by Nicholas Lee
Life is full of uncertainties. No one knows what tomorrow will bring. Certainly no one would have expected Mr Karuppiah Thiyagarajan to meet with a fatal accident in India.
As a union member, Mr Thiyagarajan, an Indian national working in Singapore, was eligible for the NTUC Gift Group Insurance. Belonging to the Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees’ Union (SMEEU), Mr Thiyagarajan met with an accident when he returned back to his hometown in India last September, leaving behind his wife and two children aged eight and 13. This brought his family much distress and sorrow as he was the sole breadwinner of the family.
When news of his accident and subsequent demise reached his fellow workers, three of his colleagues liased on behalf of the union with his family in India. On 7 January 2013, his company’s Branch Chairman and Executive Committee member, Mr Lim Chee Khian, and branch officials from SMEEU presented a cheque of $20,000 to the widow of Mr Thiyagarajan, who had made her way to Singapore for the presentation.
SMEEU President Wong Weng Ong noted that the NTUC Gift is a valuable benefit for members: “This is a good example of unions helping our members’ families in their time of need. It shows that union benefits are for all members, foreign and local.”
He added: “We have been advising foreign workers in our branches to join the union - you are working far away from home and the union is your friend.”
