Last month, I attended the annual International Labour Conference and spoke with union leaders from a number of countries. The situation in Asia remains cautious but still encouraging. However, the picture I gathered for the USA and Europe was not as good. They are suffering from job shortages, sticky unemployment, high youth unemployment and stagnation of wages.
Such implications can be painful for their people. One European unionist told us that many of her fellow countrymen are working as construction and mining workers in Australia. What sadden her even more is seeing the younger and better educated leaving the country because of job shortages at home.
We do not want this to happen to our fellow Singaporeans, not now and in future.
Since our independence in 1965, we have distinguished ourselves in the way we improved our life and built our nation. We are doing better, and the union leaders we met in Geneva can see that. They also wish to have what we have - full employment, low youth unemployment, and a steady increase in real wages.
Unfortunately, these are not easy to come by as some of them have found out the hard way.
As we celebrate our 47th National Day, let us value our achievements and pledge to work together to stay ahead.
The journey ahead will only get tougher, given the uncertain outlook of the world economy, slower growth and higher inflation in the medium term, and fierce competition regionally and globally.
But these challenges are not impossible to overcome.
Our economic and social foundation is sound, our young are well educated, and our workforce is well trained. Above all, our tripartite partnership is strong. If we can transform our economy and reshape our workforce better and faster than others, we can continue to enjoy shortages of workers instead of jobs, steady increase in wages instead of wage stagnation in the years to come.
Loving Singapore, Our Home holds many meanings for us to reflect upon. For the Labour Movement, it is about making Singapore a good and better place for all Singaporeans to work, live and play as one big family. There is no guarantee that Singapore will always do well. There will be ups and downs along the way. But one guarantee we can give to each other as citizens of Singapore is that, in good or bad times, we will always do our best for Singapore and give our best to our fellow Singaporeans.
Creating a better home for ourselves and our children is a journey with no end. Let’s do it together and make our home – Our Better Singapore.
Happy 47th National Day to all!
