Our Guest of Honour Prime Minster Lee Hsien Loong
Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in Prime Minister’s Office
Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Manpower
Mr Stephen Lee, President of the Singapore National Employers’ Federation and Chairman of the Singapore Business Federation
Mr Lim Swee Say, Secretary General of the NTUC
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the tripartite partners, I welcome all of you to this inaugural event of the Singapore Tripartism Forum.
Tripartism - A Core Strength
1. Our tripartite partnership has worked well for our economy and our workers. Today’s tripartism can be traced to the formation of the National Wages Council in 1972. Over 35 years, the tripartite NWC has been instrumental in keeping wages competitive and responsive. As our economic pie grew bigger over the years, our median wage has also risen from $251 in 1974 to $1,800 for all employees by 2004.
2. Tripartite cooperation was critical for the success of our productivity drive launched in 1980. This is vital as we restructure our economy continuously. I remember at that time unions elsewhere, especially the UK unions, were resisting such change. Because our unions were consulted and involved in launching the productivity movement, we understood why it was necessary and how it would benefit our workers. So we chose a different path. Our unions supported productivity improvement. Working together as tripartite partners, we shifted from labour intensive to more capital and technology intensive operations. Our GDP per capita shot up from $10 405 in 1980 to $44 765 by 2005.
3. Training and re-skilling of the workforce is imperative for helping our people keep up with the fast changing global economy. The tripartite partners worked closely to promote worker training. The Skills Development Fund was set up in 1979. Close to $2 billion has been disbursed since the inception of the SDF. Annual training places increased from 11 000 in 1980 to 580 000 by 2003.
4. NWC, Productivity Movement and Worker Training are just three shining examples of how tripartism has worked for Singapore - to sustain Singapore’s development and the progress of our workers and our people.
A Bright Future
5. Looking ahead, the future is bright. Asia is booming. Singapore can contribute to and benefit from Asia’s renaissance. We can expand our economic space and continue to attract global leaders to invest in our region and create jobs in Singapore.
But Challenges Remain
6. Nevertheless, there are new and bigger challenges to overcome too. On the one hand, we need to build new capabilities as a value creating economy to keep creating more and better paying jobs. On the other hand, we have to address the growing social divides brought on by the fast pace of globalization and an ageing population.
7. As tripartite partners, we all share the concerns of job creation, widening income gap and raising the effective retirement age of our workforce. We all share the same vision of striving for a competitive economy and an inclusive society as articulated in Parliament when it opened in November 2006.
Strengthening Tripartism to face the Future
8. Working together, we can leverage on our solid foundation of tripartism to deepen our base and broaden our reach. It is for this reason that the Singapore Tripartism Forum is formed.
9. The STF will be a platform to engage a wider cross section of the key decision makers and opinion leaders in our business community, labour movement and the government. Its aim is to strengthen and institutionalise tripartism for economic competitiveness and a brighter future for all.
10. We are therefore delighted by the strong response to today’s inaugural STF event. There are 250 CEOs and top business leaders present. This includes leaders of various chambers of commerce and industry. We also have 250 key union leaders and 50 senior civil servants and government officials. In my 30 years in the labour movement, I cannot recall such a high level gathering for a tripartite forum.
11. Most of all, we are honoured and grateful that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is here today to kick off the Singapore Tripartism Forum, and to have a dialogue with the tripartite community. It is my pleasure to invite Prime Minister to address us. Prime Minister, please.
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For media queries, please contact:
Mr Chung Sang Pok
Principal Executive
Corporate Communications Department
National Trades Union Congress
DID: 6213 8189
HP: 9672 4112
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Email: chungsp@ntuc.org.sg
