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Amidst a bleak economic outlook brought upon by COVID-19, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is introducing a new care and support programme to help lower-income NTUC union members ease their burden on daily expenses. The NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) programme, worth $6 million in total, will offer eligible members up to $100 worth of assistance on daily essentials and schools supplies, with an additional $100 for each eligible school-going child.
The NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) programme applies to members with dependents staying in the same household, with Total Monthly Gross Household Income of $3,400 and below or Per Capita Income of not more than $850. For members without dependents staying in the same household, they would need to earn a Personal Gross Monthly Income of $1,500 and below. Around 29,000 members will stand to benefit from this programme, which will run yearly.
This year, to ensure timely assistance is provided to our lower-income members amidst an uncertain economic backdrop, some 17,500 beneficiaries of NTUC-U Care Fund’s 2019 voucher programmes will automatically be eligible for NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers). These beneficiaries, who will be notified in July of their auto-qualified status, need not submit any application and will receive their e-vouchers in end August 2020.
For members who meet the eligibility criteria and have not benefitted from the previous voucher programmes, application period for
NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) will be from 1 to 31 August 2020 at
www.ntuc.org.sg/ucare/apply. Successful applicants will receive their e-vouchers in end October 2020.
Mdm Ananthi D/O Tharumarajoo, 42, a member of the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union and mother of two secondary school children, shared, “I am very thankful to be able to receive $300 worth of assistance this year. I am planning to use most of it for my children’s school supplies, as their needs are most important to me. All this support truly lessens my worries as I know times are hard now and we should be more careful with our spending.”
The NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) programme comprise digital vouchers that eligible members will receive via SMS. The e-vouchers can be used to offset the cost of purchases at participating merchants such as NTUC FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets and participating school bookshops.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said, “During such challenging times, NTUC is glad to do our part to provide some relief for members in need. The e-vouchers will help members stretch their dollar on basic necessities, enabling them to continue to provide for their families during uncertain times. We have pooled together a bigger sum this year so as to help more members, and hope that this added boost can encourage members to stay safe and strong as we continue our fight against COVID-19.”
Protecting lives and livelihoods of NTUC union members
The NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) allows greater flexibility for beneficiaries to use their vouchers on either daily necessities or school supplies, depending on their needs. NTUC-U Care Fund’s long-standing Back to School and U Stretch voucher programmes have been discontinued.
The NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) is yet another care and support programme that comes on the back of the NTUC Care Fund (COVID-19), launched in March 2020 to provide one-off cash relief for eligible NTUC union members whose incomes have been greatly impacted by COVID-19. NTUC will continue to look after the welfare of our members especially during such difficult times.
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Annex A: Factsheet on NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers)
Annex B: Info on NTUC Care Fund (e-Vouchers) beneficiaries
