NTUC’s recommendations for Budget 2017 focus on four key areas that aim to ensure all working people will be able to transit and thrive successfully in the changing labour market. Here are a number of responses from within the Labour Movement family.
“Amidst the current economic climate, there is greater impetus for the Labour Movement to help working people stay competitive and be future-ready. More needs to be done to enhance job-matching efforts and narrow jobs-skills gaps as it is inevitable that jobs will evolve, and some may even become obsolete in the fast changing economy. Key to these efforts will be for the Government and the Labour Movement to work more closely to better help workers find jobs, and gain insights into new ones. Identifying new skills and translating these into training requirements will enable workers to acquire relevant skills, and enable them to take on the jobs of tomorrow. The Labour Movement stands ready to be by the side of our working people to better navigate this climate of change so as to help them stay competitive and seize opportunities of tomorrow". NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing, in a Facebook post on 17 January 2017
On Upskilling
“The recently released NTUC Budget recommendations continue to emphasise on the need for our workers to continue to learn and upskill themselves. As the training outfit within the Labour Movement,NTUC LearningHub is fully supportive of this endeavor. In the recent report on SkillsFuture, more than 120,000 Singaporeans have come forward to learn under SkillsFuture nationally. To promote this learning movement in Singapore, we will continue to step up more outreach programmes and roadshows to reach out to our workers and help them deliberate what to learn to stay relevant in an ever changing economic environment.” Kwek Kok Kwong, Chief Executive Officer, NTUC LearningHub
On Helping Mature Workers Stay Relevant
“Our union encourages its members to go for further upgrading so that they can be prepared for the hi-tech world. They can do so by learning some basic things about computers and IT, especially our members who are mature workers doing daily-rated jobs. If you don’t make an effort to upgrade, then you will end up struggling in the workplace and you will not be able to rise up the ladder. We have been arranging for them to go for courses to learn about online applications. We also encourage our mature workers to take up courses which suit their age. These are in the security and landscaping sectors. Another area is barber courses too. All these efforts are aimed at motivating our members to improve themselves.”
Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers General Secretary G Muthukumarasamy
On Protection for Workers
“The Union of Security Employees (USE) is particularly gratified that the Labour Movement has called for a review of the Government Procurement Act. Public sector procurement very often sets the benchmark for the private sector. Good practices like best-sourcing and treating outsourced employees and direct employees the same way go a long way in making the lives of our security officers better. USE is currently involved in discussions with our tripartite partners in transforming the industry. Besides enhancing the Government Procurement Act, it would also be good if we could push for a compulsory annual increment and the annual wage supplement for security officers. Most of our union’s members are outsourced workers who do not enjoy these benefits.” Union of Security Employees President Hareenderpal Singh
On Automation and Productivity
"We support NTUC’s recommendations for Singapore Budget 2017.Technology and automation are fast changing our workplaces.It is crucial for our working people to remain competitive and be future ready. Hence, it is important for tripartite partners to work together to identify the new skills necessary for the future. Productivity is key too for companies in our industry to remain competitive. UWEEI looks forward to working with our tripartite partners and our companies on their productivity journey.” United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries General Secretary Tan Richard
