By Avelyn Ng and Shukry Rashid
The paper has been around for 53 years, and that’s more than half a century old! As we turn another page in our history, we look back to remember the different personalities the paper has put forth.
This paper has taken on many names since its first publication in 1964; these run a line-up from Perjuangan N.T.U.C., Labour News, The Singaporean, NTUC News and the current NTUC This Week.
Perjuangan means struggle in Malay, and the title captured the tone and essence of the era of the 1960s. Perjuangan N.T.U.C. was published monthly and its aim, said its editor Devan Nair when it was first established, was twofold.
Devan Nair, who was also concurrently NTUC’s first secretary-general, said: “On the one hand, we shall keep labour informed about essential issues, so that the chaff is easily distinguished from the grain, and sense from nonsense. On the other, we shall voice the just aspirations of labour without fear or favour.”
From the outset, this publication had been the voice of workers and the Labour Movement. It featured the difficulties workers faced with errant employers and communism, what was done to represent and protect the workers, and bring the issues to a fair agreement.
But just as how the Labour Movement has evolved from one that was marred by unsettlement and strikes to one of good labour-management relations, so did the paper as it started focusing on the good collaborations between workers and employers, with the help of the Government.
The Last Flip
Even though this is NTUC This Week’s final publication, we are not stopping the efforts that were started over five decades ago. To keep up with the times and be more engaging, this publication will be moving on to a more engaging online media that will serve more – not only members but workers of all collars and society at large.
Take a walk down memory lane with us as we look back at the journey with the Labour Movement.
November, 1964: A foreword by then NTUC President Ho See Beng on the first issue of Perjuangan sheds light on the challenges in finding a voice for the workers.
12 December 1976: The NTUC Central Committee makes a decision to reposition Perjuangan as an all-encompassing, serious trade union journal and introduce Labour News as an exclusive medium for the affiliated unions.
1 May 1980: In a three-quarter-page note, then NTUC President C.V Devan Nair explains that The Singaporean is an effort to extend the coverage to non-trade union Singaporeans and “fulfil a larger and more useful social role”.
1 November 1986: A snippet in this issue explains that the new masthead gives the publication “a more direct and clearer identity”.
27 January 2006 to now: NTUC This Week refreshes its masthead through the years to align with the change of NTUC logo and the paper’s direction.
Coming to a Place Closer to You!
One door closes, another opens. Yes, we are going full steam ahead into the digital world to stay hip with the times to serve you better.
As electronic devices gain popularity, it only makes logical sense for us to go fully digital to fit the way content is consumed. The cyberspace – with its ability to connect to social platforms, embed multimedia, and reach a limitless audience – undoubtedly empowers us to do more as well.
Starting 2018, we will be pushing our content out on LabourBeat.org, which may sound familiar to some of you. We started LabourBeat as a blog in 2015 to underscore the softer aspects of the Labour Movement, the voices, aspirations and experiences of workers in Singapore.
Our mission to inform, inspire and engage does not change, but with more freedom at our hands without the restriction of space and cost, we will be expanding the scope of our content.
Going forward, LabourBeat will operate as a user-friendly news site, packing in everything you as a worker needs to know about Singapore's labour scene, plus many other useful resources. From news to human interest stories and useful resources, there will be something for every worker type. Expect timely coverage with breadth and depth, peppered with captivating graphics and videos.
LabourBeat is also going through a facelift currently – stay tuned to the relaunch in January 2018 and let us know what you think!
