Good Morning Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen
1. I am very pleased to be here with you this morning.
2. In every society, there is a distribution of skills and a range of income levels. While globalisation has pushed wages of top earners up to internationally competitive levels, it has also exerted downward pressure on the wages of low-skilled workers. The way to raise workers’ wages is to raise to raise productivity. We are working to do so through the Job Re-creation Programme (JRP), and through upgrading of workers’ skills. This will help workers at the lower end of the spectrum enjoy jobs with better prospects and higher take-home wages.
3. However, there will always be some low-income families that face greater financial strain, going through periods of financial hardship. Through the years, we have instituted many assistance programmes to help our low income members e.g. scholarships and bursaries and hardship grants. In addition, we also provide needy members with NTUC FairPrice vouchers and transport vouchers where necessary.
4. We recognised that for low-income families, significant expenses can be incurred when preparing for their children to start a new year at school. Hence we conceptualised and announced the “Back to School” programme on 22 September 2005. The programme aims to help our lower income and needy union members defray school-related expenses for their children before they start the new school year. Under the programme, families can receive vouchers of between $100 to $300, depending on the number of children. They can use the vouchers to buy school textbooks and other related items at their schools, Popular bookshop or Bata stores, amongst others.
5. When we first started the project, we intended to reach out to 10,000 children by setting aside $1.15 million. This will be jointly funded by the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore Labour Foundation. However, over the past one month, we have received overwhelming response by our members applying for the “Back to School” vouchers. Therefore, we have decided to not only extend the deadline for the application, but also increase the funding amount by up to another $1 million. This brings the total funding of the project to $2.15 million. We hope that with the increased funding, more of our lower income and needy members and their families can benefit. I am glad to announce that so far, we have received more than 9,000 applications from our members for the “Back to School” vouchers. These vouchers are worth a total of $1.8 million, benefiting more than 18,000 school going children.
6. Our unions, too, have also played their part to ensure that we channel the assistance to members who need it most. Many of them have worked hard to reach out to the needy members. We have also 10 unions that donated their share of “Back to School” vouchers, valued at more than $56,000, to other unions with more low-income members who need it more.
7. These “Back to School” vouchers are indeed timely year-end gifts for some of their needy and low income members. For example, Mr Chee Geok Heng from the Citycab Operators’ Association earns only a monthly salary of $1,400 as a taxi driver. However, he has to support his wife, a daughter in Secondary school and triplet sons who will be taking their PSLE next year.
8. For the past years, he had to depend on neighbours and relatives to pass on old textbooks and uniforms for his children. Often, the children had to make do with incorrect-edition textbooks, or uniforms that are a bit small for his children. To save some money, he would also trim his children’s hair himself before school reopens. So we told him for this year, not only can he buy new uniforms and new textbooks for his children, he can also bring his children to the “Back to School” carnival at Downtown East or Yio Chu Kang Community Club on 10 December. There, the professional hairstylists will give his children a free neat trim before they start their new school term.
9. Another member who benefited from this scheme is Mr Alias Talib from the Keppel FELS Employees’ Union. He is a shipyard worker earning $1,500 per month. Every year end, he will need an additional $600 to purchase textbooks, uniforms and shoes for his four young children. It is especially difficult for him, because one of his children is studying in a special school. We understand the difficult situation that he is facing. Hence, although there is a cap to the number of children who can benefit from the scheme, we will make an exception to this case and award another $100 for his fourth child to help him cope with school re-opening expenses.
10. This morning’s simple presentation ceremony shows the commitment of our labour movement to do more to help their lower income and needy members. I was informed that the total value of vouchers given out by these unions amounted to $300,000, benefiting 3,000 school going children from more than 1,500 families. This would not have been possible without the support of our partners, as well as the tireless work of our union officials on the ground.
11. We do not intend to rest on our laurels. We will continue to look out for the more unfortunate members amongst us who need more help. Ours is a labour movement that dares, cares and shares. We dare to embark on tough programmes like the JRP and make it work, and to convince workers to go along with difficult decisions for their own long-term interest. We care for our members, and always remember those who are going through periods of hardship. Through our schemes, we help tide them through these periods and put them back on their feet again. We pool our resources as a labour movement and share it with those of us who need it most.
12. We hope that the vouchers will help to lighten the financial load of our lower income and needy members to prepare their children for the new school year, and bring a smile to their families this holiday season.
13. On this note, thank you and have a good weekend.
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For media queries, please contact:
Ms Chong Yan Cheng
Consultant
Corporate Communications Department
National Trades Union Congress
DID 6213 8190
HP 9797 8985
Email chongycheng@ntuc.org.sg
