The NTUC U Care Centre (UCC) has reached out to 50,000 low-wage workers since it commenced operations in November 2013. Through its engagements with workers, UCC recognises that the participation rate of the Malay-Muslim community could be enhanced to ensure that more are made aware of their employment rights and opportunities to earn better incomes with training.
As UCC continues its outreach efforts, it will set a sharper focus on low-wage workers in the Malay-Muslim community, and has designed several outreach strategies to achieve this. This is the first time that it is embarking on these vigorous efforts.
Partnering Enhanced Mosque Clusters
In March this year, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Associate Professor Dr Yaacob Ibrahim announced in Parliament that UCC will be working with the mosques to “educate low-wage workers on training schemes and their employment rights.”
At the first Iftar event with Malay Members of Parliament organised by UCC today, Guest-of-Honour Dr Yaacob Ibrahim announced various opportunities for collaboration that have been identified by UCC to ensure more workers benefit from its programmes. As a result of in-depth discussions with two major partners – MUIS and Mendaki SENSE, UCC will work with the Enhanced Mosque Clusters (EMC) to engage low-income Malay-Muslim families by tapping on the EMC’s extensive range of programmes.
UCC will customise programmes and workshops to suit the varying needs of the clusters, which include Zakat recipients and low-income beneficiaries of the mosques’ programmes. These include sessions that will be similar to UCC’s existing U Care seminars, which are currently packaged with information on employment rights. There are also discussions to hold quarterly sessions where consultants can be stationed onsite at the various mosques to provide workplace advisory services based on individual clusters’ needs.
To further extend its outreach, UCC hopes to equip befrienders of the Mosque Befrienders Scheme and youth volunteers with knowledge of its services as well as some basic employment rights, so that they can share this relevant information to the low-income families that they visit and encourage them to approach UCC for guidance on training opportunities, as well as assistance on employment-related issues.
UCC has already started groundwork since November last year, tapping on two Clusters – Southwest and Northwest EMCs – to reach out to about 2,000 befrienders and Zakat beneficiaries. The sessions also comprised informal dialogues with NTUC U Care Centre’s Director, Mr Zainal Sapari, where many raised employment-related queries that the families they work with are facing.
Two visits to the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability for both clusters’ befrienders have been organised. Through these sessions, they were informed on the integrated services and opportunities offered at UCC as well as the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability. UCC intends to extend this to the other four clusters as well.
UCC has also successfully conducted onsite outreach through sharing sessions with the Southwest Mosque Cluster, where it gained a better understanding of the participants’ level of knowledge with regard to workplace issues such as the Employment Act and statutory entitlements. UCC will also tap on social activities such as Family Week, Family Day and anniversary celebrations to engage these families through onsite sharing sessions. One such upcoming activity is the collaboration during Assyafaah Mosque’s anniversary celebrations in September this year.
Enhanced partnership with Mendaki SENSE
UCC’s partnership with Mendaki SENSE, while not new, will take on greater momentum with new projects, as it plans to tap on Mendaki SENSE’s roadshows, trade exhibitions and other signature events. These events will focus on educating the lower-income workers and enabling them to explore opportunities to upskill and earn higher incomes.
Said Mr Zainal, UCC Director: “We want to be able to benefit as many local low-wage workers across all sectors and communities. UCC is looking at enhancing its efforts to do more for these workers and is keen to make breakthroughs in un-ventured avenues. Working with Enhances Mosques Clusters and Mendaki SENSE to impact more workers in the Malay-Muslim community is one of our strategies.”
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