In an exclusive interview with NTUC News, Environment Minister Lim Swee Say talks about his first tasks when he returns to the labour movement

PUT aside all the talk about me becoming the next NTUC Secretary-General. Instead, let us focus on the tasks at hand to ensure the relevance of the labour movement.

With these words, Mr Lim Swee Say made clear his priority when he returns to the labour movement - to contribute to the work of NTUC under the leadership of Mr Lim Boon Heng, and to earn the trust and gain the support of union leaders and members by serving the needs of our workers.

In an exclusive one-hour interview with NTUC News, Mr Lim said he is privileged and grateful to be given the opportunity by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Mr Lim Boon Heng to serve the labour movement again.

PM Goh's decision

PM Goh, in his May Day Rally speech, had announced his decision to post the Environment Minister to NTUC.

PM Goh had said: "Boon Heng has done a great job in NTUC. But he is getting on in years.
He will be 60 in three years' time. He has asked me to post a minister into NTUC to understudy him and later, take over from him. I have decided to post Minister Lim Swee Say to NTUC."

In his usual fashion, Mr Lim Swee Say, who turns 50 this year, took a humble line when describing his response to this announcement.

He told NTUC News: "I do not take it for granted that I will be the next in line to become Sec-Gen of NTUC when the time comes. I'm fully aware that earning the trust and gaining the acceptance of the labour movement is a key pre-requisite for anyone to discharge the duties as Sec-Gen effectively."

Mr Lim, who entered politics in 1996, had previously served as NTUC's Deputy Secretary-General for almost three years. He was then appointed Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Trade and Industry in 1999.

His down-to-earth character and understanding of workers' sentiments have won him respect, and he has taken a keen interest in developing and upgrading the skills of workers. In fact, the Skills Redevelopment Programme is the result of an idea he first mooted under the guidance of Mr Lim Boon Heng.

Mr Lim also played an active role in convincing workers to take a 10 per cent Central Provident Fund cut in 1998 when the economy was hit by the Asian financial crisis.
Praises have come from no less than Mr Lim Boon Heng himself. He told reporters at the latest May Day Rally that Mr Lim Swee Say's name had come up constantly from feedback sessions on leadership succession with unionists from the industrial sector.

He, too, credited Mr Lim Swee Say for his role in redesigning jobs for cleaners. "Because of Swee Say's efforts, the cleaners are now earning a higher salary," he had told NTUC News in August last year.

Mr Lim Swee Say said his previous experience in NTUC had opened his eyes and ears to the efforts and contributions of the union movement to make Singapore a better place for all workers.

"It is a meaningful and important challenge, and I feel privileged and excited about returning to the labour movement," said the Environment Minister, who will be taking charge of industrial relations matters when he returns to NTUC as Deputy Secretary-General.

While the date of his return to NTUC has yet to be confirmed, PM Goh had said that he will understudy the current Secretary-General for two to three years before eventually taking over, if he "shapes up well".

Some unionists have asked if this understudy period was too long, but Mr Lim Swee Say said that he has much to learn from the many years of experience of Mr Lim Boon Heng and fellow comrades.

A continuous process

More importantly, time was needed for him to contribute to the work of the labour movement so as to earn the trust and gain the acceptance of the union movement at large, he said.

He said: "That whole process will take time. It is also a continuous process, because the building of trust, acceptance and support is not something that can be built overnight. It has to be gradually earned by working and learning together with our fellow unionists"

Mr Lim added: "Being effective in the labour movement is not so much about whether you know what to do, whether you have the skills and knowledge to perform the tasks.

Rather, it is more about whether one truly cares about the feeling, concerns and aspiration of our members and workers. Why? Because our workers do not care how much we know, until they know how much we care."