Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today all countries compete fiercely for investments. Companies operate across national borders, tapping on cost advantages so that they can offer the most attractive prices. Technology changes frequently also, and so new product displace the old very quickly. People call this underlying trend as globalisation. Being an open economy, we have to adapt to these changes, including dealing with job losses. To stubbornly resist or be protectionist is to risk becoming irrelevant in the long run. Once we lose our competitiveness, it will be extremely difficult to regain it. The sooner we act to adapt, the lesser the pain that we will have to bear.
Unfortunately, while this approach is necessary, it comes with some pain. Some are able to stay relevant in this global economy but others find it difficult to keep up. Our best and brightest will compete with the best and brightest in the world, and be paid the same high wages. Our less-skilled or unskilled will be competing with the millions of less-skilled or unskilled in the world. So the income gap will increase. This is not only the case in rapidly developing countries like China, but also in developed economies such as the US.
Singapore is no different. Real wage growth is slower for lower income than for other groups. In recent years, real wages for the low income has in fact declined. This group is also more vulnerable to rising costs of living, and the threat of unemployment or retrenchment.
NTUC and welfare organisations like Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society can play complementary roles in helping the lower income.
Unions work to ensure that as many people are gainfully employed as possible. We believe that the best form of welfare is to help people stay financially self-sufficient and remain actively engaged with society. This enhances their sense of dignity and self-worth.
To do this, we have to preserve jobs and enhance job security. This is why the NTUC and our affiliated unions give full support to wage-restructuring to help companies to stay afloat during downturns. NTUC is also driving the Job Re-creation programme which aims to re-create and reclaim 10,000 jobs for Singaporeans. We have had some success in the healthcare, cleaning, horticulture and education sectors. I believe we can do more, if more people will put their minds to it, and devote the time. In the community and social service sectors, some jobs could also be redesigned and reclaimed for Singaporeans or older workers.
Preserving jobs alone is not enough. Workers must have the right skill-sets to take on these jobs. This is why we place great emphasis on worker training and lifelong learning. We must continue to imbue in workers the right skill-sets as well as a positive mindset to improve their productivity. To this end, NTUC initiated schemes like the Skills Redevelopment Programme and NTUC’s Education and Training Fund.
However, there will always be those who fall through the cracks despite our best efforts. This could be due to reasons such as illness and disability, while some are simply less able to adapt quickly enough. This is where welfare organisations come in, to ensure that their basic livelihood and dignity is sustained. However, while we look after their basic necessities, we should also keep finding new ways to help them back on their feet again, or at least be as productive as they can. The “These Abled People” programme supported by the NCSS is a good example. It helps people with disabilities reconnect with society through various work opportunities such as handicraft work or simple business support services. In this way, we can help to focus more of our resources to help those who are permanently unable to fend for themselves.
Since its establishment in the 1970s, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society is today one of the more established welfare organisations in Singapore providing an impressive range of community and family support services. Today, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society runs more than fifty welfare and community programmes, ranging from homes for the destitute and Senior Activities Centres, to Family Service and Childcare centres. It serves all who need help equally, regardless of race or religion. I was told that some 16,000 people benefit from its Family Service Centres every year. 650 people benefit from having lunch and dinner delivered to their homes everyday. All in all, the beneficiaries run into the tens of thousands. More than that, it also promotes inter-religious harmony actively and aims to bring out the innate kindness in our society.
As sign of its strong commitment of service to our society, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society took over the management of the Ang Mo Kio Hospital in 2002. Running hospitals can be costly. However, this did not deter Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society from taking the plunge. Today, the hospital runs 201 beds for non-acute patients as a charity, with 2000 patients and their families benefiting every year. It is also running a deficit of almost $2.6 million.
I am pleased to be here this evening to join Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society in its triple celebrations. Tonight’s fund-raising dinner for Ang Mo Kio Hospital, I hope, will be a great success. We have had a relatively good 2004. The economy rebounded with wages improving across the board. While we celebrate and give thanks, let us not forget those who cannot fend for themselves. I urge all of you to contribute generously. Thank you.
