The May Day Rally (MDR) 2018 is cause for celebration in many ways as Singapore achieved almost double the forecasted economic growth at 3.6 per cent and the highest productivity growth in seven years in 2017.
At Downtown East on 1 May 2018, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong started his MDR speech on this positive note in front of more than 1,600 union leaders, as well as tripartite, U Associate, U SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises), U FSE (Freelancers and Self-Employed) and NTUC social enterprises’ partners.
Cautioning on the factors that may cloud the outlook, PM Lee spoke of the growing trade tensions between the United States and China.
However, he said: “Regardless of what happens outside Singapore, we know what we have to do domestically: we must strengthen our economy.”
Transforming Industries
To do so, businesses have to transform and workers have to reskill to take on new jobs. PM Lee cited three sectors which have been making efforts on this front – transport, banking, and retail and logistics.
Ridesharing apps have disrupted the taxi industry in the last three to four years. Every one in two rides are booked on Uber or Grab today, when only one in five rides were pre-booked by phone five years ago.
He noted that various industry stakeholders had adapted quickly, with taxi companies partnering ridesharing providers or adopting dynamic price, and the Land Transport Authority updating the rules for new players and taxi operators.
Sharing his visit to Didi Chuxing, a major transport solutions provider in China that is working on self-driving vehicles, PM Lee hinted that similar disruptions may be heading towards the bus industry.
“When buses become self-driving, I am sure we will still need bus captains. Driving will be easier because it will be less laborious. You can just monitor what’s happening and make sure the computer doesn’t make a mistake. Bus captains will be able to give better service, expand their job, look after their passengers, and give them a safer and more reliable ride,” reassured PM Lee.
Unlike transport, disruptions hit the banking industry much earlier, from making transactions via tellers to ATMs in the 1980s, and internet banking some 20 years ago to mobile banking today. With more Fintech startups, a fourth disruption is now in the works.
PM Lee said that new services are emerging that include robo-advisors that use artificial intelligence (AI) to offer you financial advice, tailored to your needs and circumstances – how much you should save for your retirement, what sort of investment products are suitable for your profile. There are also programmes to help banks detect money laundering and terrorism financing, using big data and AI.
These are creating new jobs and opportunities – Fintech firms created 2,000 jobs in the last two years.
As digital capacities are built up, banks will have to reskill and redeploy frontline staff such as bank tellers, counter staff and call centre agents. Together with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Workforce Singapore and the unions, banks are developing Professional Conversion Programmes to do so.
E-commerce has also been shaking things up in retail and logistics.
“Delivery used to be done by the Post Office, Fedex or DHL, and would take days or weeks. But technology, like sensors, robotics and cloud computing has transformed this too. Many delivery services, like NinjaVan, now cover the last mile of e-commerce. Upstream, the warehousing business has also gone high-tech,” explained PM Lee.
While Singapore is short of land and manpower, he highlighted that logistics companies can overcome those constraints and stay competitive through new technologies such as drones to do stock-taking, and autonomous vehicles.
Cross-industry collaboration is key – logistics providers and retailers have to work closely to integrate systems and develop a seamless process. Retail employees have to pick up skills in logistics and vice versa.
Announced on 30 April 2018, the NTUC’s newest union Supply Chain Employees will be helping to drive the Industry Transformation Map for Retail, which includes a detailed skills map.
Embracing Change
PM Lee also reiterated the Government’s support for workers young and old in their upskilling journey. He strongly encouraged companies and workers to take full advantage of available schemes and programmes.
“Here, the Labour Movement plays a critical role. You provide training and upgrading for members through various platforms – e2i [employment and employability Institute], Devan Nair Institute, the Lifelong Learning Institute.
“You bring together workers with the same interests on different platforms, physically or online, to exchange experiences, network and learn together. Most importantly, you nurture in workers the mindset of lifelong learning,” said PM Lee.
Referring to the recent appointments of Prime Minister’s Office Minister Ng Chee Meng and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon as NTUC deputy secretaries-general, he said that the changes are part of Singapore’s efforts to groom fourth generation leaders for succession.
As the younger union leaders too are learning from their elders and preparing to take over the reins, he stressed the need for them to protect the trust between the Government and the NTUC, and their commitment to the tripartite relationship.
“Tripartism is fundamental to Singapore’s survival and success. If we have a secret ingredient, it is that, tripartism. It has seen us through every economic crisis and transformation,” he added.
Concluding his speech, PM Lee reminded attendees to hold fast to the values that have made Singapore successful even as we renew the country with new possibilities. They include the instinct to plan ahead, the drive to do better, the sense of mission that we are building something special together, and the duty of stewardship to the present and future generations.
Read more about NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing’s speech here.
