prime news

THE STRAITS TIMES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8 2011 PAGE A6

Younger workers want transparent, vocal unions

BY TOH YONG CHUAN
YOUNGER workers want more transparency in dealings between unions, employers and government a departure from the behind-the-scenes approach that has thus far marked tripartism here. That is the view of the labour movements longest serving president, Mr John De Payva, 62, who retires today after 15 years at the post. He believes meeting these changed expectations will pose the biggest challenge for union leaders. Younger people dont really want to subscribe to behind-the-scenes hard work. They want us to be transparent and vocal, take nasty employers to task and even tell the Government, This is not enough, you have to do more, he said in an interview with The Straits Times. If union leaders work in standing up for workers rights becomes more visible, that in turn could help to attract more younger workers to join the labour movement, he added. There could be a bigger catch of young leaders who say, They are actually doing so much, and it didnt dawn on me they were doing all this, I think I can help, and I also want to come in and do my part, he said. Mr De Payva and several other long-serving National Trades Union Congress leaders were thanked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say on Tuesday, when they opened the three-day National Delegates Conference. It ends today with the election of a new Central Committee, the labour movements highest decision-making body. Mr Lee praised Mr De Payva for leading the NTUC through many ups and downs, crises and good times. All 10 who step down from the Central Committee today are passionate and well-respected leaders serving with workers at heart. Mr Lee singled out three for special mention: financial affairs secretary Teo Yock Ngee and vice-presidents Cyrille Tan and Thomas Tay. Provident Fund contribution and rallying workers to support the move. Recalling that episode, he said: To me, it was the first strong demonstration of tripartism. We put our trust in tripartism without knowing if employers will keep the faith. We know very well the Government will. In 1988, Mr De Payva was elected to NTUCs Central Committee. Six years later, he became a Nominated Member of Parliament. He spoke up on workplace safety, the use of CPF for part-time studies and taking errant employers to task for not paying workers CPF, among other issues. During his tenure as NTUC president, Singapore went through the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Sars in 2003 and the financial meltdown in 2008. Known for being a soft spoken but tough negotiator, he was modest about his contributions. I look at things using common sense, and I let my conscience guide me, he said. On being NTUCs longest-serving president, he said it was not something that I could even imagine. As he prepares for a new role as adviser and mentor to younger union leaders after today, it is plain that some issues still irk him. He points out two: Managers and executives who do not want to deal with unions, and labour MPs who do not speak up on labour issues. You can print that, he said firmly, because I want to send a strong message to them. On his retirement, he said: I would rather be a person who is prepared to step down rather than be a person who is asked to step down. He sits on the boards of several regional and international labour organisations, and will continue to be involved in them. And he will keep his door open to fellow unionists: Hey, I am still going to be around. I mean you need to chit-chat on issues or what, just come.

Mr John De Payva at the annual dinner of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers Union last week. Mr De Payva retires today as the longest-serving NTUC president, a post he has held for 15 years. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
Mr De Payvas journey to the top ranks of the labour movement began in 1973. As a 26-year-old accounts clerk at United Engineers, he joined the house union, becoming its branch secretary in 1975 after the union was taken over by the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers Union (SMMWU). Four years later, in 1979, he resigned from United Engineers to become an industrial relations officer at SMMWU. His manager offered to retrench him so he could get a payout, as the company was then going through restructuring. He had worked for nine years and would have received a tidy sum, but he said no. I am going into SMMWU to represent workers... My conscience wouldnt allow me to take the money, he explained. He rose rapidly through the ranks to become SMMWU deputy secretary-general in 1985 and secretary-general in 1988, a post which he still holds. Under his watch, the union grew from 12,000 members in 1988 to 83,000 today. It is now the largest union here. He first became active in NTUC in 1982, when he was made the secretary for organising, the equivalent of todays director of membership. He was to be thrown into the thick of action as Singapore headed into a recession in 1985. He remembers meeting then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to discuss a 15 per cent cut in employers Central

Stronger Sporean core in economy needed: Swee Say

Labour chief says construction, IT and shipbuilding sectors could use more locals
BY CAI HAOXIANG
LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say has identified some industries that need to buck up on efforts to hire more Singaporeans instead of foreigners. A stronger Singaporean core as he put it will deepen the roots of global companies in Singapore, and strengthen Singaporeans ownership in the economys growth. Mr Lim named construction, information technology and shipbuilding as those that the labour movement need to focus its energies on, in this regard. The secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress was addressing 1,400 unionists as well as employers on Tuesday at the National Delegates Conference to discuss the labour movements priorities for the next four years. This is the first time that Mr Lim has named industries which need to have a higher proportion of Singaporean workers. It follows on the anti-discrimination guidelines issued by a tripartite committee in October, aimed at levelling the playing field for locals in the job market. Stressed Mr Lim: For sectors where the Singaporean core is ageing, we have to refresh it as in the case of shipbuilding. For sectors where the Singaporean core is shrinking in proportion to the industry, we have to grow it as in the case of construction and IT. And sectors which lack skilled Singaporean workers can borrow global manpower but never lose sight of nurturing our local core, he added, citing as an example engine-maker Rolls Royce, which is working with agencies to train locals. As for those which are doing well in establishing a strong Singaporean core

