Every day, the cleaners at the NTUC Centre at One Marina Boulevard (OMB) do more than just keep the place spic and span, they do it with a smile that brightens everyone’s day. In June, it was the Labour Movement’s turn to brighten their day with a special lunch treat served by NTUC Assistant Secretaries-General, Zainal Sapari and Cham Hui Fong, along with several NTUC directors and management partners.
The 58 invited cleaners also received a S$92-red packet each thanks to staff of the NTUC Research and Administration Unit (ARU) who collected over S$5,000 from the centre’s employees for the red packets.
At MediaCorp, 45 cleaning staff were treated to a sumptuous spread by the Singapore Union of Broadcasting Employees (SUBE) at the staff canteen, serenaded with popular tunes by a two-piece band. The cleaners also received a S$50 -voucher as a token of appreciation. Mr Cham was again on hand to serve the cleaners their meals.
“It warms my heart to know that all of us are recognised. I also have the opportunity to sit down, enjoy a good meal and chat with my colleagues,” said cleaning staff, Josephine Chua, 73.
The Union of Security Employees’ (USE), Securus Private Limited as well as Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union’s (BATU) Cleaning Express Group got head start in the U Appreciate movement.
USE President, Hareenderpal Singh; and Securus Managing Director, Thiru Kumaran, visited several job sites in May to show their support of employees for their work and to hand out NTUC FairPrice vouchers worth S$40 each to 61 workers.
From late April to early May, the Cleaning Express Group of cleaning, landscape and pest control companies distributed NTUC FairPrice vouchers worth between S$20 and S$30 to about 800 workers.
“It’s our way of thanking the workers for their significant contributions to the company and economy, despite the labour crunch,” said Abdul Aziz Yusof, Chief Operating Officer, Cleaning Express.
Original article written by Naseema Banu Maideen and Florina Oo, and can be found in NTUC This Week (29 June 2014)
