Union provides $700,000 worth of assistance to members
19 July 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
1 Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union (SISEU) will be holding its annual Scholarship, Bursary & Progress Awards Ceremony on 19 July 2009. Minister for Finance and Chairman of SISEU Council of Advisors Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the Guest-of-Honour for the award presentation where 482 awards will be given out. To encourage the students, Minister Tharman will also lead a team to read aloud a tribute to her grandmother written by a local student. The National Library Board has lent generous support by presenting a compilation of tributes to all award recipients.
2 Since September 2008, SISEU has stepped up its efforts to help its members tide through the downturn. Tapping on the NTUC U-Care Fund and its own resources, the union will provide nearly $700,000 worth of assistance to members through various channels:
a) U-Care Immediate Assistance (UCIA) – Since the launch, SISEU presented immediate relief worth $98,400 to 328 retrenched workers in the form of $300 NTUC Fairprice vouchers. Another $300,000 has been earmarked for 1,000 members who were affected by shorter workweeks or wage cuts.
b) With the help of the U-Care Bursary/Scholarship Top-up Scheme, SISEU is able to double its distribution of Scholarship and Bursary awards to $100,000 in 2009 compared $50,000 in 2008. The number of recipients has also increased from 283 to 482, about 70% more than last year. Special considerations have been given to members suffering from hardship such as retrenchment, shorter work week or wage cut. Recipients will also receive $30 worth of Popular Bookstore vouchers each to help defray their schooling expenses.
c) U-Stretch vouchers – $154,800 worth of U-Stretch vouchers were given out to our members, with more applications expected. Members are able to utilise these vouchers to receive discounts on their purchases in NTUC social enterprises. This year, the U Stretch vouchers offer a 50% off $5 purchases.
d) To keep the morale up, SISEU also stepped up its member engagement and continues to organise family bonding and leisure activities such as bowling, paint ball and movie screenings. A total of 12 events have been organised since January 2009, benefiting close to 7,000 members. Since January 2009, SISEU has provided $40,800 for members to enjoy such activities at affordable rates.
3 On the work-front, SISEU has intensified its efforts on enhancing the employability of workers. Since the launch of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), SISEU has supported the training initiatives of 28 unionised companies covering 2,600 workers. Apart from working with companies such as CapitaLand Retail Limited and Keppel Logistics Pte Ltd, SISEU has also partnered the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) when the shipping industry was badly hit by the downturn in December 2008. SISEU together with SSA, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and e2i worked together to certify SSA courses, so that affected companies in the shipping industry can qualify for SPUR funding to cut costs, save jobs and upgrade the skills of workers all at the same time.
4 Mrs. Josephine Teo, SISEU Executive Secretary said, “Thanks to the fund-raising efforts of the labour-movement, unions like SISEU have been able to do a lot more for our members, especially those affected by the downturn. We are also thankful that 42 of our management partners came forward to donate to the U-Care Fund. The money is helpful, but more importantly, it is the sense that of mutual support and encouragement that means a lot to our workers. “ Mrs. Teo is also Assistant Secretary-General of the NTUC.
5 Looking forward, SISEU will continue to Do Good by reaching out to more members who need help during difficult period of time, through the various financial assistance schemes and NTUC initiatives. We also remain committed to work closely with our management partners to send workers for re-training and up-skilling. This will not only ensure that workers’ skills remain relevant at their workplace but also to help companies gear up for the upturn.
