Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute Graduation Ceremony 2009
21 November 2009
Media Release
1. One day before she was scheduled to start the first module of the Advanced Certificate in Industrial Relations (ACIR) course offered by the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute (OTC Institute), Chua Cher Meng broke her knee. She needed to undergo knee surgery immediately. But she defied doctor’s orders, popped painkillers to cope with the excruciating pain, and hobbled to class. Undeterred by her injury, she focused on her learning, took part in the course activities as much as her knee allowed, and went on to finish the rest of the modules after her surgery. Thanks to her unflinching perseverance, this feisty union leader from the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) performed well in her assignments and examinations, and came out armed with an ACIR.
2. That is the kind of grit and “never say die” spirit that distinguishes union leaders. Powered by a passion to be a voice for their fellow workers, they are the backbone of the Labour Movement. They are the ones who do the hard work on the ground, speaking up for the interests of their members, negotiating with management for a win-win outcome for both labour and management, and carrying the ground through tough policies and rough times.
3. During this worst economic crisis since Independence that Singapore is just beginning to come out of, union leaders were at the frontline, championing the Labour Movement’s battle cry to “Upturn the Downturn”, pushing its mantra to cut costs to save jobs, encouraging their members to go for SPUR training to keep them employed and employable, negotiating fair and reasonable benefits for their retrenched members, and ensuring that the Labour Movement’s suite of Care and Share initiatives like the U Care Immediate Assistance and U Stretch Vouchers reached their needy members.
4. Union leaders make immense personal sacrifices because their union work is a call to service above and beyond their regular jobs. And standing behind them is the OTC Institute – the leadership training and development hub of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The OTC Institute offers union leaders a suite of programmes covering industrial relations, labour legislation, employment practices, human resource management and leadership development. The training equips union leaders with the tools and best practices necessary to do their work on the ground.
5. Mr S Thiagarajan, Director of the OTC Institute, said, ”Union leaders work tirelessly behind the scenes to help workers and businesses, so that Singapore can continue to enjoy economic prosperity for the benefit of all workers. Unlike trade unions elsewhere in the world, they understand that Singapore’s brand of trade unionism is unique. We eschew militancy for a pro-business, pro-worker approach to solving problems. Tripartism is our hallmark. Our union leaders thus need a robust and comprehensive training framework in place to nurture them for strong and effective union leadership in a fast-changing, increasingly complex economic environment. As a dynamic and cutting-edge institute of higher learning, the OTC Institute is committed to providing this support”.
6. This year, a total of 118 students graduated from the OTC Institute’s milestone certificate and diploma programmes in industrial relations and employment relations. Of these, 56 received the ACIR; 39 received the OTC Institute – UniSim Diploma in Employment Relations (DER); and 23 received the OTC Institute – NUS Extension Professional Diploma in Employment Relations (PDER). The ACIR and DER are courses catered exclusively to union leaders, while the PDER is open to union leaders, industrial relations officers and human resource practitioners. (Please see Annex for course descriptions).
7. This year’s graduands sat for their programmes in a particularly interesting learning environment, against the backdrop of the deepest recession the world has seen since the Great Depression and Singapore has seen since Independence. They experienced a rare learning opportunity where they could directly relate their textbook knowledge on economics, industrial relations and employment relations to real-time upheaval around the world and happenings on the ground in Singapore.
8. Among the graduands in this year’s batch is Rajendran Govindarajoo, President of the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union (CIEU) and NTUC Central Committee member, who sat for the DER. His was one of the hardest hit sectors in this recession. He said, “The training I received at OTC Institute was invaluable. It helped me hone my knowledge and skills even sharper so that I could share crucial information in a timely manner with my fellow union leaders and guide them on how to deal in a hard-nosed yet sensitive way with our members and management partners. No matter where we are in the union leadership structure or what position we hold, as union leaders, training is a lifelong commitment we must undertake so that we can lead with our heads while serving with our hearts.”
9. Every year, the OTC Institute Graduation Ceremony gives out the Nithiah Nandan Award to the Top Unionist in the ACIR, and the Seah Mui Kok Award to the Top Unionist in the DER. This year, the winners of these awards are Mr Yap Chu Yong, who works as a Technical Support Officer with Nanyang Polytechnic and is the Branch Assistant Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE); and Ms Maria B Amri, who works as a Training Executive with SingTel and is a committee member of the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES), respectively. Additionally, Chu Yong clinched the NTUC Club Achievement Award, while Maria took the Shell (Singapore) Book Prize.
10. As Singapore stands in the cusp of economic recovery, the Labour Movement has called for a cheaper, better, faster economy powered by an inclusive workforce. The Labour Movement is confident of achieving this vision because of our tried-and-tested tripartism, which has risen to the occasion at each milestone of our economic history and rallied Singapore through the next phase of our economic growth. Tripartism can only work if all its three pillars stand strong. The Labour Movement will press on with its effort to evolve and strengthen its union leadership. The OTC Institute will play an instrumental role in this effort.
Issued by:
Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute
Annex
Advanced Certificate in Industrial Relations (ACIR)
Diploma in Employment Relations (DER)
Professional Diploma in Employment Relations (PDER)
