a physical rally, even amidst all the different adjustments that we have to make.  We have gone through a tough year but thankfully things are getting better, so we can hold our Rally. And on the economic side of the house, things are looking brighter with the first fruits of recovery, and I do hope that the economy will continue to get back on track. And thankfully, COVID-19 cases have remained low, and our vaccination programmes are progressing steadily, short of what is happening in the last two days – which reminds us never to let our complacency get ahead of what is the reality. But nevertheless, just happy to be able to be with you today, physically; and for those of you that are online, welcome to our May Day!

 

This year marks a very special year for NTUC, as we celebrate 60 years of our founding and our success. Over the last 60 years, we have stood in solidarity with our People’s Action Party (PAP) comrades to build Singapore literally from the ground up. We have fought, shoulder to shoulder, for the dignified work of our workers. Our social enterprises, led by now Seah Kian Peng, have made life’s essentials universally affordable to Singaporeans, whether it is in insurance, whether it is in groceries, whether it is in cooked food, whether it is in childcare. NTUC, in these last 60 years, has touched literally every Singaporean life and is now a key societal pillar. To make this year’s celebration that little bit more special, I’m glad that we are bringing back the 50 cents coffee, and NTUC FairPrice is also launching a 50% discount on six items, refreshed every week for six weeks. Small gesture, but at least this is a token of appreciation for the members that have been supporting us all this while.

 

COVID-19 has further highlighted the importance of NTUC and the role we play in tripartite relationship. In a most difficult 2020, when the National Wages Council (NWC) was convened twice, NTUC stood up to protect our workers’ interests in a fair manner. NTUC drafted the Fair Retrenchment Framework (FRF) to protect displaced workers when the inevitable came, given all the different pressures our business partners had to undergo. Our very own FairPrice answered the nation’s call, ensuring that ready supplies of rice, oil, essentials, and including toilet paper, were back on the shelves within a few days. It helped with the cost of living by holding the prices of essentials to the best affordability level as we could. All in all, NTUC and our unions worked overtime to make sure that businesses can be saved and that our workers’ livelihoods can be protected. And thankfully, our efforts paid off. Our tripartite efforts kept resident unemployment rates below 5% and steadied the economy, and now we are back on the cusp to recovery. So, a big thank you to our Government sisters and brothers, a big thank you to the employers that have supported our workers, and a big thank you to all my union leaders and my staff for the excellent work in fighting COVID-19.

 

So over the last 60 years, NTUC has done well. We have shifted from confrontation tactics to collaboration. Together with the Government and businesses, we forged our unique tripartism and built our thriving nation.

 

But going forward, I think we will have to do more. Why? Because our workforce is rapidly changing. We are ageing, the number of PMEs are growing, freelancers are growing but the rank-and file numbers are also diminishing. Business models are changing rapidly. Even employment models are rapidly shifting, with workers now more ready to move between jobs rapidly; and even across industries, with a long runway outlook of maybe multiple careers in their life span. Therefore for NTUC to be the champion of these workers, whether rank-and-file, PMEs, freelancers, the younger ones or the older ones, we ourselves will need to innovate and change, and do more beyond the collaboration model that has made us successful over the last 60 years.

 

In the next bound of our journey, NTUC will need to co-create with our partners to forge tripartism forward. First, to co-create with Government and business partners to transform our economy for the future. Second, to co-create with workers, for workers. We want to expand protection and representation to all worker segments. At the same time, we want to continue to help our most vulnerable in the workforce to progress.

 

These need to be done so that our collective interests can be achieved. For the economy to continue to achieve sustainable economic growth. For our businesses to have better profitability and thirdly, importantly, for our workers to have better wages and better work prospects in the years ahead as we renew and transform our economy.

