5 March 2011
Bro Lim Swee Say, Minster in Prime Minister’s Office and Secretary- General of NTUC, Ambassadors, Central Committee members, partners and bros and sisters.
1. Thank you for your presence. Tonight we are celebrating two important occasions - the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and NTUC’s 50th anniversary.
2. They say pictures speak a thousand words! We wanted the pictures to speak for themselves and attest to the contributions of women and the NTUC to our growth and well being.
3. We organized the photography exhibition around the theme “All in a Woman’s Day”. The pictures depicted women in so many different roles, different ages, and different occupations and from all walks of life. We depicted women as they work, live and play on a daily basis. Many of you would find the pictures familiar – because either they speak directly to you because you are performing those roles or you could identify with them because you see women around you performing those roles. They reflect the quite dedication of women in Singapore to create better lives for themselves, their families and their community.
4. Over the last few days, we have heard many calls for support for women. There should be greater work life balance many feel. We often ask what more can the government do to help us. What we often overlook and forget is that much more powerful than subsidies, and government programmes, are the many steps taken by all those around us that can make a quantum difference. When my children were young and there were even fewer child care centres, I could always rely on my homemaker older sister to help me when my caregiver, always at the last minute, fell sick and could not care for them.
5. A few months ago, we helped a homemaker who had left her job when her second child was born to go back to work. We put her through a training programme and helped her to secure a job, but the greatest difference was the support that her husband and children gave her. Her husband was the one who spotted the NTUC WDS advertisement and asked her to try it out. Her children chipped in to do the housework. As she recounted those moments, we could see tears welling in her eyes. It meant so much to her that the family gave their strong support and backing.
6. So, government support is important but much more than that everyone around us too can play a part in helping women balance work and family. True, we now have nuclear families but I am also reminded of some women living in my constituency who sometimes pool efforts to look out for each other’s children. When one of them has to do morning shift work, she activates her network of support among neighbors whose kids are in the same kindergarten, to help send her kid to school. When any of the families need a baby sitter for a few hours, she volunteers her service. In this way, they look out for each other and help each other too.
7. Companies too can, too, can do more to support women. Companies could create more flexibility. They could certainly leverage more on ICT to so that it is possible for women to work from home, if not everyday at least some parts of the working hours. Companies like Accenture and IBM in the US are already doing this in a major way.
8. Reaching out to women is NTUC’s way of achieving an ALL CAN inclusive membership. Among our union members today, 40% are women, a much higher percentage than the workforce labour participation rate. We do not suffer the fate of many countries where women shun unions as they find them adding little value to their lives.
9. Let me conclude by dedicating this book to all our women for their dedication, commitment and passion, which have really helped us to get so far. By the same token, this is also a celebration of NTUC’s dedication to the cause of workers over half a century of huge achievements, and many more years of contribution ahead of us.
10. It leaves me now to thank our Secretary-General for gracing this occasion, always a strong supporter of our women’s cause. I also wish to thank each and every one of you for being here today. I hope that you will enjoy the photos that you seen in the book. Congratulations to all the winners and all those who submitted their entries.
I wish all our women a Happy Women’s Day.
