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Prime Minister, Brother Lee Hsien Loong.
Fellow Cabinet Ministers.
Sister Mary, President, and my fellow CC members, past and present.
Mr Robert Yap, President of SNEF, and partners from SNEF.
Employers, delegates, Sisters and Brothers from our Labour Movement here and our international friends.
A very good morning to all of you.
Besides me giving you the greetings for the morning, a special group of people send their best regards from Beijing, China as well. [screen shows photo]
I took some time to brief our Deputy Prime Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister Josephine Teo and former SG (Secretary-General) Chan Chun Sing, at one of our lunches before Cabinet. They send their best regards for the NDC (National Delegates’ Conference). Also, Brother Swee Say texted me this morning to wish us the very best for NDC. Our former Sec-Gen still has a heart for the unions. And of course, Brother Lim Chee Onn, who is here with us together with our retired union leaders. A very warm welcome to all of you this morning.
Appreciation
I hope all of you enjoyed the video. This is actually a small innovation and it has “automated” away the Sec-Gen’s report. Why? It is tough to be the third speaker. And it is even harder to speak after the Prime Minister. So I thought I would use a video. Jokes aside, I wanted the video to showcase not only our achievements in numbers but the process of all our union Sisters and Brothers on the ground, doing the hard work. We included all the photographs that we can capture as best as we can [to showcase] the spirit of our Labour Movement. In particular, I want to acknowledge our union leaders, our hardworking IROs (Industrial Relations Officers) and staff on the ground, working hard for our workers. Through the daily grind of serving our workers, including some who venture into Parliament to refine and change our laws so that we can better represent our working people. So that we can better protect them, whether in terms of retirement age, in terms of representation of our PMEs (professionals, managers and executives) ... they have done their utmost and they have done well. Thank you for doing such a good job in the last four years.
I also want to acknowledge our Social Enterprises. You have worked hard, as PM has also noted, to keep everyday costs affordable for our society and for our workers - to help them stretch their dollar. Your 50 cents coffee still warms my heart, even though I enjoyed only two cups for the whole month of May. I'm happy you're touching hearts by showing that the Labour Movement cares as well. Thank you, Social Enterprises!
To all our employer partners, thank you for your support. As President Mary said, sorry for giving you a hard time during our negotiations but we know our employers are fair and have a heart for our workers. Thank you for supporting us on important issues, like the retirement and re-employment ages, even CPF (Central Provident Fund) adjustments, so that our workers can have better retirement adequacy. Including now, the implementation of Company Training Committees, thank you employers for your support!
And, of course, I would like to thank the Government for their strong support over the years. The pro-business and pro-worker tripartite approach has benefited workers and our country on a sustained basis. And in particular this year, President has let it out of the bag, I want to thank the Prime Minister for Downtown South. Besides Downtown South being a place for recreation, more importantly, it is a renewed affirmation of our workers' status in Singapore – that when Singapore succeeds, the Singaporean workers have a place in our society. Thank you, PM and the Government for having workers at the heart of all our policy-making. NTUC will continue to play our part to be your partner in our collective success.
Challenges
So we have all done well in the last four years. But we should not over-congratulate ourselves.
Prime Minister has sketched out the geo-strategic uncertainties and the challenges facing all of us. And if we go a bit deeper and look at union-related trends around the world and what they mean for us as a Labour Movement, you will see even more challenges facing us. In the OECD countries, in the last 30 or so years, they've lost half of their union members – from 30 per cent unionisation rate in 1985, down to about 16 per cent. In the US, in the 1950s, they had 35 per cent of the workforce in that era. Today, it is down to 10 per cent. In Malaysia, in my conversation with my counterpart last year, he estimates that the unionisation rate is down to 7 per cent.
So many unions around the world are losing their relevance. There are people who regard unions as a destructive force. The most damaging thing is that there are unions that are losing mindshare, especially in the young today.
In Singapore, thankfully, we are still doing well. We have about 950,000 members, about 30 per cent of the workforce. Against global trends, we have grown. But we also see from the charts that the growth has tapered.
So, as a Labour Movement at this important NDC, we need to recognise our own set of challenges.
a. One, our workforce is ageing. How can we do better to enable and protect our older workers, and at the same time, up our mindshare with the younger workers entering the workforce.
b. Two, our worker profiles are changing. In the past, it was majority rank-and-file, 70:30 per cent. Today it's about half-and-half. By 2030, the ratio will be 70 per cent PMEs and 30 per cent rank-and-file. How should we look at the definition of the worker in Singapore? So that we can get both the PMEs and the rank-and-file? And stretch our hands to reach out to freelancers, workers in the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) spaces and also foreign workers in our midst.
c. Three, digital disruption is impacting the world. That goes without saying. But interestingly, have we looked at how it is impacting the Labour Movement, ourselves? Because in the daily work that we do, we can push companies and encourage them to move towards Industry 4.0. On the other hand, we are working hard to nudge our Sisters and Brothers on the ground towards Worker 4.0. Do we need to look at the impact of new technologies that will protect the very core of our unions and Labour Movement?
