THE labour movement must scale up existing initiatives, do more for underserved groups such as the youth, and build a culture of innovation, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general Ng Chee Meng at the May Day Rally on Monday (May 1).

In his opening address, he noted challenges such as rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, as well as rising inequality and social issues. The labour movement is particularly focused on workers’ concerns about the cost of living, he said.

In other countries, workers are striking over stagnant wages, retirement age, unfair work conditions and the rising cost of living, he noted. But such a confrontational approach causes “lose-lose outcomes” even if the intent is good.

In contrast, the NTUC has achieved win-win outcomes, championing workers’ issues while maintaining industrial peace, he said.

With this collaborative approach, NTUC has also added value for “employer partners”, he added. For instance, the Progressive Wage Model not only improves lower-wage workers’ salaries, it also drives productivity improvements such that businesses benefit.

The labour movement has been championing the cause of platform workers and mature workers, and helped to moderate the rising cost of living through social enterprises such as NTUC Fairprice.

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Beyond these moves, the NTUC has begun its #EveryWorkerMatters Conversation engagement exercise, said Ng. In the last nine months, it engaged over 40,000 workers and heard their concerns in areas such as the cost of living, caregiving challenges, income security, and retirement adequacy.

To complement the government’s own Forward Singapore initiative, NTUC will share its key findings and insights from the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversation with tripartite partners, he said. In Singapore’s forging of its new social compact, NTUC wants to co-create an economically vibrant and inclusive country, where workers can make a good living and improve their lives.

Ng laid out three areas where NTUC needs to do more. First, the labour movement must scale up its good work, he said, focusing on the key initiative of company training committees (CTCs).

The labour movement has formed 1,301 CTCs with partner companies so far, facilitating the training of more than 100,000 workers, and helping over 400 companies in business transformation.

He reiterated the aim of having 2,500 CTCs by 2025, to drive industry transformation and achieve better outcomes for workers.

Second, NTUC must do more and better for previously “underserved” worker segments, such as the youth, said Ng.

Via its Youth Taskforce, launched a year ago, the NTUC has engaged over 10,000 youths and heard their concerns over career prospects and opportunities, finances and mental well-being.

For careers specifically, the youth desires quality internships and career mentorships, he noted. At the same time, employers have often spoken about their difficulties in recruiting and retaining young talent.

This is how NTUC conceptualised a career trial to bridge this gap, he said, giving an overview of the recently-announced Career Starter Lab pilot. Under this initiative, 100 companies will provide “high quality and structured career trials with mentorship” to youth who are just entering the workforce.

Finally, to keep pace with the evolving needs and aspirations of workers, the NTUC must have a culture of innovation, said Ng.

At the National Delegates’ Conference in 2019, NTUC set out to innovate its business, membership and training models. He gave a recap of the progress made on each front, from extending its business model into the freelancer space, to adopting an integrated approach to training.

NTUC has grown to 1.12 million members today, from 980,000 members in 2019, he noted. The NTUC’s social enterprises have also been innovating, with the setting up of the digital Trust Bank, which now has 500,000 customers.

To continue such work, NTUC must “build an innovative culture, develop the business strategies and implement decisively”, said Ng.

“Embrace an innovation culture where we dare to try and sometimes fail. And should we fail, fail fast, and learn fast, in practice, not just in the intellect. Then we go out, try again, and move towards success.”