Deepening Co-creation with Government and Employers: Transforming the Economy

We all know that Industry 4.0 technologies will shape future work. Businesses will need to adopt these technologies even as they rethink their business models because it is not just a nice-to-have but a necessity to have to embrace AI (Artificial Intelligence), robotics, even human augmentation so that you can better serve the ever increasing demands of the consumers. In NTUC Social Enterprises, we recognise these trends. If we don’t innovate, if we don’t improve ourselves, there will be others that will replace us.

 

So, NTUC intends to use our Company Training Committees (CTCs) to drive our co-creative efforts with the Government and our employer partners, to drive economic transformation that will order the macro picture well for Singapore, with a robust economy.

 

Let me illustrate the usefulness of CTCs. Back in 2018, I spoke with Sister Thana when I first became Sec-Gen, and I broached with her the Company Training Committee idea, and we said let’s test out the CTC in the healthcare because there were real needs there. Healthcare Services Employees Union (HSEU) partnered with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), NTUC LearningHub, and set up the CTC within three months or so. We had our first class in 2018 November with maybe 30 frontline staff. Over the last few years, less than two years into the programme, close to 3,000 healthcare workers and managers have been trained, upgraded in terms of relevant digital skills in the healthcare sector, building positive mindsets and importantly, growing resilience in the ever-demanding healthcare sector. Unbeknownst to us, thankfully, this was a precursor to COVID-19, but when COVID-19 hit, the HSEU Healthcare Academy was able to pivot overnight, created courses, and in double quick time, to move displaced workers from depressed sectors into the healthcare sector – not only to absorb the excess manpower but to turn them around in a couple of months to be deployed forward on the ground for the healthcare needs to fight COVID-19. 4,000 swabbers were trained overnight to be deployed forward to help MOH (Ministry of Health) do the work.

 

So, the test idea proved to be very useful and we know that CTCs can work. The question now is how to make it useful and skilled.

 

The usefulness of the CTC is simply this – that it incorporates the business needs, identifies the needed skills for the new jobs, and then pairs up the training programmes for the workers and the employers. The outcome – employers’ interests are met in double quick time so that they can repivot their business for better business, and workers’ interests are met in that they will have better wages and hopefully better work prospects in the whole process of the CTCs.

 

We hope that the Government and our business partners in this co-creation system will see the benefits, and support NTUC in our endeavours with not just moral support but also needed partnership and resources.

 

In the process of our CTC, we have also started the Ops-Tech Roadmapping (OTR) to assist companies to chart the way forward as they rethink their business strategies. Many companies with CTCs have also embarked on OTR. And especially the SMEs, they find this Ops-Tech Roadmapping very useful.

 

So besides the public sector example, let me give you an SME example – Chye Choon Foods Pte Ltd. This company makes bee hoon since the 1950s. Management recently engaged NTUC because they realised they need to remodel their business model but as the CEO Chris, when I met him in his factory, told me “职总秘书长，我不会做”, means “Sec-Gen I don’t know how to do.” And when we unionised Chye Choon in the midst of COVID-19, we brought in the CTC, we brought in the team to help them with the Ops-Tech Roadmap. And Chye Choon found these to be very useful, to lead them in the thinking, to lead them in the possibilities and importantly, to help them with concrete automation plans that can access Government funding as well.  So I’m happy that Chye Choon has finalised plans to increase automation in their factories to innovate their machines of the 1970s vintage so that they can answer to new markets, new consumer preferences to make better business. In the CTC, in this example, why would NTUC want to partner SMEs? Well, the simple reason is that it would benefit my workers because when the process is done, with a better business, not only do wages go up; but in the working environment, workers will have better meaning in their jobs, less manual labour, better safety and better productivity. And when we can put this in the ecosystem together with our employers, I think it will create that virtuous cycle of win-win for us to succeed. So through the OTR, through the CTC, Chye Choon says that they will provide our local workers with better job opportunities in different areas, customer service, so on and so forth, including the operational level staff. In fact, recently they employed a 59-year-old worker I met as well, bringing him through the e2i’s Career Trial to give a new lease of working possibilities for our senior workers. So, NTUC aims to cover more of such companies, especially the SMEs that need our expertise, so that we can co-create a better future. 