Should we, at this NDC, think about Labour Movement 4.0? Union 4.0? Surely, we must. These are questions that we should be asking ourselves over the next two days. But the key question that we must ask ourselves is how can we continue to be representative and relevant in Singapore's new economy, the world's new economy and the new realities facing us as a Labour Movement? In 1969, our forefathers had complex challenges. In 2019, we have challenges and opportunities. Brothers and Sisters, therefore, in this NDC, I would like all of us to propose, discuss and come up with a direction for all of us, whether its unions or associations. So that we can realise our objectives and make them real. I want to propose the following for what we must do.
I summarised my speech and I'm going to keep it short into three "I"s. The first "I" - Innovate. The second "I" – Innovate and the third "I" - Innovate. Out of these three "I"s – innovate in our union business model, innovate in our membership model, innovate in our training model. Because this will keep us relevant to the workforce. Lastly, let me talk a little bit about digitalisation so that we can realise these three business models. So, three "I"s, one "D".
Innovating Union Model
First, innovating our union business model.
Current structures have served us well. But with all the changes that are happening in Singapore and beyond, can we maintain status quo? The answer is obvious.
Therefore, we need to innovate and expand our thinking, explore new possibilities, embrace new experiments and try out new ways of doing things on the ground.
New structures. For example, take the Banking and Financial Services Union. This is a new union we formed. This was a merger between a traditional union and the Singapore fintech profession. By putting these two groups of people together, we see a rejuvenation and new purpose – an integrated purpose to bring in new members so as to continue to be relevant in the banking and financial industry. We also tried out the Supply Chain Employees' Union. This is a new union, all-collar – regardless of whether you are PME or rank-and-file, forming an Exco, sitting side by side. The President is a VP (Vice President) of a major logistics company, together with the team, building trust and championing the cause for the new workers in Singapore. All collars, building trust, to serve all workers. In this area, I know we have strong unions, but we must open up our minds.
Think about digital possibilities, not just about using digital platforms. We must open up our minds to think about digital unions – where the digital relationship connects the union and the worker. Because, as we all know in this room, all of us are now growing digital natives. We cannot do without our phones. Can we extend our possibilities and think about digital unions complementing our traditional brick-and-mortar unions? I think we can, and we must innovate. Otherwise, we will be left behind, not only forgoing new opportunities but if we don't organise, I think we will fade into obsolescence.
Besides structure, we must also look at new ways of protecting our workers.
What do I mean? Well, there are workers in Singapore, in their 40s and 50s, PMEs especially, who worry about retrenchment and losing their jobs.
This morning, some of you might have come in a Grab car and met a retrenched PME now trying to make a living as a Grab driver. At that age, once retrenched, made redundant, we all know it can be quite hard to find a similar job. Just last night, at my MPS (Meet-the-People Session), I had two residents coming to me, looking for jobs. They have been out of jobs for more than a year.
So even for PMEs who are gainfully employed, seeing their colleagues in both situations, are also worried. I personally know of classmates and some friends who are in this situation. Are the numbers large? No. But are the anxieties high? Yes.
We in the Labour Movement can see this emerging problem. Can we rethink our protection model to go upstream – partner our employers and see how we can go into the pre-retrenchment phase to help our workers? I think we can. We can discuss whether we should set up a taskforce to look into this specific problem and propose solutions that could do better to reduce the window between retrenchment and emplacements so that we can reduce anxieties on the ground.
And importantly, create win-win not just for the workers with lesser anxieties and better job placements but also companies looking at reducing costs of hiring and perhaps also retrenchment costs. This is one key innovation that we should think about.
Innovating Membership Model
Let me talk about the second innovation, our membership model.
Our first SEs started in the 70s to meet basic needs. Cheaper groceries, household items; and Income brought in insurance that was out of reach to workers in terms of insurance. The focus was on the worker.
But in modern day Singapore, while we will continue to focus on workers’ needs, can we also innovate to expand to meet workers’ life cycle needs? To create a relationship not just with the worker but with his or her loved ones as well. In other words, should we now explore family membership, to look at the life cycle needs of our workers?
Let me elaborate a little bit on this. What is a typical Singaporean family? Well, a typical family, 40-50 years old, working class, with parents that are ageing and kids that are growing up. They are middle-class, neither rich nor poor, struggling to make ends meet, with double income. They are often too busy in the weekdays to cook; often needing help to take care of their children because both are working to earn a good living; and with an ageing population, also taking care of their parents. For these members, can we rethink how we can comprehensively reposition ourselves to be a one-stop convenience, a one-stop-membership service for them?
In the morning, they drop off their kids at My First Skool for childcare; and their ageing parents who require active ageing assistance at NTUC Health, drop them at the same place, then go to work. In the evening, when they come back, they can bring both their parents and the kids for a good dinner at Foodfare or Kopitiam. And when they finish dinner as a family, immediately hop over to NTUC FairPrice to get groceries before heading home.
Can we be that one-stop convenience for our members? Well, the answer is yes, I think we can. We have already piloted one experiment in Kampung Admiralty, where the first results are promising. Meeting the needs of members and importantly, consolidating, strategising and leveraging our social enterprises’ strengths; clustered to bring new value to our members.
