There are good practices in Singapore but there are still best practices to be picked up from around the world.
This was one of the key takeaways from NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say for 240 unionists who are also graduands from Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute.
They had come together in June to engage SG Lim, NTUC President Diana Chia and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How in a dialogue session.
There was a keen call on learning from best practices from the world and SG Lim welcomed the suggestion as he shared on how these efforts would bring about better productivity in Singapore.
It was also at this juncture that SG Lim recounted his experience as Minister for the Environment several years ago.
He said that during his stint there, “even though we were doing many things right, I held the belief that there was always someone out there doing better than us.”
He drew lessons from Geneva where he witnessed how large machinery made up of water trucks and machinery were used to wash roads every night.
Rubbish collection at scheduled times with machinery in Germany was another example.
“There are many things we can learn from these best practices of the world. We will definitely consider forming study teams to go out there and look for best practices, learn from them and bring them back to Singapore,” said SG Lim.
DSG Heng also added to the call for employers to harbour similar learning interests: “At this moment, many employers are still crying for more manpower using the current methods.
“Many employers who have the willingness do not know what to do. Therefore, such information is also very important for them.
