Teo Chee Hean
Deputy Prime Minister
Co-ordinating Minister for National Security
Minister for Home Affairs
Chairman of Council of Advisors, United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries
Advisor of The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union
Nominated by National Trades Union Congress
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, has been the Advisor of The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) and the Chairman of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) Council of Advisors since 2000 and 2004 respectively.
Besides bringing to the unions a wealth of experience, Brother Chee Hean is a strong believer in harmonious labour-management relations and helps ensure that the well-being and welfare of workers are taken care of. His strong support for unions’ initiatives has led to a high level of participation from management and union leaders, bringing about productivity improvements, skills upgrading, as well as enhanced employability and prospects for workers.
From 2010 till 2011, Brother Chee Hean chaired the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC). As a strong believer of how tripartism is a constructive arrangement that leads to benefits for workers, he included union leaders and Labour Movement (LM) representatives in the Council. Under his leadership, NPCEC developed strategies that improve national productivity and promote close collaboration amongst the business sector, workers, unions and the public sector. During his tenure, he contributed significantly to the LM’s efforts to assist low-wage workers through his endorsement of the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP). The $100 million IGP launched in 2010, administered by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), spurred companies to share productivity gains with their low-wage workers as part of their productivity roadmap.
As the Minister in charge of the Civil Service, Brother Chee Hean provides guidance on various manpower-related policies for the public sector. This led to many changes including the review of the re-employment policy which makes it more equitable for Civil Service Officers and enhancements to the Medisave-cum-Subsidised Outpatient (MSO) scheme.
For his significant contributions to the Labour Movement, the National Trades Union Congress is pleased to present Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean with the Medal of Honour Award.
The Interview
Ramesh Subarraman catches up with Mr Teo Chee Hean to get his thoughts on key labour issues on the occasion of being conferred the Medal of Honour award.
On Helping Workers…
“UWEEI faces a very challenging situation because technology is evolving so quickly, companies are looking for the most cost effective, cost efficient places to site their factories in and the whole industry is so volatile. So our Brothers and Sisters in UWEEI are having constantly to adjust to this cycle, new technologies cycle, the possibility of retrenchments, retraining of skills, and so on... I get to meet the bosses of the electronics companies through the unions…we get down to issues such as skills upgrading, the kinds of programmes we have in place, and it is the unions which brief the bosses on the various skills upgrading programmes, the various schemes that we have in place to help them employ, retain workers even in this very challenging environment.”
On Productivity Challenges…
“...While we were promoting productivity across all sectors in Singapore, one particular group which was paid attention to were the low-wage workers. So we had a special scheme, the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP), to look after our low-wage workers. We put aside $40 million dollars and we wanted to help address the concerns of 25,000 low-wage workers in Singapore to make sure that in the process of increasing skills levels and productivity in Singapore…these workers, too, have the opportunity to benefit and upgrade themselves…”
On Tripartism In Singapore…
“It requires first of all sincerity on all sides, workers and unions, the companies and the government, and a commitment to want to make it work… When you develop a co-operative stance, you see the benefits of it in terms of long-term employment, in terms of upgrading of skills, higher salaries that come along with it and a stable and peaceful harmonious industrial environment that attracts even more investors and jobs for the future... (The Government) will continue to work together with the unions to make sure the workers are treated fairly and they will continue to have a good life and good salaries in Singapore.”