Deepening Co-creation with Workers: Representing New Worker Groups 

The second way we want to deepen co-creation is for NTUC to champion all workers’ interests, not just in our traditional base of rank-and-file but including PMEs and freelancers. We have started this work, but we want to do more.

 

Today, PMEs form the largest proportion of our workforce. That’s why, NTUC together with SNEF (Singapore National Employers Federation) have started the PME Taskforce, for a very simple reason – to engage them, to know their pain points and what may be their needs forward.

 

In the last five months, the Taskforce has done very good work. We have engaged 8,000 PMEs over different segments to find out exactly what they need. Most tell us they want job security, job opportunities and career progression. The older PMEs, 50s to the 60s, especially want to continue in the job market, and especially if they can in their current job. But they worry about their increasing vulnerability. Those that are displaced want to get back into the workplace. Some form of work that can balance the meaning of work and reasonable pay expectations that they need for the family. PMEs in their 40s are also increasingly anxious, because they see the situation of the 50s and the 60s and they worry more about the impending vulnerabilities. I also heard from different local PMEs who simply want a fairer chance in securing good jobs.

 

NTUC wants to help in this space. We want to provide assurance to support PMEs who may one day become displaced. We want to help mature PMEs who are displaced, to find meaningful work. We also want to push for a more level playing field for local workers to be duly recognised for their skills and abilities.

 

But as I’ve done in the media in the last couple of days, I need to make an appeal – NTUC can only help if our PME sisters and brothers join us, and co-create this journey together. Because one key finding from the Taskforce’s engagements was that many PMEs want that voice in society to represent them, but many do not know that NTUC can do that job. Many think that NTUC remains only a rank-and-file organisation representing workers. It’s not true. Some younger ones that I spoke to, including friends from the media, think that NTUC is NTUC FairPrice supermarket, nothing much more than that. I think this is a happy problem because our country has succeeded; and on the first of May, we come together as sisters and brothers to celebrate labour relations and not having to do industrial action and fight against each other. But over the long period of 60 years, well, NTUC will need to recognise the change in context, the new trends, innovate and evolve ourselves.

 

So I have to tell my friends from the media that NTUC is much more than what they thought. PMEs indeed can be represented, including friends from the media. And we will push union coverage upwards to cover more PMEs in our unions and beyond. I’m glad that at least two of our media friends joined the NTUC after the interview. Well, we have other first fruits. At ST Engineering, due to their own business model rethink, recently, we set up a new union in ST Engineering called STESU, ST Engineering Staff Union. This union is a combination of all unions previously standalone representing rank-and-file workers. With this reorganisation into STESU, I’m happy to say that this will now be an all-collar union with representation scope from the rank-and-file all the way to the executives. This is a major breakthrough and I want to thank ST Engineering as well as all our union leaders that have worked so hard to make this happen. What this means is that PMEs in a major company like ST, will have a collective voice through STESU and NTUC.

 

NTUC will continue to work hard to champion our PME cause. The PME Taskforce will continue our work to engage stakeholders on the co-creation ahead, and I look forward to Patrick Tay submitting, together with SNEF Sim Gim Guan, on the official recommendations later this year.

 

In championing workers, NTUC also wants to do more for our self-employed persons, SEPs. Last year, NTUC stepped up to lead the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme, SIRS. We looked through actually more than 200,000 plus applications, spoke to many and thankfully, brought some relief to the SEPs. But it also showed up that this space is somewhat underserved and NTUC will redouble our efforts so that we can do more for this worker segment.

 

We are expanding our reach. At the end of last year, the freelancer unit in NTUC formalised two new associations: the Visual, Audio, Creative Content Professionals Association (VICPA) and the National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA). Two different spectrums of freelancers – we have stepped in to be their voice. Max is a food delivery rider and a new member of the Delivery Champions association. He joined the association because he needed a voice to speak up for him, and now that he is in the union, I’m happy to hear that he wants to help others find that voice too. Food delivery riders indeed face many challenges, including safety issues on the road, securing fair compensation for the grueling work they do and other fair contracting practices. NTUC aspires to be the riders’ voice, and shape the support given to them in the freelancers segment. 

