To help union members and their families partially defray the higher cost of living, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will distribute $4 million worth of NTUC “U Stretch” vouchers to 80,000 rank-and-file workers from May Day 2008 (1 May 2008) onwards.

Funded by NTUC, Singapore Labour Foundation and three of NTUC’s social enterprises (NTUC FairPrice, NTUC Choice Homes and NTUC Income), 80,000 union members can enjoy discounts offered by six participating social enterprise*. Valid from 1 May 2008 to 31 Dec 2008, the vouchers can be used, for example, to offset expenditure on groceries from NTUC FairPrice, school fees at NTUC Childcare Centres, and services from NTUC Club, NTUC ElderCare and NTUC Healthcare. For the complete list of participating social enterprises, please refer to ANNEX A.

The NTUC “U Stretch” vouchers** will enable union members to stretch their hard-earned dollar and in part restore their reduced purchasing power due to higher inflation.Each eligible member can use a maximum of 4 vouchers to enjoy a discount of up to 20% off their purchases till 31 December 2008. The projected inflation rate for 2008 ranges from 4.5-5.5%*** (compared to the inflation rate of 2.1% in 2007).  The 5% discount will therefore help cushion the impact of higher inflation, especially in food prices, which we are experiencing this year.