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National Day 2009 - Labour Movement Rallies Singapore to “Upturn the Downturn Together”
30 July 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
1. In celebration of this year's National Day, the Labour Movement raises a rallying call to Singapore to “Upturn the Downturn Together”. Taking the cue from the National Day Parade (NDP) 2009 theme of 'Come Together' and its very own tagline of ‘Upturn the Downturn’, the Labour Movement calls on workers, unionists, their families, and the tripartite partners to continue to work in concert to overcome the economic storm together.
2. Among the Labour Movement’s celebratory events this year are: (i) a series of 35 National Day Observance Ceremonies (NDOCs) where unions, companies and Government representatives gather to reinforce the spirit of tripartism as they pledge their loyalty and love for the country; (ii) Young NTUC’s annual signature event – Young NTUC Celebrates! National Day 2009; and (iii) NTUC’s marching contingent at the NDP to symbolise the Labour Movement’s commitment to keep the Singapore Spirit flying high.
29 Union-Management and 6 Themed National Day Observance Ceremonies
3 Reflecting the strong labour-management relations in Singapore, various unions, together with their managements and workers, will celebrate National Day together in a total of 35 National Day Observance Ceremonies (NDOCs) held throughout the month of August, involving more than 15,000 union leaders, workers and management representatives. During these challenging economic times, the Labour Movement recognises the importance of working together with its tripartite partners to swiftly implement key initiatives to prevent massive retrenchments and unemployment. These NDOCs recognise and celebrate this spirit of tripartism. The union-management NDOCs are organised across various industries ranging from aerospace, security, marine, healthcare, electrical to electronics.
4. In addition, six of these NDOCs have been organised to mark and celebrate key initiatives of the Labour Movement.
5. The NDOC by the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute will honour union leadership and the Labour Movement’s role in nation-building. This opening NDOC where NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say will deliver his National Day Message will be held on 31 July 2009 at NTUC Auditorium. It will also officially launch the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute, which was formed earlier this year with the merger of the former Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies and the NTUC Leadership Development Department. The NDOC also highlights the inaugural Industrial Workers Education Training Fund (IWETF) Learning Awards, which recognises union leaders’ commitment to lifelong learning.
6. Not forgetting the importance of building strong and happy family units, U Family will hold their NDOC on 1 August 2009 in conjunction with its annual “Pak Tor with U @ The Movies” event. A key driver to further NTUC's development of family-focused initiatives and programmes, U Family will also outline its strategies to pursue its vision to continue building happiness within families and social resilience within the society.
7. NTUC and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) Collaboration will give an update on their partnership to intensify engagement on re-employment of older workers at the NDOC on 3 August 2009, at NTUC Auditorium. More than 150 company representatives from the unionised sector, ASME, and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) are expected to come together at this platform.
8. The Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) will hold its first NDOC on 7 August 2009 within its own premises, to celebrate the various stakeholders representing government, management and union coming together to enhance professional development, employability and employment opportunities for working people. Reflecting the true value of tripartism, e2i was set-up through the help of the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF) in 2007 and its daily operations are co-funded by the government, through the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and the SLF, which enables the institution to scale up rapidly to meet the employment and employability needs of workers during this downturn.
9. Contract and casual workers from all over Singapore will also gather to observe National Day at the Unit for Contract and Casual Workers’ (UCCW) NDOC on 19 August 2009 at the Singapore Flyer, as a special treat for these workers to enjoy the panoramic view of Singapore. An update and key highlights on the ‘U Train, U Gain’ initiative will be shared at this platform.
10. Last but not least on 26 August 2009 at NTUC Auditorium, the Staff Union of NTUC-ARU (SUN) and NTUC-ARU NDOC will recognise staff who work relentlessly in the Labour Movement to help workers and companies to upturn the downturn, in celebration of our very own “recession heroes”. Despite being faced with challenging and demanding issues, these staff of NTUC have put in extra effort within their own roles to help the workers of Singapore. These employees are the pride of the Labour Movement.
NTUC Marching Contingent for National Day Parade
11. The parade will require the 92 member-strong NTUC Marching Contingent to do a 3.2 km march past from Marina Bay to the Padang, led by contingent commander, Mr Tan Hock Soon, General Secretary of the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers’ Union, who is also an NTUC Central Committee member. More than half of the participants for this year's parade are 46 years old and above, and these members represent 24 unions across various sectors. The contingent has been training at Nee Soon Camp bearing NTUC Flags and doing 2.8 km marches within the camp compound since April.
NTUC Marching Contingent at a training session.
12 The Labour Movement calls on Singapore to celebrate National Day as the world's most united people, and the world's most united tripartite partners, navigating the downturn together while gearing up for the upturn.
Ms Shona Tan
Director
Corporate Communications
National Trades Union Congress
