Model ID: 283e0d94-ea7d-4a48-aa94-672b610fdb82
Sitecore Context Id: 283e0d94-ea7d-4a48-aa94-672b610fdb82;
At the NTUC Ordinary Delegates’ Conference 2017 (ODC) held today, NTUC affiliated unions voted decisively to update NTUC’s constitution to expand its network to serve all working people in Singapore.
Earlier at the ODC, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing highlighted the need for the Labour Movement (LM) to remain relevant to and representative of the needs of our working people as technological disruptions result in the creation of new business models, new employment arrangements, new jobs as well as new skills needed to perform these roles, at an increasingly fast pace.
The delegates also endorsed a set of nine papers that chart the future direction of the LM. These nine papers are the culmination of many months of discussions by the union leaders. These include:
a. The Labour Movement Compass that formalises the LM’s approaches and way forward in serving our working people in Singapore (Please refer to Annex A).
b. Unions will expand their outreach to represent all working people, removing any artificial divide that exists today. Unions will step up efforts on placement and progression in addition to its protection and privileges roles.
c. LM will leverage our network of industry expertise of U Associates to enable PMEs to expand their professional networks, acquire deeper and broader competencies to stay competitive in the fast changing economic environment.
d. The U SME network will serve workers in the SME sector by partnering the SME bosses and HR managers to equip them with the capabilities and capacities to better take care of their workers.
e. The U FSE network will advocate and work with tripartite partners to establish industry standards and fair engagement practices to level the playing field and better protect freelancers and the self-employed.
f. Migrant Workers’ Centre and Centre for Domestic Employees will increase awareness of migrant and foreign domestic workers’ rights, expand their networks of ground leaders to sense and manage ground sentiments and leverage our partners to serve the needs of the migrant workers in our society.
g. NTUC Social Enterprises (SEs) will refresh their products and services to meet the evolving and lifecycle needs of our working people and their families. As a group, SEs will harness data to better serve their needs and compete as an integrated group to serve our workers and families.
h. LM will strengthen the U Career Network so that our working people can benefit from timely and relevant insights on training and job opportunities from industry practitioners. LM aims to develop a lifelong partnership with our working people from their schooling years.
i. Good stewardship and strong governance will guide unions in putting forth the best financial management practices.
LM Conversations
After the ODC, union leaders, representatives from the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), management representatives from unionised companies, LM partners from U Associate, U SME and U FSE; and representatives from NTUC Social Enterprises and related organisations dialogued with Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower; Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health; Mr Ng Chee Meng, Minister for Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport; Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Second Minister for Defence; and Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Manpower.
They discussed the following:
a. The Future of Tripartism
Ways to strengthen tripartism amidst the rapidly evolving environment for it to remain Singapore's competitive advantage. Our LM will intensify our partnership and knowledge exchange among the tripartite partners in two key areas:
Firstly, a sound framework that institutionalises and builds meaningful relationships with our tripartite partners at all levels through the Tripartite Staff Exchange Programmes such as secondment, Labour Movement Attachment Programme and SNEF Officers Attachment Programme.
Secondly, by enabling our younger generation of government leaders to actively participate in LM’s network to look at how existing programmes can be improved as well as to identify new growth areas.
b. Training
The need to strengthen in-school training in the foundational years so that our youth are work-ready when they leave school. There must be better career counselling to help them get into the jobs that they want so as to minimise job mismatch.
A culture of continuous learning must also be cultivated. LM is committed to work with the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and industry partners to develop speed-to-market training and transform the way we learn through bite-sized, just-in-time training.
c. NTUC Social Enterprises (SEs)
As a key social partner in our national ecosystem, NTUC SEs and the Government are committed to work closer together so as to grow the SEs’ capabilities ahead of time and serve Singaporeans better.
d. Manpower Politics & Policies
Work towards having the growth and gains from an open economy fairly shared with our working people in Singapore so that no one is left behind.
We recognise that a certain proportion of our manpower will be supplemented by a foreign workforce. Nonetheless, we remain committed to help all our workers get good jobs that fulfil their aspirations.
Conclusion
The year 1969 was a turning point in the history of the LM, where at the Modernization Seminar, a new social compact was struck with the government of the day for the benefit of the workers and the nation’s growth. The way forward was to be non-confrontational, and a new culture of collaborative and constructive tripartism was born.
With the Government’s support, the LM was able to organise workers, help them acquire new skills to remain competitive, while at the same time, co-create a conducive environment to attract investments. On its part, the Government’s focus on pro-worker policies grew stronger.
Working closely with the Government, the LM was also able to increase the impact and redefine the role of its social enterprises to meet the changing needs of workers over the years.
Forty-eight years on, and at today’s NTUC ODC 2017, Singapore’s model of tripartism continues to grow stronger to meet new challenges and changing needs. The tripartite partners have reaffirmed the need to continuously strengthen the tripartite relationship amidst the changes, and successive generations of younger leaders in the LM, Government and businesses must continue to build on this foundation.
All these deliberations and discussions will catalyse the growth and development for our LM as we progress into the next lap.
# # #
