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The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union (BATU), the Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore (WMRAS) and other industry stakeholders will be embarking on targeted efforts to drive transformation in the sector.
This renewed commitment arose from an Operation and Technology Roadmapping (OTR) process facilitated by NTUC from August to October 2020. The series of workshops explored industry-level data and strategies and developed consensus on new norms that will impact the sector and its workers; deliverables that sector transformation should bring about that will benefit companies, workers and industry alike as well as necessary resources that NTUC or the Government could provide to facilitate the next stage of transformation.
People and technology-led transformation
Specifically, the WMRAS and 17 of its member companies in the general waste collection and recycling sub-sectors will be committing to three key strategies that all parties have identified to be pivotal in the next phase of sector transformation:
A. Explore relevant technological adoptions leading to better innovation, productivity and safety
B. Attracting, retaining, and localisation of waste management workers
C. Continuous learning and development of waste management workers
WMRAS will form three workgroups to drive each of the above focus areas. NTUC will then facilitate participating WMRAS companies to embark on or complete company-level OTR so as to drive transformation from the ground up. With a collective market share of over half of the entire waste management sector, such company-led efforts will pave the way for the rest of the industry to follow suit.
Some 12,000 workers are expected to benefit from sub-sector and company-level transformation initiatives arising from the OTRs, which are expected to be completed by Q3 2021.
Commenting on the vision for the waste management sector, Melissa Tan, Chairman of WMRAS, said, “For too long, the waste sector has had an unglamourous image which affected the recruitment of Singaporeans. The OTR has thus come at an opportune time when we are facing a foreign manpower crunch made worse by COVID-19. We look forward to implementing the Roadmap and hope it will help our businesses leverage technology to make our work processes safer, more innovative and productive; upgrade our workers' skills and prospects; enhance our image and attract more locals to join us.”
NTUC Secretary-General (Sec-Gen) Ng Chee Meng said, “NTUC takes a holistic view on issues that impact jobs as well as companies. On one hand, we are doubling up our efforts to partner companies on this OTR process, helping them to identify ways to strengthen their capabilities, sustainably. On the other hand, we are pressing on with our efforts to implement the Progressive Wage Model to help our lower wage workers in this sector to achieve better wages and upskill for better jobs. I am confident that we can look forward a more vibrant sector in the near future, with good job prospects for our Singaporean workers.”
Wah & Hua: Setting the pace for rest of sector
Earlier today, NTUC Sec-Gen Ng visited Wah & Hua Pte Ltd, one of the companies that participated in the consortium OTR and have also completed its company-level OTR. At the visit, Wah & Hua representatives shared more about key strategies that the company will undertake as a leading waste management company in Singapore, with the aim to set best standards for the sector.
With a 100-strong workforce and a fleet of mid to big-sized trucks, Wah & Hua will devote the next five years to achieve the following outcomes:
a. Exploring new growth areas: Investment in new equipment to build new capabilities for the company
b. Continuous talent development: Upskill in-house trainers, develop and implement more rigorous training schedule for all staff and management
c. Making work more efficient and safer:
i. Adopting a ‘command centre’ system to track movement of trucks and optimise deployment and safety driving behaviour; and
ii. Automation of trucks’ collection system for weighing of waste collected so as to avoid overloading and derive insights on waste generation patterns
Desmond Tan, Assistant General Manager of Wah & Hua Pte Ltd, said, “The consortium OTR was certainly helpful in charting out the strategies to tackle the common challenges faced by the industry. For Wah & Hua specifically, the company-based OTR has been particularly useful as it helps crystallise our plans for that added distinctive competitive edge to propel our company forward in the new normal.”
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Annex: Participants of waste management consortium OTR
