In a media release on 20 Feb, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) announced that the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA) is officially registered with the Registry of Societies and has also become an affiliate of the Labour Movement.
The association aims to represent the interests of some 5,000 full-time freelance coaches and instructors by helping them “deepen their skills and competencies” to enhance their job prospects, ensuring more protection by the Prolonged Medical Insurance product, and creating better work environment.
To help freelancers adapt to the changing landscape, NICA will engage relevant stakeholders to lend their support and resources, “to create an eco-system that encourages and helps freelancers to deepen their competencies and acquire new skills.”
Highlighting several problems faced by freelancers, NICA had come up with a framework in hopes to alleviate the issues.
Through this, NICA hopes not only to strengthen the contracting practices and the professionalism of instructors and coaches but also to equip them with skills and technology to thrive in the digitalized world, NICA Protem Committee Secretary and Sports Coach, Justin Teh said.
NTUC Assistant Director-General and Director of the Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (U FSE), Ang Hin Kee shared that NTUC U FSE is already working with different freelancing communities to organize relevant training courses and masterclasses and that they are willing to work with NICA to better support freelancers.
As for income protection and medical leave insurance, NICA encourages members to sign up Prolonged Medical Leave insurance products which will provide a daily cash pay-out should the freelancer be affected by prolonged illness or injury.
With the Tripartite Standard on Contracting with Self-employed Persons in place, NICA hopes that the contracting practices will be improved through the engagement between the freelancing communities and their stakeholders. NICA also added that members are also able to seek advice from the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) on payment and other contractual matters.
NTUC and NICA will continue their efforts to form alliances with relevant partners to secure the interests of freelancers.
If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.
