Young Workers
Todo Todo: For the Young Ones
Making the transition from classroom to workplace can feel like a step into some great unknown. To help young Singaporeans get a better sense of how they can score that ideal job, NTUC and the People’s Association have developed the Todo Todo platform. Available online as a website and mobile application, youths can expect profiling tools, informative articles and listings for upcoming careers fairs and networking sessions.
Also keep a look out for the Skills Marketplace events that will be taking place in the heartlands. Get connected here.
Membership Benefits
Freelancers and Self-employed: Safeguards in an Open Field
We all know that friend or family member who has struck it out as a freelancer and is doing well. While it comes with a greater amount of flexibility and autonomy, it is not without its challenges too. In the same way we enjoy support in the workplace with the Labour Movement, they too can enjoy support from fellow freelancers in the Labour Movement network through NTUC’s Freelancers and Self-employed Unit (U FSE).
Drop in here to find out more.
Back To School Vouchers
Beyond looking out for workers at their workplaces, the Labour Movement has also been doing much to support the less well-off families. More than 23,000 NTUC-U Care Fund beneficiaries comprising low-income union members and their children were invited to the 13th Back to School Fair held at the Devan Nair Institute of Employment and Employability.
In 2017, more than $3 million worth of Back to School vouchers were distributed to beneficiaries. They received a voucher booklet worth $125 for each eligible school-going child.
To learn more about NTUC’s U Care initiatives, click here.
Going Mobile
Migrant Workers’ Centre: Looking after our Foreign Friends
A different set of ambassadors, but no less important. The migrant worker ambassadors take on critical roles beyond their day jobs to help out colleagues.
There are about 1,500 such grassroots ambassadors, and the aim is to reach 5,000 by 2020. This is yet another initiative by the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) to reach out further to the migrant workers group.
The ambassadors’ main role is to be all eyes and ears to the welfare of migrant workers while being migrant workers themselves.
When a worker encounters a problem like the non-payment of salary or ill-treatment at the workplace, chances are he will turn to one of these ambassadors. These ambassadors will in turn approach the MWC to get help to look into the matter.
They play important roles like explaining Singapore’s employment laws to new arrivals and share tips on how workers can play their part in the SG Secure campaign. Since its inception in 2001, MWC has been helping migrant workers in many areas and here’s what’s in store for 2018.
The next “Come Makan With Me” will be in January 2018, where local families invite migrant workers into their homes for healthy meals.
The golf tournament for the Migrant Workers Assistance Fund will be on 6 April 2018 at the Raffles Country Club.
MWC will launch its second mobile vehicle Frieda 2 by the end of March 2018. So far, Frieda reached out to nearly 25,000 workers in 2017 and has handled close to 1000 cases since its launch in 2015.
For enquiries about the Migrant Workers’ Centre, please call its 24 hour Helpline at 6536 2692 .
Learning
An Agent towards Smart Nation Status
How is the Labour Movement reaching out to workers in the area of training? We head to training institution NTUC LearningHub.
Did you know that every Monday morning for the last nine months, LHUB conducted in-house training sessions for its management team?
In 2017, they learnt about staying “lean” in the way they work. For 2018, the focus will be on data analytics.
This will not be just for internal training sessions but for the nation as a whole, said LHUB’s CEO Kwek Kok Kwong. He added that LHUB will be working closely with government agencies, employers and unions to roll out courses to prepare workers for the smart nation city of the future.
“Our courses will address both the non-professionals who require Information Technology (IT) skills to work and the professionals who need to constantly upskill to support the IT industry.
“There will be a lot of future jobs like cloud computing or the Internet of Things and all these are important for a smart nation and need skilled professionals,” emphasised Mr Kwek.
In 2017, some 160,000 training places were taken up in various courses offered by LHUB. In 2018, IT-related courses will be rolled out to upskill both the professionals and the common man to be more IT-savvy.
For unions, LHUB will work with the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute to run training classes on IT subjects.
You can obtain more information about LHUB’s courses here.
ULeap: Learn on the Move
We frankly think this is a brilliant idea! This app will definitely come in handy when you find extra minutes or hours dragging you down at the airport, in long queues, waiting for the bus or during sleepless nights. The ULeap (Learning Enabled Through Active Participation) Applied Skills mobile app by NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) is all about learning on-the-go, with knowledge delivered in bite-sized portions.
ULeap is a crowdsourcing application where you can browse through social feeds and learn something new. Focusing on three trending topics that include cybersecurity, Internet of Things and workplace safety and health, you can also post any questions or contribute your thoughts on discussion threads.
To download the application, look for ULeap Applied Skills on either the App Store or Google Play.
Social Enterprises
NTUC FairPrice: Share-a-Textbook
Guess what other stuff the Labour Movement has been up to? It has been busy collecting textbooks for a good cause while keeping the spirit of sharing and recycling up! The NTUC FairPrice Share-A-Textbook initiative has benefited the community immensely over the years, especially less-privileged families with school-going children. About 5 million textbooks having been collected over the past 35 years since the initiative first began.
This year’s initiative held at Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability on 9 December 2017 saw more than 20,000 beneficiaries in its priority scheme qualify to collect free used textbooks that were in good condition. Missed the chance to donate your used textbooks this year? Not to worry, there’s always next year.
Look out for the next one here.
NTUC Foodfare: Healthy, Affordable Servings
Speaking of eating well, not only has NTUC FoodFare been providing food at affordable prices, they’ve also been big on serving up healthy dishes. The social enterprise has pledged to have all its food stalls use healthier cooking oil in about two years’ time and is currently providing 500-calorie meal options as part of the Health Promotion Board’s Healthier Dining Programme.
If you’re a fan of local street food, look out for the opening of its Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre coming your way soon! The two-level centre will house 42 stalls dishing out traditional hawker fare, and an entire floor dedicated to affordably-priced modern cuisine. Foodfare operates nine hawker centres, including the one in Pasir Ris, 14 food courts, nine coffee shops and 39 rice gardens island-wide.
To check out Foodfare's delicious offerings, click here.
