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Amidst a challenging year for workers due to COVID-19, the NTUC-U Care Fund has committed $31.5 million in 2020 to help lower-income union members as well as those whose incomes have been significantly reduced. The monies went towards the funding of various assistance programmes, some of which are still open for application - such as cash relief via the NTUC Care Fund (COVID-19), as well as support for members’ children via the U Care Education Co-Funding scheme.
Despite the weak economic climate, close to 100 donors contributed to the fund in 2020. Major donors include the Singapore Labour Foundation, NTUC Social Enterprises as well as long-time supporters from the private sector.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Director of NTUC Care and Share Department Zainal Sapari, said, “NTUC-U Care Fund was started in 2009 to help NTUC union members affected by the economic downturn then. Similarly, more than 10 years on, we are pledging our utmost commitment to help our members through the challenges brought upon by COVID-19. This would not be possible without the support of the Government, our Labour Movement network and our esteemed donors, who continue to do good despite a bleak economic situation. With such a strong show of solidarity, we hope to help workers emerge stronger and more resilient in the face of adversities.”
Targeted efforts to help members impacted by COVID-19
NTUC Care Fund (COVID-19) was launched in March 2020 to provide up to $300 cash relief to union members whose incomes have been greatly affected by COVID-19. $25 million was earmarked for the programme.
Applications for the programme re-opened from 23 November 2020 to 28 February 2021, with enhanced eligibility criteria to benefit more members. As of 18 December 2020, more than $16 million has been disbursed to some 33,000 members.
Helping members stretch their dollar and supporting school-going children
Efforts to help members stretch their dollar on daily necessities and their children’s school-related expenses also continued, with greater flexibility given to allow beneficiaries to use the vouchers based on their needs and circumstances. Rather than separate vouchers for daily necessities and school-related expenses as in previous years, beneficiaries of the $6 million NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) programme are now able to use their vouchers flexibly on either expense. Some 22,000 union members received up to $100 worth of assistance, with additional $100 per eligible school-going child. This benefitted about 26,000 children.
Another programme is the U Care Education Co-Funding scheme aimed at motivating union members’ school-going children to excel in their studies via education bursary awards co-funded by NTUC-affiliated unions and associations. About 4,500 children benefitted from this programme.
The CapitaLand-U Care Resilience and Enablement Fund (CAP+Ure) has also been instrumental in enabling beneficiaries to continue to provide for their loved ones amidst unforeseen circumstances. The programme, which provides interim support for low-to-medium income union members who are impacted by sudden loss of income, has benefitted close to 300 union members, with $250 NTUC FairPrice vouchers given per child to help them tide over their children’s basic nutritional and educational needs. Applications for this scheme are still open.
New mental wellbeing support for members in distress
Experiencing sudden or great distress due to work-related circumstances may take a tremendous toll on workers’ mental wellbeing. This is especially so for those who have heavy personal responsibilities such as caregivers, as well as those who have young and/or elderly dependants. Such worries may continue as the economy takes a K-shaped recovery in 2021 and beyond.
NTUC will be partnering Mind Culture to offer one-to-one counselling services to NTUC-U Care Fund beneficiaries to safeguard their mental health. The programme aims to help beneficiaries better identify, manage and overcome the difficulties they may be experiencing and emerge stronger out of the crisis they are currently in. More details on this programme will be available at
www.ntuc.org.sg/Ucare by March 2021.
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