Speech by MR Zainudin Nordin, Director, Unit for Contract & Casual Workers, National Trades Union Congress and Mayor, Central Singapore District, at the NAtional Day Observance Ceremony Cum Roadshow for Contract & Casual Workers, held at the HDB Hub, Toa Payoh, Bedok Function Room, Basement 1, on 30 August 2008, Saturday, at 10.00 am
NTUC CC members, my Parliamentary colleagues, tripartite partners, union leaders, NTUC colleagues, invited guests and all our VIP workers here, a very good morning to all of you. Thank you for attending this very first National Day Observance Ceremony for contract and casual workers. I am happy that we can all come together to mark this special event.
1. It is often said that the sign of a successful nation is not how many millionaires it can create, but the extent to which it renders help to those who have not been able to progress as much as others. This is why we are focusing our attention today on the low wage workers of which many of them are in contract employment and are trying very hard to move up and into the economic mainstream. This event is specially organised to honour and recognise their contributions to Singapore and to assure you - the contract and casual workers - that we have not forgotten about you. You fulfill an integral role in the Singapore economy and we at UCCW will work with the government and employers to do all we can to better your circumstances.
2. Singapore, and more importantly, Singaporeans have come a long way since our independence in 1965. We have grown and progressed together from strength to strength over the past 43 years. The transformation of Singapore from a backwater economy to one of the most flexible and dynamic economies in the world is an achievement not to be taken lightly. Indeed, it has both been an arduous yet amazing journey.
3. Manifestations of progress include the number of jobs created in recent years, the growth in real wages and the low unemployment rate in Singapore. The number of jobs created in 2006 numbered 176000. 2007 was equally comparable with a record number of 172, 400 jobs being created. In the second quarter of 2008, employment grew by 70,600 – though this number is marginally lower than that of the first quarter this year, it is still higher than the job growth in the same period last year. We also noted though the world economy has been somewhat affected by the financial crisis in the US, the job market in Singapore still remains tight (DOS). Real growth in wages rose 5.9% in 2007 and typical bonus payouts averaged 2.36 months (CNA). The unemployment rate in Singapore remains low by global standards. As of June 2008, it stands at 2.3%, the same level as it was a year ago (DOS). Hence, many Singaporeans have and will benefited from such growth and progress.
4. We have heard the Prime Minister at the National Day Rally recently. The government is rolling out a series of measures and generous initiatives to help its people and to make Singapore a better place for all. I am sure many are excited about the new and coming developments.
5. More importantly, for the lower income workers that qualify, the Workfare Income Supplement or WIS would be able to top up their earnings and CPF savings in addition to other relief packages such as U-save, GST offset and growth dividends.
6. In 2001, there were 59,400 individuals on contract employment. However, as of June 2007, this number has increased by more than two-fold to 183,000. This comprises 12 % of the working population. Cleaners, labourers and related workers constitute close to 40,000 workers. Industries they work in include the cleaning, landscaping, construction and logistics sectors. They are the unsung heroes who wake up very early in the morning to clean our office, maintain the garden and ensure that we have clean roads.
7. Through our outreach programmes, we found out that many of them face long working hours, do not have many benefits, no savings, no job security, have low skills and are not interested to go for training and upgrading. For some, they even experienced drop in salaries, no statutory benefits and CPF payments. Some employers also resort to employ illegal workers to replace them.
8. It was highlighted in the Report for Wages in Singapore 2007 that among the blue-collar jobs, the lowest paid groups are the cleaners, labourers and related workers who were paid a median gross monthly wage at around $750 to $800. It was also mentioned for the past decade, all other occupational groups enjoyed wage gains with the exception for the cleaners, labourers and related workers. The highest median gross monthly wages stood at $6,101 for managers. Hence, we can see that the income disparity widens further between the lowly educated and the educated.
9. Today, I would like to appeal and call for a concerted national effort to help bring these disadvantaged workers and their families into the mainstream of our economy through concrete and active approaches that focus on self-sufficiency, advancement, assistance programmes and corporate social responsibility.
10. Every and every one of us can help to champion this cause through various ways. For example:
11. End-User or Service Buyer Companies can help influence good Employment Conditions when contracting Third-Party Services through Responsible Outsourcing.
12. In today’s globalised economy, there is an increasing trend towards outsourcing and responsible outsourcing can be a big challenge for many companies. In March this year, the Tripartite Committee on CPF and Work-Related Benefits for Low-wage Workers (Tricom) had unveiled a Tripartite Advisory on Responsible Outsourcing Practices to help end-user companies enhance the employment terms and conditions of employees of their service providers.
13. The NTUC Unit for Contract & Casual Workers (UCCW) together with our key partners like MOM, CPFB and employers have been sharing with stakeholders through a number of meetings, seminars and workshops to share ideas on best practices, gain insights and get feedback on the challenges faced. We want to strengthen the Corporate Social Responsibility and embed the Corporate Social Responsibility knowledge in all the service buyers and service providers.
14. It was very discouraging to hear that some companies appraise staff on how much cost savings they help to achieve for the company when awarding contracts without looking at the quality of work rendered by the service providers. Price is often the main determinant and service providers end up marking down their price in order to win the contract. Somehow, workers get squeezed in this vicious spiral. In many cases, workers suffered salary decline each time they work for a new employer as a result of his former employer losing the contract to a new service provider.
