President of NTUC, Mr John De Payva
Secretary General of NTUC, Mr Lim Boon Heng
NTUC Central Committee Members
Distinguished Guests
Comrades and Friends
INTRODUCTION
1. I am pleased to join you this morning for the National Day Observance Ceremony.
2. Compared to last year, I see many more happy faces amongst our workers this year. A year ago, we were just recovering from SARS. We were about to make significant changes to the CPF system. Unemployment was still high. There was much uncertainty and apprehension.
3. This year, our economy has rebounded strongly. The external conditions are much more favourable. US economy is growing strongly, and so are Japan and Southeast Asian countries. India and China continue to present opportunities. Domestically, our economy is doing well. It is not just happening in one or two sectors, but across many sectors.
4. For example, in the financial services industry, employment figures are rising, especially in wealth and asset management, the capital and debt market, and middle and back office operations. Exciting developments are taking place in the infocomm and media industry, especially with the rapid advancement in technology. The petroleum cluster continues to thrive, with significant spin-offs in other areas such as trading, logistics and finance. Barring the unexpected, our workers can look forward to better bonuses this year.
RESTRUCTURING HAS WORKED
5. Our economic recovery is not simply because external conditions have improved. We are not just being carried by the rising tide. We are doing well because over the past few years, we took bitter medicine. We cut direct taxes, retuned the CPF, and pushed for wage restructuring in a big way. We restructured our economy, and it is working.
6. Restructuring is not a problem peculiar to Singa¬pore. Look at the European countries. They are having a tough time despite the global economic recovery. A recent International Herald Tribune article described the situation. The developed European countries like France and Germany are finding it hard to adjust to the entry of new EU members, like Hungary, Czech Republic and Estonia. Jobs are flowing out to these new EU member countries, where taxes are lower and labour markets more flexible. The developed EU members are under pressure to reduce their taxes, and to drop rigid labour practices like the 35-hour work week.
7. Even in China and India, restructuring is a huge challenge. We see these as low cost, super-competitors. But large parts of their economies are uncompetitive, and need to be upgraded.
8. So in terms of restructuring, Singa¬pore is far better off than many other countries. We are fortunate to have built up strong symbiotic relations amongst our tripartite partners over the years. We stuck together as a people, made sacrifices together. So we could make the necessary changes, which put us in a good position to ride the current recovery. This is really what nation building is about.
9. In particular, our workers made big sacrifices. Many had to accept retrenchments and pay cuts in order to help companies save costs and stay viable. Many who were retrenched tried hard to look for new jobs. With the help of government and the NTUC, they made use of schemes such as the Skills Training and Employability Enhancement for Retrenched and Unemployed Workers (STEER), where they acquired new skills and successfully switched industries.
10. We are harvesting the first fruits of restructuring, but our work is far from over. Many workers still need to re-skill in order to find jobs or to keep their jobs. We need to continue to pursue wage restructuring, to make us more flexible, and more attractive to investors.
ABRIGHT FUTURE
11. The road ahead will therefore be bumpy, but it is a promising journey ahead.
12. Externally, we now have two wings to fly on, namely India and China. They present us with challenges, but also open up many exciting opportunities. Domestically, we have two engines to push us forward – manufacturing and services.
13. Let me first say something about services. It comprises a diverse range of activities, and promises many more new jobs. Besides financial services which are buzzing with activities, we expect to grow other services activities such as tourism, healthcare, education, food and beverage.
14. But to do well in services, our workers need a new set of skills and attitudes. Services is very different from manufacturing, where you sit in a factory, often by yourself as part of a production line, and focus on completing your tasks. You can work as a loner. In services, our workers have to be able to interact with people, understand their customers, empathize with them and see to their needs. Customers today are very demanding. They will no longer be happy with sales staff who just tell them what you see on the shelves is what we have and what you get. So our workers must learn how to give 5-star level of service.
15. At the same time, manufacturing will continue to be a key engine of growth. The competition is strong, but we have a lot going for us. Singapore is still the hard disk drive capital of the world, responsible for one-third of the world’s output. We are the world’s third largest refining and petrochemical centre in the world. We have 13 wafer fabs. Six of the top ten pharmaceutical firms manufacture in Singapore. We are also doing well in new areas, like the Biomedical Sciences and the Creative industries, with exciting new projects to be announced very shortly.
16. We may not be able to compete with China and India on cost, but are competitive in our own way, because we have a sound economy, a first class workforce, an excellent business environment and a reliable Government. That is why we continue to attracting investments and create many new jobs. That is why we can be confident about our future.
CONCLUSION
17. Just now, I visited the NTUC Gallery for the first time. I was struck by the many struggles and sacrifices that our workers and unions have undergone to bring the country to where it is today. Working together, our aim through the years has always been to build a strong and united country. This we have succeeded in doing
18. Thus, I am happy today to see the finance and services unions, together with their managements, come together to celebrate our National Day. This gathering reflects our shared commitment to grow the Singapore economy. We must maintain this close teamwork and harmonious labour management relations. This will be even more important in the new world economy, and for the new generation of Singa¬poreans. By working together, we will bring Singapore to even greater heights, and assure ourselves of a bright future for many years to come.
19. I wish you a Happy National Day.
