UWEEI’s 30th Anniversary
1 The United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries (UWEEI), celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. To commemorate this meaningful and important milestone, UWEEI has organised a series of celebration events involving more than 10,000 members so far, including a golf friendly, an anniversary dinner, an outdoor movie night and a family day. An anniversary slogan “A Humble Past, An Electrifying Future” was also created by members in a slogan contest.
2 UWEEI’s 30th Anniversary Dinner, which was held on 16 September 2011, raised $257,500 in support of the union’s charitable projects and activities for its members. The amount raised was the highest in UWEEI’s history. The activities included scholarship and bursary awards for children of union members as well as training programs for members.
3 During the dinner, UWEEI also honoured 14 companies with a special UWEEI 30th Anniversary Commemorative Award to recognise their partnership and support since UWEEI’s inception. These companies have worked hand in hand with the union to improve the welfare and employability of workers, and have made significant contribution towards the maintenance of harmonious union management relations over the three decades. Please refer to Annex A for the list of companies.
4 This morning, the union concluded its year-long celebration with a fun-filled Family Day at Universal Studio Singapore. About 7,000 UWEEI members and their families enjoyed themselves, together with Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, Chairman of UWEEI’s Council of Advisors.
5 “I’m really grateful to UWEEI for all the support given to me and my family over the years. The union has helped me not only at the workplace. It also provided me with U Stretch vouchers which helped to defray the higher cost of living. Today, UWEEI also gave me and my family a rare chance to enjoy Universal Studios! We really had fun and would not have been able to visit the park if not for the great discount provided by the union,” expressed a happy Mr Ha Koon For, who has been a UWEEI member for more than 10 years.
“The UWEEI Journey – 30 Electrifying Years”
6 At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, launched a publication, “The UWEEI Journey – 30 Electrifying Years”, to commemorate UWEEI’s humble past and to pay tribute to all UWEEI’s leaders, branch officials, members and partners. The publication contains 30 stories chronicling UWEEI’s formative years, its struggles in the early days, the challenges it faced during the various recessions and how UWEEI collaborated with management and tripartite partners to turn crises into opportunities to emerge better, stronger and more resilient.
7 The publication also captures the success of UWEEI in areas ranging from industrial relations and employability enhancement to membership outreach and youth development. Today, UWEEI has a total membership of 58,000 compared to just 30,000 when it started in 1981.
8 Mr Cyrille Tan, General Secretary of UWEEI said, “I am very happy that our members and their families are able to join us today to witness and celebrate UWEEI’s 30th birthday together. We would not have come so far without the strong support of our members, our leaders and our branch officials. They have braved hard times and many challenges with the union, and helped steer UWEEI through many stormy weathers. Together with our partners, UWEEI has worked, over three decades, to help enhance the lives of members and workers, while evolving to ensure the union’s continued relevance in a fast-changing environment.”
9 Ms Belinda Teng, who has been a union member since 1974 said, “I have been with UWEEI for 30 years because I believe the union represents the voice of the workers. The union also champions the rights of workers to ensure fair compensation and treatment of workers. I am confident that UWEEI will continue to be a strong and constructive union, to help safeguard the interests of its members, providing them with benefits, better working conditions and better lives”
Conclusion
10 As a union that protects the welfare of workers in the electronic and electrical industries, the past 30 years has been a humbling experience for UWEEI, which helped built its strong foundation. UWEEI is now ready to take on the challenges of a new economy as it works towards building a more resilient workforce that is highly productive, capable and adaptable in the future.
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