1. The Labour Force Survey 2007 shows an upward trend in the number of employees on term contracts - from 172,000 in 2006 to 183,000 in 2007. With an increasing pool of contract and casual workers in the labour force, the Unit for Contract and Casual Workers (UCCW) of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) aims reach out to more low-wage contract and casual workers with more and better initiatives to enhance their employability, protection and financial assurance. This is in line with the labour movement’s vision to be an inclusive one who takes care of workers of all collars, all ages and all nationalities at work, live and play.

2. Besides advocating the adoption of the Best Sourcing Initiatives so that contract and casual workers employed and supplied by third-party contractors receive basic employment terms and benefits, UCCW’s long term strategy is to help them move up the job value chain through job re-design, skills upgrading and training as higher skills lead to higher pay through higher productivity.

3. At the carnival cum road show organised by UCCW on 13 April 2008 at AMK Hub, UCCW members went through one-to-one skills assessments by the Central Singapore Community Development Council, Chinese Development Assistance Council and Singapore Indian Development Association to identify skills gaps so that they can attend appropriate subsidised training and upgrading courses. With a new set of skills, low-wage contract and casual workers could be referred to better positions that could offer better employment terms and conditions.

4. “With continuing education and training, contract and casual workers undergo re-skilling or skills upgrading to stay relevant to industry needs. With better skills, they improve their employability and are able to secure better jobs with better pay and benefits. And in the longer term, if they continue to pick up new skills and knowledge, they can adapt to market needs quickly and be gainfully employed for life.” said Zainudin Nordin, Director of UCCW, NTUC. He added, “Workers must realise and understand the importance of continuous improvement. UCCW will explore and tap on the necessary resources, and work with relevant agencies to make this happen.”

Caring for Low-wage Contract and Casual Workers at Live

5. Today’s spiraling cost of living affects every one, and low-income workers are the hardest hit. The situation is more acute to contract and casual workers as they do not hold permanent jobs with predictable and stable stream of income. To help them cope with the rising inflation, 1,000 UCCW members  received $80 NTUC FairPrice vouchers at the carnival from the labour movement. This is part of the $170,000 donation received from the NTUC FairPrice Foundation . At the event, Mr Tan Kian Chew, Director of NTUC FairPrice Foundation and Group Chief Executive Officer of NTUC FairPrice presented a donation cheque of $220,000  to Mr Zainudin Nordin, Director for UCCW and Care and Share Unit of NTUC. The FairPrice vouchers would further help low-income contract and casual workers stretch their dollars if they use it to buy house brand products at FairPrice’s chain of supermarkets.

6. Casual workers are not protected by work injury compensation, and as most contract and casual workers are low-income earners, they would not buy personal insurance policies themselves. With effect from 1 May 08, all UCCW paying members will be protected with term life insurance automatically. At no additional cost to them, they would be covered for death and total permanent disability both during and after office hours.

7. Health is pertinent to contract and casual workers as income is lost if they fall ill and are unable to work. As such, UCCW members received free health screening comprising health and lifestyle survey, height and weight measurements, as well as blood pressure, blood glucose and total blood cholesterol checks by the National Healthcare Group at the event. After the health screening, they received a personalised health report and face-to-face counseling for a healthy living and healthy body.

8. To help low-wage workers further stretch their hard-earned money, an independent financial advisory firm, First Principal Financial Pte Ltd dispense personalised financial advises to UCCW members on how to better manage income and control expenses by conducting one-to-one cash flow and spending pattern analysis with them. For longer-term financial assurance, workers and self-employed residents who were not on the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Scheme also registered at the CPF Board’s booth to start contributing to their CPF accounts; and those above the age of 35 would be able to enjoy the Workfare Income Supplement.

Caring for Low-wage Contract and Casual Workers at Play

9. Low-wage contract and casual workers, trying to make ends meet, are unlikely to spend money at movie theatres. As a caring labour movement, UCCW offered 480 free movie tickets to its members to watch movies at the Cathay Cineplex at AMK Hub with their family members . UCCW members also received $5 NTUC Foodfare vouchers to enjoy meals at the NTUC Foodfare food court at AMK Hub.

10. “This is the first time my children get to watch movie in a movie theatre,” said Mdm Khor Peng Hong, a 51 year-old school canteen helper with two sons aged 13 and 15. She added, “My whole family was very excited when we knew that we were offered free movie tickets and all of us really looked forward to today where we can watch movie in a cinema for free, eat at food court and buy groceries with vouchers. This is a special family outing for us.”

About the “Caring for U @ Live & Play” Carnival cum Road Show

11. Supported by the NTUC FairPrice Foundation, NTUC Foodfare Co-operative Limited, Ministry of Manpower, Central Provident Fund Board, Central Singapore Community Development Council, Chinese Development Assistance Council, Singapore Indian Development Association and other private organisations, the event was organised to increase awareness of the unit so that more low-wage contract and casual workers know that they can turn to NTUC for assistance if they need help; and at the same time, allow UCCW members to have a day of fun with their families.

Mr Zainudin Nordin
Director, Unit for Contract and Casual Workers &
Director, Care and Share Unit
National Trades Union Congress