15. I urge all responsible service buyers to constantly check and review the contract specifications and ensure that the contract specifications are based on performance rather than on price and headcount. The contract specifications should include industry-recognised service standards, trained and experienced workers, good financial standing, fair employment terms and investment in workers’ training. Service buyers should offer longer contract tenure so that service providers are more prepared to invest in equipment and training. Last but not least, service buyers need to have audit and enforcement procedures to ensure service excellence and money well spent.
16. This approach is more sustainable and will benefit the host company as workers who are taken care of especially of their basic needs will be motivated to perform, as a result there will be less absenteeism and lower turnover rate.
17. UCCW will continue to work with the Ministries and its partners to conduct more outreach programmes to educate workers on their rights and help them to resolve their problems at their workplace. We will not spare those who repeatedly fail to rectify their wrongdoings. For companies with good practices, we will highlight their success stories with others so that more can learn from them.
18. We will work closely together to launch a concerted effort to identify and prosecute companies breaking the law and crack down on them. It is important that we raise the awareness of the employment rights and ensure that these rights are properly enforced. We should not allow unscrupulous employers who undercut honest competition and take advantage of workers who are so desperate to earn a living that they are so fearful of losing their jobs if they highlight their plights to others.
19. Last year in 2007, the Ministry of Manpower fined or prosecuted 35 employers for failure to comply with the Employment Act, an increase from 18 cases the year before. The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board also charged 181 employers for flouting the CPF Act.
20. This year in April 2008, two security agencies were prosecuted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for violating the Employment Act (EA). In the first case, the company and its director were convicted of 37 charges under the EA, on 31 March 2008, for making its security officer work more than 12 hours a day. They were fined a total of $11,100. In the second case, the Director was convicted on 1 April 2008, of 25 charges under the EA and fined $20,300 for failing to pay salary to its employees.
21. Even more recently, on the 8 August 2008, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecuted two cleaning companies and their Directors for failure to pay salaries to their employees. The court also imposed a custodial sentence on one of the Managing Director due to his inability to pay the fine.
22. To help our UCCW members to defray their expenditures and cope with rising cost of living, UCCW with the support of the government and social enterprises will continue to give out financial assistance in a form of vouchers such as NTUC Fairprice vouchers, NTUC Healthcare vouchers, U-stretch discount vouchers, Transport vouchers, Back-to-School vouchers and more to come. We are proud to share that with unity and strength of about 7,200 members, UCCW is able to offer necessity benefits to our members, including group term life insurance coverage, discounted out-patient medical care, cheap breakfast set childcare rebates, etc.
23. Today, we will be giving out NTUC Fairprice vouchers, U-Stretch discount vouchers and food coupons to our UCCW members who have been successful in their applications for the vouchers and visit us at our roadshow later today. Our partners such as MOM, CPFB, Central Singapore, Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), NTUC LearningHub, self help groups like CDAC, MENDAKI, SINDA are also here at the roadshow to offer advisory services.
24. Today, I’m very happy to announce the launch of a new training initiative, U Train, U Gain, specially put together for the low wage contract and casual workers.
25. The U train U Gain Training Initiative is a training programme specially put together to cater for the needs of contract and casual workers. Our objective is to enable our workers enhance and upgrade their skills thereby improving their productivity, enabling them attain better career prospects and hence better lives for themselves and their families. Indeed this programme comprises a comprehensive development structure, allowing them to develop their skills content for enhanced employability and life-long employment. We will analyse their skill gaps, tailor them the appropriate training package and match them to better jobs.
26. This year, at our May Day Model Workers Award, we were inspired by the recipients of the award, several who were low wage who against all odds, took ownership to go for training and upgrading. I would like to highlight two persons who are here in this room.
27. One is Mdm Norma Bte Ahmad, a Senior Facilities Services Specialist from ISS Facility Service Pte Ltd, armed with primary school education, never stop upgrading herself. After she was retrenched from a factory, she found a job as a Housekeeper with ISS at a job fair. During her employment, she attended various courses such as Housekeeping Operations conducted by ITE, Vector Control by NEA, Functional Literacy for our workers conducted by NTUC Learning Hub and Basic Supervisory skills. Early this year, she was promoted to Senior Facility Service Specialist and was given salary increment. Another worker whom I would like to mention is Mdm Aw Lye Meng, 50 years old whose limp was affected after a car accident 30 years ago. Despite her situation, she has never stopped learning. She joined LY Landscape as a landscape technician in 2006. She learnt the trade and takes pride in her work. She too was awarded the May Day Model Worker Award this year.
28. Hence, I want to let all our workers know that Nothing is Impossible if we have the will and right attitude. UCCW strongly encourage all of you to come forward to join our programmes. We will continue to work with our partners like Workforce Development Agency, NTUC Employability Enhancement Department, Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), NTUC Learning Hub to help you stay employable. We also like to thank all the employers and unions who have supported the workers in this area.
29. I am pleased to share with you today that the CPF Medisave Draw will be held later at the atrium. We would like to encourage all self employed persons and informal workers earning below $1,500 to contribute to their medisave account so that they will be eligible for workfare.
30. Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners, sponsors and social enterprises for giving us all the support and encouragement while we continue our mission to help these contract and casual workers. Though this is not an easy task, we should persevere and work closely together. We should leverage the unique tripartite relationship between government, employers and unions to enhance the lives of contract and casual workers. Everyone must play their part, both employers and employees. So, as we come together today to observe and celebrate Singapore’s 43rd National Day, let us pledge to work together for a better life for all.
Thank you!
