Pride, commendation and respect.
These were the three words that resounded in NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say’s speech at the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) Appreciation Dinner 2013 on 4 February at The Grassroots’ Club. Commending NTWU for its role in mediating the SMRT bus drivers’ strike last year, he said that the way the union collaborated with SMRT’s management to respond to the strike has earned the respect of many.
“I must say that I, myself, together with the Brothers and Sisters in the Labour Movement, are very proud of how you as union leaders, in dealing with the management, have responded so well to the challenges,” he shared.
SG Lim revealed that earlier in the day, he had shared with Parliament that out of 1.2 million foreign workers, more than 100,000 have joined the Labour Movement as members. Following last year’s SMRT bus drivers’ strike, 75 per cent or 320 out of 430 PRC drivers have joined NTWU. This is up from less than five per cent before the strike. Meanwhile, more than 90 per cent of the 600 China bus drivers with SBS Transit are union members.
NTWU General Secretary Fang Chin Poh stressed that foreigners must be allowed to join unions “so that there is representation on their behalf on workplace issues and grievances”.
In addition, SG Lim was encouraged by the salary restructuring of bus captains in the middle of last year and the round of enhancements at the end of the year.
He said: “Our bus captains deserve a better salary. Customer expectation is getting higher and you take on the challenge positively and perform your job with pride. So it is only right that we reward our bus captains accordingly.
“By working together, we can offer a more reliable public transport service to the public. At the same time, I believe that by working together, we can also take better care of our bus captains.”
NTWU President Mohd Rasi Taib added: “It is from the healthy and symbiotic relationship with our management that has enabled us to negotiate a win-win outcome for our members.”
