SINGAPORE – Unions and workers around the world are locking horns with employers and governments by going on strike over disputes about pay, working conditions and retirement age, said NTUC president Mary Liew and secretary-general Ng Chee Meng on Tuesday.
But they added that this combative way is not NTUC’s approach to manage industrial relations.
Instead, the labour movement will “stand shoulder to shoulder” with the Government and employers, its tripartite partners, to tackle the challenges brought on by technological change and geopolitical and economic uncertainties so that Singaporean workers can thrive in the future economy, they added.
In a May Day message highlighting the labour movement’s priorities for the year ahead, Ms Liew and Mr Ng also gave updates on NTUC’s initiatives. To help workers keep pace with transformation, it has worked with companies to set up 1,300 company training committees, they said.
Since the initiative was launched in 2019, 100,000 workers have benefited, they added, urging more employers to come on board.
The two NTUC leaders, in their joint message, thanked union leaders for holding the ground, the Government for leading Singapore out of the Covid-19 pandemic and supporting workers, and the Singapore National Employers Federation and firms for protecting jobs.
They also spoke about efforts to help lower-wage workers, platform workers and tradesmen, as well as professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
For instance, by July, some 135,000 lower-wage workers in the waste management, retail and food services sectors will get higher wages through the Progressive Wage Model, which aims to increase the pay of workers by upgrading their skills and improving productivity.
NTUC has also been working with its tripartite partners to improve the retirement and housing adequacy of platform workers via Central Provident Fund contributions, among other things.
For tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians, NTUC will continue to push for the adoption of the career progression model that provides structured skills training to help them secure better prospects and wages.
Meanwhile, the work on workplace fairness legislation continues so that PMEs can benefit from fairer employment practices.
Citing these efforts, as well as others targeted at caregivers who are working, senior workers and young people joining the workforce, the two NTUC leaders said: “When we stand together, we harness collective power that will hold us in good stead.”
They pointed to the Singapore Labour Journal as an example of how tripartism can benefit workers by bringing together representatives from the unions, employers, government agencies, think-tanks and institutes of higher learning to increase awareness on issues surrounding workers’ rights.
They added that NTUC will continue to pursue such partnerships to translate research into real-world solutions.
