There are 11 gazetted public holidays in Singapore this year, and not everyone will be home celebrating them with family and friends. There are quite a number of workers who will be keeping essential services running smoothly in areas such as the civil defence, healthcare, power and gas, public transport, tourism and maritime.
A Tradition Since 1999
On the first day of every Lunar Year since 1999, the Labour Movement has established a tradition to visit workers in industries that are crucial to Singapore’s economy and thank them for their contributions to the country amidst festivities.
The New Year Visit
When the clock struck midnight, many of us welcomed the 1 January 2017 with friends and family. However, there were thousands of others who traded in their time with loved ones to man essential services in order to keep Singapore going through the public holidays.
For two years in a row, NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing has made it a point to visit workers on holiday duty.
He visited healthcare workers at the Ng Teng Fong Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital on 31 December 2016. He also spent his New Year’s Eve visiting workers responsible for our clean drinking water supply at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant of the Public Utilities Board (PUB). There, SG Chan met with operators, engineers and technicians of PUB, Sembcorp Changi NEWater Plant, and Beijing Enterprise Water Group-UES Holdings.
SG Chan Speaking to staff at Ng Teng Fong Hospital.
SG Chan gets insights to how surgical instruments are sterilised at Singapore General Hospital.
SG Chan shows his appreciation to workers from the Public Utilities Board (PUB)
SembCorp gives SG Chan a tour on the processes to ensure Singapore is provided with clean drinking water.
