Coffee Shop Talk - Singapore got Union meh?

"All these wayang one lah. End of the day NTUC under gahment right? All controlled one lah."

NTUC's Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing is no doubt a minister in Prime Minister's Office, he’s even the party whip for the ruling party, People’s Action Party, but that doesn't make it "put their own people".

There’s something called the National Delegates Conference at NTUC. It’s like our General Election as it happens every four years and union leaders from all the different unions vote for people to form the Central Committee, which if the highest decision-making body in NTUC. Even if Chan Chun Sing is from the PAP, he still needs the unions’ mandate to vote for him in order to have cred and also to continue on.

Well, Chan had gotten the highest number of votes back at the National Delegates Conference back in 2015. So you can’t say everything’s controlled since it was a transparent voting process.

NTUC Ordinary Delegates’ Conference 2017 (ODC) held on 15 November 2017. Image from UnusualLabourMovement Facebook Page.

"So this unions thing actually fight for who? Got fight for us meh? I'm sure they only help those big companies right"

(To be honest, I'm quite surprised with my own tolerance over this dude. Like I could have just walked away given his attitude right.)

You are wrong. NTUC/Labour Movement supports all working people. In fact NTUC has evolved so much over the years it's no longer about banging tables, threatening to go on strikes, and rioting anymore. It's about coming to an agreement where they can come out with a win-win situation for both parties. Of course, that's when there is a dispute or sort. But on day-to-day basis, they are more progressive than that, and have different plans and programmes to help workers of different levels and different sectors.

Other than helping the rank and file workers, NTUC actually helps PMEs, SME workers and also people like myself who are freelancers and self-employed (FSEs), who are technically not unionised to begin with, and even migrant workers, helping them to know their rights, which is something that I really feel for after joining them and covering the story for this year's May Day celebrations for migrant workers.

In fact representativeness is such a big thing with them that they want to make sure they’re there to support all worker types and new forms of work.. They have set up the U FSE Unit to provide support to the emerging group of workers in the gig economy, and the National Private Hire Vehicle Association was also set up in response to the growing number of Grab and Uber drivers.

During the recent Ordinary Delegates Conference, NTUC even proposed to change its constitution to expand its network to more representativeness.

"Orh. Okay lor. So this union thing help us fight for what? Better pay? More Holiday? Got give what kind of grant?"

Actually more than just fighting for more pay and welfare with employer but the Labour Movement as a whole wants to provide an integrated suite of products and services to help Singaporeans keep up with the cost of living. It does so through its various social enterprises.

For instance, NTUC also offers help like Health Care which I've talked about before. There are other NTUC Social Enterprises to help every Singaporean stretch their dollar. One example is NTUC FairPrice’s own housebrands which is a more affordable alternative for essential products

Afterthoughts

I've no clue how much went into my friend’s head that night. I've also no idea if they will ever knock on NTUC's door for help but I've done my part as a friend sharing with him what I know. I'm totally fine with people not knowing some things, or knowing something without seeking for help but I simply can't stand people being oblivious and simply conclude that "there is no unicorn out there simple because I've never seen one." One can only offer that much help if the other ain't ready.