Story by Jonathan Tan
Rounding up the speeches by the Labour Members of Parliament, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng said that while the Labour Movement appreciates how the Government has kept workers in mind for Budget 2019, he hopes that the interests of workers will continue to be at the heart of what they do.
Recognising the value of tripartism, and how efforts by the Government, businesses and workers have led to productivity growth in the last three years, SG Ng said that the Labour Movement will continue to ensure workers are well-prepared for future challenges.
Every Worker Matters
He said that workers remain at the heart of the Labour Movement and reiterated its desire to enable workers to enjoy better wages, welfare and work prospects.
Central to this are the efforts to help workers pick up relevant new skills and knowledge. This is where NTUC wants to play a proactive role in lending its experience and expertise in supporting companies in their transformation through facilitating worker training and upskilling.
He likened the impending changes to Enterprise Singapore’s Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) to the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) where companies receive funding for productivity initiatives. Just as how companies who have benefitted from the IGP have shared the productivity gains with their workers in the form of actual wage increments, he hopes that companies who will benefit from the EDG can do the same.
Making It Real
Reiterating NTUC’s belief that a job is the best form of welfare, SG Ng said that the Labour Movement remains committed to helping better the work prospects and job security of working Singaporeans.
This is where workers have to evolve in tandem with their companies in order for successful industrial transformation to be realised. As industries progress to Industry 4.0, workers too should evolve into Worker 4.0.
The Labour Movement has been collaborating with sector agencies and companies to study what this successful transformation looks like.
An example of this outcome is the visual below, an archetype of Port Engineering Professional 4.0. While it depicts the foundational technical skills needed to meet current job requirements, it also shows that as the job role evolves, new adaptive, technical and technological skills will be necessary to enable such a professional.
With this vision of what it means to be Worker 4.0, workers will be able to be personally responsible for their own development, said SG Ng.
The Labour Movement will also work with companies to set up training committees. These efforts could take various forms, such as the collaborative approach taken by PSA’s two unions, the Port Officers Union and Singapore Port Workers’ Union, in working together with PSA management.
“I am more concerned about the outcomes than form. Whichever the form, what they have in common is that management and union must sit down together to discuss, plan and execute these very important training programmes for workers.… This may sound easy but will not be so simple to execute. However, it is a needed initiative.
“The Labour Movement, with our reach to partner unionised companies, can play our part in the Industrial Transformation. It is important to start now, even if we may not get it 100 per cent right at the first go,” said SG Ng.
Eyes on the Future
With a nod to the “Trade Union Seminar on Modernization of the Labour Movement” in 1969, and how that pivotal event had catalysed Singapore’s unique brand of collaborative tripartism, SG Ng said that it is imperative that the close cooperation between the Government and union leadership must continue, for it will be the foundation that will enable Singapore to continue being successful.
Keeping Workers in Focus: What Ng Chee Meng Said at the Budget Debate
Every Worker Matters
“Our changing demographics mean a tighter labour force, and with limited manpower growth, every worker matters. Each worker’s skills, knowledge, experience, contribute to our human capital. Our economy can only be at its best when all our workers are performing to their potential and are rewarded fairly for their productivity.”
Three Ws
“NTUC will partner our tripartite partners to enable our businesses to seize new opportunities and create wealth, so that our workers can aspire to what we in the Labour Movement call the 3Ws: better wages, welfare, and work prospects.”
Training Committees
“I am more concerned about the outcomes than form. Whichever the form, what they have in common is that management and union must sit down together to discuss, plan and execute these very important training programmes for workers… This may sound easy but will not be so simple to execute. However, it is a needed initiative. The Labour Movement, with our reach to partner unionised companies, can play our part in the Industrial Transformation. It is important to start now, even if we may not get it 100 per cent right at the first go.”
Workers At Heart
“At the heart of what our 4G leaders do, be it in the Government or in the Labour movement, workers must be at the centre. With this close political and union cooperation, we can chart Singapore’s success together so that when Singapore succeeds, Singaporeans can share in that success.”
