26 May 2004
National Tripartite Partners Come Together to Promote Corporate Social Responsibility
In a tripartite effort to emphasise the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in our local business community, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) launched the National Tripartite Initiative on Corporate Social Responsibility with an inaugural forum. The guest-of-honour for this event was Mr. Cedric Foo, Minister of State for Defence & Chairman of SPRING Singapore.
By launching this initiative with a forum, the tripartite partners hope to work closely with the members of our local business community to develop a corporate culture that places value in tackling issues like the observance of core labour standards, accountability in business practices, good corporate governance and protection of the environment.
Objectives of this Initiative
The key objectives of this project are:
1. To provide a forum for collaboration, support and sharing of information amongst the key CSR stakeholders.
2. To develop effective strategies and approaches to promote CSR.
3. To highlight and showcase successful examples of CSR.
4. To facilitate the implementation and follow up of CSR through sectoral networks or other appropriate groupings.
The Forum
At the forum, speakers like Ms Claire Chiang, Co-Chairperson of the National Tripartite Initiative, Mdm Halimah Yacob, Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC, Mr. Bob Tan, Vice-president of SNEF, and H.E. Alan Collins, British High Commissioner, provided their perspectives and experiences on CSR.
The forum, which attracted a capacity crowd of 500 participants from the affiliated organizations of NTUC, SBF and SNEF, also included a discussion session with a panel of representatives chaired by Mr. Thomas Thomas, Co-Chairperson of the National Tripartite Initiative. During this session, the audience was invited to share their thoughts, experiences and questions pertaining to developing and promoting greater awareness of CSR.
