The Labour Movement has grown and attained much in recent years. Much credit must go to the close partnership between the Labour Movement and the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and SLF’s outgoing Chairman Mah Bow Tan played a part in cultivating this relationship.
Under Mr Mah’s steadfast leadership, the SLF strengthened its finances and invested resources for purposes that benefit workers. As a result, the SLF was able to work hand-in-hand with NTUC to improve the welfare of union members and further the development of the Labour Movement in Singapore, thus fulfilling its mission.
This was evidenced in the appreciation shown by key Labour Movement leaders at the SLF Annual General Meeting and the SLF appreciation dinner for Mr Mah on 2 September 2011, a day before he relinquished his position as SLF Chairman after ten years at the helm.
At the AGM, NTUC Secretary for Financial Affairs Teo Yock Ngee expressed his warm appreciation to Mr Mah for “his unwavering support of the LM during his ten years of Chairmanship of the SLF which has enabled the LM to better serve the workers of Singapore. Without SLF’s contributions under his leadership, many of the initiatives of the LM would not have been so smoothly carried out”.
Mr Teo, the immediate past General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE), added: “As union leaders, we are also very appreciative of Mr Mah’s understanding of the need to groom future generations of union leaders and for union leaders to remain relevant to be better able to lead their unions and better serve their members.”
In his dinner address to appreciate Mr Mah, NTUC President John De Payva praised him as a steadfast and long time friend of the Labour Movement, who has served, supported and advised the Labour Movement in various capacities over more than three decades.
This included Mr Mah’s role as General Manager in the former Singapore Bus Services (SBS), where he worked closely with the National Transport Workers Union (NTWU); Chairman of NTUC Comfort Co-operative Limited, where he helped grow the taxi fleet, raise service standards as well as increase drivers’ productivity and salaries; Chairman of the Productivity Board, where he championed better paying, higher productivity jobs for workers; and pioneering and longest serving Chairman of the Singapore Institute of Labour Studies (now Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute), where he helped to put in place curriculum framework, training infrastructure and financial resources.
President De Payva shared that NTUC had in 1991 conferred on Mr Mah the Medal of Honour in recognition of his distinguished service to the Labour Movement. He also highlighted the three key areas of contributions Mr Mah made as SLF Chairman which have gone a long way in strengthening the LM-SLF partnership:
• Stepped up support for programmes to help union leaders, union members and working families. This was achieved through developing committed union leaders, growing an inclusive membership base, enhancing the employment and employability of workers and providing affordable essential goods and services. To ensure the Labour Movement of continued support, he also led the SLF Board to implement a sound investment policy and a sustainable spending policy.
• Increased support for U Care initiatives, including the doubling of its contribution to the “Upturn the Downturn” U Care Fund during the 2008/2009 financial crisis. This has enabled the Labour Movement to extend its outreach to more lower-income union members and give more grants per person.
• Enhanced the development of key infrastructure such as One Marina Boulevard, the home of the Labour Movement and NTUC Social Enterprises (SEs) Choice Homes, Link, Thrift & Loan and Media. SLF also developed AMK Hub to bring the affordable goods and services of the NTUC Social Enterprises to the heartlands and helped to fund the establishment of e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
The dinner also saw Mr Mah deliver his final address as SLF Chairman which was received with enthusiasm and appreciation from LM and union leaders. Mr Mah shared that it has been his privilege to be associated with the Labour Movement, and to have interacted and worked with many union leaders. Mr Mah was also warm and effusive in his praise for the achievement and work of the Labour Movement and of its “corps of committed and dedicated union leaders”.
Labour Movement membership numbers in Singapore have risen, he said, bucking the global trend of declining union membership, and the Labour Movement is proactively reaching out to the diverse communities to expand its reach and will continue to play a role to build a more cohesive and resilient Singapore. Mr Mah also noted that the Singapore workers will continue to look up to and trust the union leaders to “champion their needs to the management and Government”. He articulated his confidence that union leaders “will lead our workers well, in good times and in challenging times alike.”
SLF is privileged to contribute to LM, NTUC SEs and unions efforts to help workers make better livings and live better lives. Mr Mah shared that SLF’s support for Labour Movement initiatives grew in tandem with SLF’s financial capability in the last decade.
As the Labour Movement and NTUC Social Enterprises move towards LM2015 and SE2015 respectively, Mr Mah said that SLF “now stands ready to step up its support”, and expressed his confidence that Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is taking over as the new SLF Chairman, would deepen the SLF-LM partnership and bring it to the next level.