Deepening Co-creation with Workers: Ensuring more opportunities to progress

 

NTUC, in this aspect, will therefore push for quicker roll-out of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for lower wage workers. We are working hard with SNEF and MOM (Ministry of Manpower) in the Tripartite Workgroup for Lower Wage Workers (TWG-LWW), to formulate new PWMs in the Food Services, in the Retail Trade sectors. We have spent many hours engaging lower wage workers, employers, the Government, to ensure workers’ interests and needs are taken into account as we formulate the TWG recommendations. Our long-term goal is universal PWM. The coverage to provide both wages and good work prospects for the lower wage workers, with the parallel of ensuring increased productivity for our business partners and sustained business profitability.

 

And we have some first fruits. Recently, our daily-rated sisters and brothers from the Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers (AUPDRW) were placed into a monthly-rated workers salary scheme. Thank you to our sisters and brothers from NEA (National Environment Agency) for doing this. With the conversion, these workers now will be able to earn a higher salary with better benefits. The seed of this transfer was actually seeded a few years ago with Brother Kumar, when I first met him in 2018 and together with his Exco (Executive Council), he expressed his long-held desire to move workers under his charge from the daily-rated scheme to the monthly-rated scheme. I’m glad that we can fulfil the late Brother Kumar’s wish.

 

At NTUC level, besides what we did for the daily-rated union, NTUC directly supports our U Care initiatives, to help vulnerable members level up with financial assistance and grants.

 

Over the years, NTUC has held numerous fundraising efforts for these things. We have had great supporters over the years so let me just take this chance to thank our partners for their generous donations – SLF (Singapore Labour Foundation), NTUC Social Enterprises, affiliated unions, private sector corporations and many of our own members. Thank you for chipping in generously to make our welfare programme succeed.

 

However, we found that in economically difficult years, like during COVID-19, we found that while the care needs of our members spiked, many of our contributors understandably have more difficultly putting in the funds. So therefore, for us to sustain a better income flow, we have spent some time thinking about how we can stabilise these funds to continue our efforts in doing more for our lower wage workers – especially for the lower wage workers’ families where education cannot stop, food on the table must be brought – we want to ensure a steady income stream to make this happen.

 

So we spent some time thinking about this. And today, I’m pleased to announce that NTUC has set up an NTUC Foundation, with an initial inject of $250 million to be invested to provide a steady income flow for us to do our welfare work. With the Foundation and the steady source of income, we will have the flexibility to do more in co-creating opportunities and support to benefit especially our lower wage workers.

 

The aims of the Foundation are clear. Whether it is welfare, working conditions or the social economic status of our members, we will support these. We want to give hope to members through programmes which have social resonance and impact. We hope that these causes will continue to attract like-minded volunteers and contributors to the NTUC Foundation. 

 

Conclusion

 

Let me now conclude. The NTUC Foundation is just one of the many steps that we are taking, or have taken, to grow the 3Ws for our workers: better Wages, better Welfare and better Work prospects.

 

I am looking forward to the next round of 60 years. Moving from the past confrontation, to collaboration, and moving forward to co-creation, with Government and employers.

 

We are determined to keep innovating and evolving so that we can stay relevant to members and workers alike, so that we can stay relevant to employers and the Government alike. While we keep an eye out for members first, workers will always be at the heart of all that we do.

 

This vision will guide our efforts. To champion workers of all collars, ages, nationalities to have a better and more meaningful life in Singapore.

 

There is much to be done but we will make this journey together with our PAP comrades and continue to nurture the strategic symbiotic relationship that has carried us through the last 60 years.

 

Happy anniversary to NTUC and happy May Day everyone! Thank you very much.

 

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