Moving One Way, Many Ways
Where is the Labour Movement today?
And where will we be tomorrow? With these thoughts, we begin to paint a vision of a future just five years away: A Vision for Labour Movement 2011.

"LM2011 is a breakthrough in mindset. When I joined the NTUC, a union member is one who is working for an employer who recognises the union. We broke out of that mindset with the adoption of the general branch, and seamless membership in 1992. LM2011 takes the Labour Movement further. Now we aim to touch the lives of everyone, young and old.

"The Labour Movement must mean something to each one. Each one should feel proud to be a part of the Labour Movement," says NTUC Secretary-General Lim Boon Heng.

Adds NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Lim Swee Say: "We are a great Labour Movement today. But being great is not a destination - it is a journey. To continue as a great Labour Movement of tomorrow, we must not keep doing more of the same, but more of the different."

So Far So Good, Not By Chance
The NTUC Family is large: 63 unions, 9 cooperatives, NTUC Club, LinkPoints, LearningHub, the Singapore Labour Foundation and SLF management services. It is also effective.

Though many countries are faced with the problem of sticky unemployment, Singapore is able to bring ours below 3 per cent. NTUC has catered well to workers by upgrading jobs and skills.

NTUC cooperatives are doing their part, too. NTUC Income provides affordable insurance coverage for all, while NTUC FairPrice continues to take care of workers and their families with affordable grocery and household items.

"But unless we know the direction to take, we cannot sustain it because nothing happens by chance," reminds DSG Lim.

Labour Movement For All
The direction is a united one. Our Vision for LM2011 is to be a Labour Movement for all collars, all nationalities and all ages: The Labour Movement for All.

There are more collars out there than colours the Labour Movement. The Gold Collar workers - professionals, often in new and high growth sectors - have not been well reached. There are also a growing number of silver Collar workers - retirees - who should be encouraged to seek re-employment and continue as union members past retirement.

Another growing area is contract based workers, who do not have stable employee-employer relationship. These No Collar workers have not been traditionally unionised.

Foreign workers are also part of the Singapore labour force.

"We cannot assume that foreign workers won't benefit from the NTUC," points out DSG Lim. "A good question to ask is why some foreign workers at our shipyards join unions."

The answer: Because our unions customise benefits such as accident insurance to meet their needs.

It is necessary to find out more about what our foreign workers need, and how to serve them.

"We are in the Labour Movement to ensure workers have a fair working environment, and command higher wages so that their families can live better lives and are able to give their children a good start to a brighter future," says NTUC President John De Payva.

"These traditional roles will carry on but we must also look out for ways and means to create a buzz for the future of all workers in such a way that everyone wants to be part of the Labour Movement. LM2011 seeks to do just that."

LM2011 need not be just about adult workers. It can also include our young, who are the children of the workforce that the Labour Movement serves, and who will one day join the working world.

NTUC Childcare looks to up the 3,600 children under its care by a few more thousands by 2011.

A critical age group is the 18 to 25 year olds. They are just a stone's throw away from working. Any Vision of LM2011 must be infused with these youth. For them, NTUC Club can organise more hobbyist activities, recreational and competitive sports, and performing arts events.

All For Labour Movement
For the Labour Movement to succeed in serving workers of all collars, all nationalities and all ages, all entities in the NTUC Family must galvanise to strengthen the overall reach, quality and image of the Labour Movement.

Some 600 union leaders have been invited to take part in the Labour Movement Seminar that will be held in September, when they will be requested to contribute ideas as well as commit themselves to deliver All For Labour Movement.

"The vision is an exciting one. But to achieve this vision takes some change in thinking on our part. A lot of effort is required to shift people," SG Lim points out.

While we change our mindset as we create our future, we must always be guided by the mission of the Labour Movement.

We must all share the same passion in serving our workers, build new capabilities to meet their changing needs, and align our efforts and resources so that we truly achieve our Vision of LM2011.

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