Comrade Ong Poh Huat, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, let me congratulate you on the 50th Anniversary of your union. For fifty years Singapore Bank Employees’ Union (SBEU) has represented the interests of bank employees and staff and continues to be as strong as ever. This is indeed something to be proud of.
How do we continue to serve members? This evening, I would like to share with you my thoughts on the subject.
Current Membership Numbers
As at September 2004, total union membership stands at 444,000 with 238,000 Ordinary Branch members, 197,000 General Branch members and 8600 associate members. When I joined the NTUC in 1981, the total membership was 211,500. Therefore total membership has doubled. This has been due to the hard work of unionists such as you and friends of the labour movement. However, even though union membership is at an all time high, it does not mean that we can sit back and believe that it will not decline. The circumstances surrounding the time I joined NTUC in 1981 is quite different from current circumstances.
Changing Demographics
Comparing the profile of employed persons between 1981 and 2003, the current workforce is better educated. Those with post secondary and above have increased from 13% in 1981 to 42% in 2003. There are also more females in the workforce, from 35% in 1981 to 45% in 2003. The work force is also showing signs of aging. Matured workers classified as those more than 40 years old now occupy 46% of the employed compared to 25% in 1981. This parallels some of the changes in profiles of our membership in the same period. Beyond these indicative changes, median wages have also increased dramatically. The median monthly wages have increased from $433 in 1981 to $1800 in 2004, an increase of more than four times. Cultural norms have shifted and needs have also broadened. If we are to increase our membership numbers, we will need to focus on what we do for our members. In other words, we should be “member-centric”.
Member-Centric
Now what does it mean to be “member-centric”? The work of the NTUC and the unions center on the key constituents - our members.
We took a major step to center our membership system on the member. The old system of union membership centered on the employer’s recognition of the union, and the check-off system for collection of union membership fees. This meant a worker can only be a union member if his employer recognized the union. And when a worker changes employer for whatever reason, his union membership lapsed each time. In 1999, we introduced the seamless membership concept. When a worker joins the union, he should continue to be a member until he resigns from the union. Collection of membership fees had to change from the check-off system. So we introduced collection of membership fees by GIRO. This way, membership continues, even when the member leaves a company to join another company.
Next we decided to provide members with enhanced benefits. One of them is an insurance policy, called SLF Gift Plus. The larger the pool the greater is the benefit that can be provided to each member. So we drew it up as a scheme that covered all our members from all our unions.
Service to members in industrial relations matters has been carried out by the branch, and then through the union headquarters. Today it is still the principal means. However, the workplace has changed. It is not as convenient today as it was in the past, for a member to meet his branch official when he has a problem. Therefore our unions make use of the telephone. Some of our unions provide each member with a small card with key telephone numbers for them to call when they need services.
We recognized that not every member now has a branch at his place of work. Some are placed in the general branch category because there are insufficient number of members at his company for a branch to be set up. How then should such members be serviced? NTUC set up a call centre. Now the call centre handles close to 45,000 calls per month.
This year, we have introduced an internet industrial relations communications channel called Aunt Iris to cater to members increasing use of computers in their lives.
We have also established an NTUC website, so members can find out the answers to their queries. The NTUC website attracts more than 50,000 visitors a month, with more than 800,000 hits. Some of our unions have also set up websites. We encourage our unions to hyper-link their websites to the NTUC website.
More than 60,000 people have also registered their email addresses with us. They receive first hand labour-related news, new training courses, membership promotions and other information in their emails.
In 2002, in view of the growing interest amongst members who play golf, NTUC launched Golfkaki. Since inception two years ago, Golfkaki now has about 5000 members.
NTUC cooperatives and businesses have also gotten into the act to cater to our union members. For example, NTUC Club has modified two of its clubhouses in the downtown area at Union Square at Amara hotel and Paradigm at Singapore Shopping Centre to cater to the younger members.
More prominently, I am sure you are also aware that NTUC Membership department and NTUC Link has collaborated with OCBC to develop the NTUC-OCBC visa card to allow our members more flexibility to pay union dues and also enjoy the lifestyle benefits that union members’ desire.
More Can Be Done
However, despite all those that I have mentioned, we should not believe that that will be sufficient. There is a lot more that we can do if we put our minds to it. There are things that we can do at NTUC level and that is to identify national trends, changing profiles and emerging interest groups to coordinate and seed benefits for members. But being member-centric is also about customizing and personalizing. In that sense, there is a lot that can be done at the local level by the unions. Unions and unionists are the personal face to our members. Unions are closest to our members and will be able to feel the pulse of its membership directly during your encounters with your members during discussions on collective agreements, grievances handling, union events, organizing and daily work. You will have an intuitive feel of what our members need and want. But beyond that, there is also much that can be sieved out from studying the profile of your members.
Once you have determined what your members’ needs are, then it is your duty to act: orientate your structure, activities and effort to service those member needs. Do not allow old practices and constraints bind you to think that new ways cannot be done. Allow yourselves to think and act out of the box in order to serve members better. Therefore, I encourage you to think of new ideas, implement them and also share them with other unions and NTUC so that collectively we can serve our members better.
Financial Services
The Financial Services Sector continues to grow despite continued consolidation among financial institutions to enhance their market position and to remain competitive. Employment figures in the sector are rising especially in wealth and asset management, capital and debt markets as well as middle and back office operations. The qualifications of new employees are higher, and older employees have been upgraded. You will have to consider how you can serve a higher skilled membership.
You have contributed much to the development of the financial services industry in Singapore. The financial services industry in Singapore has been and continues to be a key pillar of our economy accounting for up to 12% of our GDP. The harmonious tripartite relationship and success in pushing for key initiatives such as wage restructuring and flexibility continue to attest to your willingness to embrace changes and meet challenges head on. It is encouraging and heartening to know. On this note, I wish the Singapore Bank Employees’ Union all the best in your future endeavors.
Thank you very much and please enjoy the rest of the evening.
