02 December 1999

Be it the birth of a nation or that of an infant, the run-up to the momentous occasion is always fraught with angst and uncertainty. And so it was no different with the birth of the SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union or SEEU as it is commonly called.

For many years, the Licensed Aircraft Engineers (LAEs) and Workshop Engineers (WEs) of Singapore Airlines were represented by the Aircraft Engineers Branch or AEB.

AEB existed under the aegis of the Singapore Airlines Staff Union (SIASU). Although AEB was to a large extent autonomous, there was the lack of total self-determination. Besides, the dichotomy of AEB under SIASU was manifested by the dissimilar ethos as well as the increasingly divergent aspiration of the two bodies. It was in this light that AEB had unsuccessfully tried to strike out in its own on a few occasions over the years.

Late in 1991, Singapore Airlines began to prepare the then Engineering Division for its eventual but inescapable transformation into a subsidiary company. The then Engine Overhaul Division (EOD) was to spearhead the change.

The initial if somewhat visceral reaction of the engineering staff was that of trepidation; an apprehension that was fueled by a myriad of unanswered questions.

Steering the AEB committee then was a team of almost entirely inexperienced office holders who were only a few months into the job. At any rate whatever experience that the team lacked, it made up for it with vision and imagination. Amid the cloud, the fresh team saw an unmistakable silver lining. With the Engineering Division becoming a subsidiary, the opportunity for us to form a new union was palpable. Thus began our bid to form the union we could truly call our own.

So it was on a bright and sunny Sunday morning that several key members of the AEB committee met at one of their houses. Amongst other things, the fledgling unionists were charged with the onerous task of forging a new Constitution for our dream union. Weighing carefully the implications and ramifications of clauses culled from the Constitutions of several other unions, a new Constitution was strung together.

A new union needed a new name. Understandably, with fire scorching the belly, the zealous AEB team decided to take on the mantle of representing aircraft engineers in Singapore! It was in this heady spirit that the Union of Aircraft Engineers (UAE) was proposed. Nevertheless, it was never meant to be because the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) did not think that it was appropriate for us to assume that leadership role then. We were asked to confine ourselves to the bounds of a house union. Several trips and meetings with the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and the RTU later, the name SEEU was cast. However, that was the beginning. Albeit the SEEU application was largely in order, its approval was anything but certain. It marked the onset of our arduous task of influencing and garnering the support of the powers that be.

Pari passu with the formation of SEEU was the far reaching issue of transfer of engineers from Singapore Airlines to SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) , the new subsidiary. If trying to form our own union was trying resolving the transfer issue was almost nightmarish. But for the fortitude of the new AEB team and the unwavering support of the membership, the outcome might have been significantly different.

Through it all, Mr. Charles Chong, the then Vice President of SIASU as well as an AEB delegate was a bedrock of support. Mr. Charles Chong is, of course, none other than the MP for Pasir Ris GRC and the current adviser to SEEU. While the indefatigable Mr. Chong provided us with the crucial stabilizing force, Madam Halimah Yaacob (the then NTUC Legal officer) was ever generous with her expert legal advice.

On 12 March 1992, just as was planned, Singapore Airlines hive off its Engineering arm to form SIAEC using EOD as the vehicle. The engineers in EOD became employees of SIAEC whereas virtually all other engineers were seconded to the new subsidiary company.

Breakthrough for the new union came when the RTU summoned AEB to his office. The in-principle approval for SEEU had been granted but most of the original names listed in the AEB committee as the pioneer SEEU Executive Council members were found to be ineligible on account of SEEU being a house union. These AEB committee members were technically still employees of Singapore Airlines and not SIAEC. Indeed, it was with much disappointment, given the tremendous amount of passion and effort devoted to it, that the AEB committee stepped aside to allow the former EOD AEB committee and sub-committee to lead in the registration of SEEU. That the EOD AEB committee was equally instrumental in bringing about SEEU is incontrovertible.

SEEU was formally registered on 20 January 1993.

There was no fanfare to herald the historic occasion. Neither was there any pageantry to accompany it; only many a heart that was filled with hubris. Still, there remained much work to be done.

Our close rapport with the Airline Pilot Association of Singapore (ALPA-S) yield us with a larger office at 06A, Airline House when the pilots association moved to its present premises at the SQ Training Centre. The ensuing months also witnessed the committee members going through the rigours of discussing the direction of the nascent union with the Airline Executives Staff Union (AESU), SIASU as well as the management. As the new union was without funds, we met with SIASU and NTUC to work out a mutually acceptable formula for the transfer of some of the funds from SIASU to SEEU.

Before the dust could settle, the AEB committee was already embarking on its final (as AEB) yet highly significant Collective Agreement (CA) negotiation with the management. The CA negotiation was concluded and endorsed. It also signalled the official transfer of engineers from parent company to the subsidiary company. More importantly, it marked the coming –of –age of SEEU.

While events of the past like the foregoing can quite easily be chronicled, the long term survival and sustained growth of SEEU will depend primarily on men of vision and true grit to lead it into the future.

Contributed by Assistant Foreman,
Line Maintenance,
Lee Boon Hwa
Vol 2 Dec 1999