Our Pioneer Generation (PG) union leaders have contributed significantly to the economic stability and industrial peace that Singapore has enjoyed over the past decades. They played pivotal roles in tackling fractious labour issues such as massive unemployment, confrontational trade unionism and deprived working conditions in the post-war years, to shape Singapore into the modern metropolis it is today.
Pioneer unionists were lauded by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his 2014 May Day Rally speech where he noted that “these Pioneer Generation unionists convinced workers to abandon the old model of lose-lose confrontation – strikes, protests, sit-ins, riots, turbulence –to give that up, embrace a new model of tripartite labour relations, win-win cooperation. They rallied support for us to open up our economy to foreign investments and to create good jobs for workers and they worked with the political leaders to set Singapore on the path to development and to change the lives of workers for the better permanently.”
As the nation honours our Pioneer Generation, the Labour Movement is dedicating our annual UNITE Leadership Summit to our Pioneer Generation union leaders. 130 PG union leaders will be the stars of the evening at the Summit hosted by NTUC President Diana Chia and NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say on 21 November 2014. Over 500 guests are expected to attend the event. This is a rare opportunity for past and present generations of union leaders to mingle with one another and share stories of camaraderie.
In his address, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say paid tribute to the pioneers’ contribution and their service to Singapore and the Labour Movement.
UNITE Flow On Tribute
To ensure sustainable and dedicated leadership, the LM has put in place a 3-Flow Model of leadership renewal and development, namely “Flow In”, “Flow Up”, and “Flow On” (Annex A). Union delegates have been strongly supportive of these initiatives to affirm the importance of sturdy and dynamic leadership for the future.
Today, six veteran union leaders will also be honoured at the UNITE Leadership Summit 2014. These respected leaders (Annex B) have worked tirelessly with passion and dedication towards the betterment of their fellow workers, and ensured that worthy successors will continue their good work.
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