Most of the time when we talk about labour unions, we picture an entity whose primary purpose is to empower workers, helping them negotiate better pay and working conditions.
But beyond that, did you know that at the height of the pandemic, the unions actually helped employers as well?
When the COVID-19 pandemic first started to spread around the globe early last year, NTUC foreshadowed the real possibility of industries winding up and workers getting displaced.
And true enough, by the end of 2020, a total of 26,110 workers were made redundant – more than 2018 and 2019 combined.
To protect both workers and companies from succumbing to the impact of COVID-19, NTUC came up with the Job Security Council (JSC) – a network of companies which could help soon-to-be displaced and displaced workers in struggling sectors find employment in others which were still doing well.
At the centre of the JSC was NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute). It was the manager of the network, gathering information on job vacancies and redundancies in advance, as well as extending help to both workers and companies.
And help it did.
Six months after the JSC was formed, the council had helped match over 20,000 workers to jobs. And by August 2021, 32,000 workers.
From a 4,000-company strong network when it first started, the JSC now has more than 10,000 companies in the ecosystem.
How are the unions involved in all of this?
Speaking to several employers, they shared that the unions were actually the bridge between the receiving and releasing companies.
One such employer was AEM Holdings, a unionised company under the Metal Industries Workers’ Union (MIWU) specialising in the field of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing.
While many companies were facing severe business challenges amid COVID-19, AEM was actually thriving.
The company attributed this to its ability to identify the market’s needs and innovate accordingly.
AEM Human Resource Director Tay Cheng Hoo said that the company spent a lot of time talking with companies in the chip testing business to understand the challenges they were facing.
He said: “We realised there was a gap in what the customers needed that was not being filled by the big Equipment manufacturers. Hence, we invested time to develop these products jointly with our customers’ inputs.”
However, the company had one challenge to overcome – manpower.
With the closing of borders, AEM could not secure their usual skilled foreign workforce.
SPI, another company unionised under MIWU, was facing a different challenge of their own.
At the height of the pandemic, it experienced severe business challenges which led the management to consider how it could reduce its cost to tide over the lull period.
So instead of retrenching workers, it joined the JSC and engaged MIWU to help connect them to the union’s other partner companies.
The excess manpower that SPI had at the time were seconded over AEM – which included three workers to manage quality assurance. AEM also took in 13 mechanical specialists from other companies within the JSC.
As the host company, AEM provided training for the seconded workers, allowing them a chance to pick up skills in new areas such as quality control.
SPI’s workers remained employed till the company was ready to re-hire them; the company managed to lower its costs while weathering the economic challenges it faced; AEM got the skilled manpower it required.
A triple-win for all parties involved.
AEM said that their union representative played a critical role during the entire process.
“Our union representative helped to link us with Swiss Precision Industries (SPI) for the secondment, supporting us throughout the entire period of the transfer,” said Mr Tay.
While Singapore’s industrial relations scene might not be a dramatic one, the unique bipartite relations that our unions and employers share simply works – mutually benefitting both employers and employees.