TARGETED APPROACH
For sectors where the Singaporean core is ageing, we have to refresh it as in the case of shipbuilding. For sectors where the Singaporean core is shrinking in proportion to the industry, we have to grow it as in the case of construction and IT.
NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say
such as the wafer fabrication industry, make it stronger, he urged. A stronger Singaporean presence in various sectors will root global compa-

nies here and make Singaporeans more proud and take greater ownership of the growth and success of the Singapore economy, he said. But more importantly, it will also enhance the mutual respect and mutual acceptance between local and global manpower here. Mr Lim did not give details of steps that the labour movement will take to help strengthen the Singapore core. But interviews with unionists and industry players indicate that the root of the problem differs depending on the industry, thus requiring different remedial actions. In the shipbuilding industry, for instance, there is no shortage of Singaporeans in management jobs, said Mr Wong Weng Ong, president of the Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees Union. But the immediate supervisors of shipyard workers are in their late 50s and 60s and due to retire soon. To attract younger Singaporeans to these positions, we are working on improving their pay and work conditions. For the construction and IT industries,

the paucity of Singaporean workers is felt in the higher-level jobs. Expand Constructions chairman Von Lee said the industry has been losing many local engineers and managers over the years to other sectors like finance, which appear more glamorous. The bottom line: We need to train more engineers in schools, he said. Agreeing, IT firm Datacrafts sales director and MP Zaqy Mohamad said the IT industry talent pool lacks Singaporeans in their 20s and 30s because they are more attracted to jobs in business and finance. The trend of global companies outsourcing jobs to cheaper countries has also resulted in a smaller proportion of locals in the industry. But local workers can be groomed to take on higher-value and eventually management roles, he said. In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Lim also reiterated other priorities for NTUC, in his 2015 vision for the movement. It needs to strive for better employment terms for all, including low-wage, contract workers, older workers as well as those in white-collar jobs. Mr Lim also called for the NTUC to reach out to all government ministries and agencies, and more employers and sectors, in a more pervasive tripartism. The NTUC will also raise its membership to one million and ensure a representative mix of blue-collar, white-collar workers of all ages and nationalities. Together we can upgrade and transform, build our core and sink roots here in Singapore, said Mr Lim. haoxiang@sph.com.sg

UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

All countries have part to play, says Singapore

BY GRACE CHUA
DURBAN (South Africa): Developed countries must
show leadership in cutting their carbon emissions, but developing countries can and must contribute too, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean. He was delivering Singapores national statement, which outlines each countrys position and demands, at the United Nations climate change conference in the South African city of Durban yesterday. Ministers and leaders from more than 190 countries are in town to discuss the future of the Kyoto Protocol, as well as a legally binding deal for all countries. The Kyoto Protocol, a legal pact that requires developed nations to cut their carbon dioxide emissions, as well as other measures to help developing countries cope with the impact of climate change, will run out by the end of next year. Singapore, DPM Teo said, associates itself with the developing-country Group of 77 and China, and with the 39-member Alliance of Small Island States. At the opening of the high-level ministerial segment on Tuesday, representatives of these developing- and vulnerable-country groups pleaded for a new legally binding agreement and for international funding mechanisms to be implemented. DPM Teo said the measures agreed on in previous talks should be carried out. For example, under last years Cancun Agreements, all developed countries pledged to reduce their emissions, and developing countries undertook nationally appropriate mitigation actions. By UN estimates, those pledges will result in 3-7 gigatonnes less carbon dioxide emissions. Global emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for energy alone, by comparison, were 30.4 gigatonnes last year a record high. In Cancun, governments also agreed that developing nations should get finance, technology and training to help them tackle climate change. Those must translate into concrete measures like setting up and putting money into a Green Climate Fund previously agreed on. Singapore suggested three guiding principles for the talks, which have two days left to go. One, the system to combat climate change must be multilateral, meaning every country has to play by the rules.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean delivering Singapores statement at the UN climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, yesterday.
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES

Two, there should be transparency, meaning countries must be able to measure, report and verify that they made the emissions cuts they pledged. And three, there should be universal participation, meaning all countries must participate according to their respective abilities. What this means is that the developed countries have to show leadership in emissions reductions. But developing countries too, can and must make a contribution to the process, taking into account their national circumstances and constraints, he said. Some 90 countries have already pledged to reduce their carbon emissions, he said, but we need to encourage others to come forward and make their pledge. Singapore had pledged in 2009 at the Copenhagen conference to cut carbon emissions by between 7 and 11 per cent without a legally binding agreement and 16 per cent with one. DPM Teo outlined some of the actions that Singapore has already taken: switching from fuel oil to natural gas, which cuts carbon emissions, and implementing vehicle quotas and usage constraints like Electronic Road Pricing. It also has research programmes in clean technologies, such as solar energy, electric vehicles and a new centre set up with Shanghai Jiaotong University this week to study energy from waste and pollution monitoring. And as a member of the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Mr Teo said, Singapore is also working towards multilateral measures to cut emissions in the international maritime and aviation sectors. Through these efforts, we hope to develop effective solutions that can address the challenges faced by Singapore, and also contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change, he said. See reports, World Page A28