In case you don’t know hor, every year’s National Day, besides PM Lee got things to say, NTUC Labour Chief Ng Chee Meng will also say something one.
Labour Chief’s National Day Message 2021: Supporting and protecting Workers Through COVID-19
Because after all, he is the LAO DA / BIG BOSS of the NTUC mah. Don’t forget that NTUC has a massive representation of workers in Singapore, representing more than 1 million workers in Singapore!
Unless you have a lot of time to read through his National Day here, if not here are the three things you need to know:
1. NTUC will continue to help workers remain relevant through Training & Transformation
As the saying goes, the only constant is change. In order to keep up with such change is to also change ourselves.
So hor, to ensure that workers in Singapore can keep up with the technological changes, the labour chief said in his National message that the NTUC will continue to align the workers’ training to companies’ transformation strategy through the formation of Company Training Committees (CTC).
2. NTUC wants to co-create a beautiful future with all workers in Singapore
Recognising that in order to create this beautiful future together, NTUC has to come in and extend help in areas where workers need help and support.
Therefore, NTUC recently formed the Youth Taskforce to engage the future workers – the youths – and to gain deeper insights into their work-life needs to better support them.
Besides the youths, NTUC is also working with stakeholders to enhance the protection of the professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), who aspire to get better jobs and want to compete on a level-playing field.
For the self-employed workers such as platform workers, the labour chief thinks that they deserve to have better work conditions and medical coverage.
Should more protection be given to Self-Employed Person and freelancers like our delivery riders?
So hor, NTUC is working hard towards fighting all these benefits for the platform workers on top of other areas to ensure that this group of workers are well taken care of and protected.
The labour chief also assured that NTUC will continue to expand the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) to cover more lower-wage workers. And it will also continue to advocates for family-friendly practices such as flexible work for the women workers.
For the older workers, NTUC championed for the extension of retirement age and restoration of CPF rates for those who wish to stay longer in the workforce. At the same time, NTUC also will continue to do more to upskill older workers so that they can keep pace with industry transformation.
3. NTUC will continue to help workers cope with the rising cost of living
The Labour Chief said: “I know the cost of living is a growing concern for many. NTUC believes the sustainable way to cope with inflation is to help our workers gain better skills to take up better jobs with better pay. We have also been working hard to keep prices of essential grocery items stable and within reach through our social enterprises such as NTUC FairPrice.”
Don’t say bo jio ah, NTUC FairPrice got this Save Every Day Coupon thingy which you can use when you go grocery shopping and buy things at a cheaper price!
Concluding his National Day message, Ng Chee Meng said that together with the tripartite partners, NTUC will work to upskill the workforce to help workers remain relevant in this ever-changing future.
“As Singapore marks our 57th birthday, let us celebrate the fruits of our resilience, preserving spirit and strategic wisdom.
NTUC will continue to innovate, refresh our compact and set bold directions forward with you. Your voice and your participation are very important. Because #EveryWorkerMatters.
Happy National Day!”
You may see his full Facebook post here.
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