Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health, at the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union (SISEU) 30th Anniversary Dinner, 4 November 2011, Friday Ritz Carlton, Millenia Singapore

1. SISEU celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. The journey began in 1981, when Singapore Industrial Labour Organisation and Pioneer Industries Employees’ Union split to form the industrial unions. Starting from a membership base of 3,600, you had grown by leaps and bounds to become a 58,000 strong union today. This would not have been possible without the hard work and support of your members, the vision and passion of your union leaders and management partners. I commend you for your efforts over the past years in serving your members well.

Helping workers through improved productivity and enhancing employability

2. The global economic situation has been very volatile in recent months. US faced the possibility of a double dip while the Eurozone was plagued by concerns over the sovereign debt crisis. In Singapore, growth forecast has been moderated to around 5 per cent for the whole year. And the situation looks set to worsen next year with MAS warning a possible growth of only 3 to 5 per cent. It is therefore natural for businesses to be concerned. Against the backdrop of such uncertainties, how can we keep companies viable and create opportunities for Singaporeans?

3. Pushing for productivity growth is the way forward. Productivity improvement will help companies remain competitive. But for productivity gains to be sustainable, companies must share such gains with the workers, be it in the form of wage increase or additional bonuses. Wage increase must also be sustainable so that both management and workers achieve a win–win outcome. I am glad to note that several of your companies, such as ST Aerospace, Qioptiq Singapore, Singapore Cruise Center, Toppan Forms etc., had already embarked on productivity improvement projects. I urge you to continue the hard work.

4. SISEU is an omnibus union and represents workers from many different industries ranging from textile, aerospace, property development and even light manufacturing. Since the beginning of the year, there have been some retrenchment exercises and signs of slowdown, in particular from the textile industry. The logistics and aerospace sector, which has been performing quite well last year, has also started to see sales slowing down. Being a union, SISEU must do its best to help workers upgrade their skills, stay employable and transit to jobs of higher value.

5. Workers, on the other hand, need to adopt a positive mindset towards skills training and have the right attitude towards taking on a new job scope. This flexibility is important in enhancing the employability of the worker.

Company Awards

6. 2011 marks an important milestone for SISEU. As you celebrate 30 years of union solidarity, I am glad that you have not forgotten those who had contributed much over the years. Many of your past union leaders are present here tonight, and they are the ones who had helped to lay a strong foundation for the growth of the union. The Chinese has a saying: 饮水思源. I am happy to note that while you celebrate your achievements, you have also found ways to recognise your founding leaders. The Pearl Jubilee Awards (Individual) would be presented to some of these outstanding individuals tonight. I congratulate the recipients on your achievements and thank you for your contributions.

7. As the union grows and progresses, there will be moments where new leaders have to make difficult decisions. As a leader, you should not shun from such instances. Take pride in knowing that your decision today is for the benefit of the many workers of tomorrow. While SISEU will continue to represent workers from diverse backgrounds, you must stand united as a union. Only then will you have a strong collective voice for the workers.

Good Labour Management Relations

8. Trade Union is all about people – workers, members, union leaders, management partners, tripartite partners. It is through the support, cooperation and efforts of all parties that the union can continue to stay relevant and further the interests of your members. SISEU has been actively engaging your management partners on different platforms, such as the golf games, movie screening and CEO Breakfast Talks. These initiatives are important, as they are the bridge to understanding issues on the ground. I believe the strong foundation that was built over the years would help to spur the union to greater heights.

Conclusion

9. On this note, my warmest congratulations to your 30th Anniversary.