The LM (Labour Movement) will have to think about this and see how we can partner our Government to ease the issues of an ageing population, ease the burdens of the double-sandwiched Singaporeans and hopefully, encourage more babies as well.
So, as we move ahead, we must reinvent our membership model at NTUC. As I said, even for the social enterprises, how can we bring in new value that matters to our members and, importantly, bring these benefits in a way that makes business sense.
Innovating Training Model
The third innovation, innovating our training model.
This is more obvious. Because we have already started the Company Training Committees (CTC) to push training at the institutional level. This is an important innovation.
The critical pace of technology change means more disruption and continual learning is required to keep up with technology and hopefully, upskill to maintain a good trajectory of wage increases for workers.
So, we have started CTC implementation and we know that this will create a win-win for both the company and the worker. Over time, strengthen the partnership of bilateral cooperation, upping productivity and making workers’ work prospects better.
If I were to take a more liberal view of what is innovation, can I also encourage all our leaders here to take personal responsibility as well as nudge our workers to take action. While we innovate at the institutional level, ultimately, workers must take charge and must take responsibility for our own learning.
Over the last one-and-a-half years, I often ask all of you if you believe in lifelong learning. Everyone agrees that lifelong learning is critical. But when I ask the second question: how many of you have gone for training, the numbers drop dramatically. Many times you tell me “心有余而力不足”, means that the heart is willing but I don't have the strength.
And my Malay Brothers and Sisters will tell me, “Ibarat hendak hinggap, tiada berkaki” – I have the desire to do it but I don’t have the legs. It is also common to hear; “I have no money to do so”, “I have no time to do so”. With the Company Training Committees, NTUC and Government support, I hope the ‘no money’ part is reduced. For the ‘no time’ part, I think all of us have to play our part to step forward, take action. So that we can go on this learning journey together.
It is not good enough to just believe that it is the right thing to do. Let’s go out and do it right. Take action, act upon our convictions, communicate, so that we can encourage people around us. And importantly -– team up, because this is a long journey. If you want to go far, let's get together; the spirit of tripartism; team up with our employers, team up with fellow workers, to go on this journey together.
A-C-T. ACT. Act upon it, Comms about it, Team up.
Digitalisation
This brings me to my last point. NTUC must exploit digital technologies to enable these three innovations. We must digitalise to better serve our members so that we can implement this thinking with all of us endorsing this at this NDC.
Just stretch your imagination on what digitalisation can do for us in the area of training – if we have good data, basic data of your gender, of your work experience, learning experience, qualifications, learning history; and if we can put in an artificial intelligence (AI) engine, can we think about pushing learning suggestions to you when AI collates that you have changes in your industry, that you have not embarked on training, formal or informal; and nudge you towards signing up for available subsidies, and perhaps even give you available course slots from NTUC LearningHub.
This may be an aspirational goal, but we should aim towards it. If we can reach Union 4.0, NTUC 4.0, with new digital capabilities, we can create value for the New Worker in Singapore, and with you as a partner along this very important strategic direction to train up our workers for their success and for the economy’s relevance. If you cast the imagination a little bit further – implement it together with our membership model, with our union model, how can we “Up-Protect”, how can we “Up-Privilege”, how can we “Up-Place” and “Up-Progress” our 4 Ps that is relevant to our workers.
Regardless of rank-and-file, regardless whether the worker is PME or freelancer, can this digitalisation enable us to be representative and relevant in the new age? I think we can.
As we plan the way forward, at the heart of all the discussions that we will do today and tomorrow, let us always remember to put the worker at the heart of all of our endeavours.
The three Ws, whether it's better Wages, better Welfare, better Work prospects, all for our workers. For all the things we do as a Government, I do as a Cabinet Minister, it is all for Singapore’s success.
And for Singapore’s success, it is for our workers’ collective success. The question is can we engineer a country that we can be proud of in years to come.
There are three very important words stitched on the back of the NTUC tee shirt – Every Worker Matters. This is not intended to be just a slogan and it should never be taken as just a slogan. As we see each other, let this be a reminder that the worker is at the heart of all that we do.
So, while we build strong tripartism, strengthen our Government and employer partnerships, these in themselves are not enough. Our Labour Movement, our NTUC, must also put value on the table so that we can be equal partners in our society and continue to be that pillar for workers to engender a Singapore that we want.
As delegates, as leaders, as members here, all our leaders must have the strength of character, ruggedness and toughness to stand up on our own, to partner our Government, to partner our employers, to move ahead.
If we look back at the NTUC Modernization Seminar in 1969, it was modernise or perish. In this important NDC 2019, with all the social disruption and societal changes that are happening around us, let us set a new direction forward! Let us innovate our union business model, let us innovate our membership model, let us innovate our training model. In so doing, keeping at the heart of all we do – our workers!
Let us Dare! Let us Do! Let us map out the many “hows” we need to go about it in this seminar.
In 2019, in this NDC, may it be at this seminar that we will set a new foundation for the Labour Movement’s success forward. Let us dare, let us do. And in time to come, may future generations remember this National Delegates Conference as one where we Transform and we Thrive.
Thank you very much.
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