ONE priority for the labour movement is securing the position of workers in the future economy, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) president Mary Liew and secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said on Tuesday (Apr 25), as they also laid out measures to help groups such as platform workers and tradesmen.

In NTUC’s annual May Day Message, the two leaders noted how Singapore’s labour market and the global environment have evolved. Workers elsewhere are “locking horns” with employers and governments, going on strike over stagnant wages, retirement age, unfair work conditions and rising costs of living.

“The combative approach is not the NTUC approach,” they said. Instead, the labour movement works with tripartite partners – the government and employers – to tackle challenges.

In the face of technological change, NTUC aims to ensure that workers keep pace with transformation and remain valuable to employers, through its training and placement ecosystem.

Some 1,300 company training committees (CTCs) have equipped over 100,000 workers with skills to secure better wages and work prospects, but more can be done, said the labour leaders.

They urged employers to work with the labour movement to transform and train workers, particularly through CTCs and NTUC’s operation and technology roadmap.

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For lower-wage workers, the NTUC will continue to support more companies in adopting the progressive wage model (PWM), where higher wages are tied to better skills and productivity. By July 2023, some 135,000 workers – including in waste management, retail and food services – will benefit from the PWM.

Liew and Ng also stressed the labour movement’s support for every worker, regardless of “profession, age or nationality”.

The NTUC is helping platform and self-employed workers get adequate work injury protection, better retirement and housing adequacy through Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, and the right to seek formal representation.

For tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians, a proposed career progression model aims to improve their wages and work prospects.

For workers who are also caregivers, especially women, the NTUC will continue to encourage employers to provide flexible work arrangements.

For older workers who wish to keep working, the labour movement will advocate further raising of the retirement and re-employment ages, having already lobbied for higher CPF contribution rates to help them grow their savings.

As for professionals, managers and executives, workplace fairness legislation is in the works, as well as support during involuntary unemployment.

Recognising young workers’ concerns about career planning, financial adequacy and mental well-being, the labour movement aims to be with them “every step of the way” in their career journey.

Singapore’s tripartism also allows the partners to “create value”, said Liew and Ng, citing the example of the new Singapore Labour Journal.

Developed by tripartite representatives, think tanks, and institutes of higher learning, the journal has increased awareness of issues surrounding employment and workers’ rights, they added. “We will continue our partnerships to translate research into real-world solutions and improve the quality of life for all workers.”