Welcome Address by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Chairman, Board of Governors, Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies at the Institute’s Graduation Ceremony at the Orchid Country Club at 10am on 6 Nov 2004

Mr Lim Boon Heng Secretary-General, NTUC and Minister, PMO

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Environment and Water Resources and Guest of Honour, 
Members of the Board of Governors

Graduands

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1.     On behalf of the Board of Governors it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to this year’s Graduation Ceremony. Let me first thank Minister Yaacob Ibrahim for kindly agreeing to grace our Graduation Ceremony this year as Guest-of-Honour. We look forward to listening to his perspective on the issues and challenges that we face in Singapore today. 

2.     Today’s event is a happy occasion for our graduands and for us at the Institute. It recognizes the efforts of those who have undertaken the Advanced Certificate in Industrial Relations and the Diploma in Employment Relations. I offer my hearty congratulations to each and every one of our graduands. 

3.     Last year, I spoke about the sacrifices made by many of the participants in the Diploma and the Advanced Certificate courses.  It is not easy juggling work commitments, family responsibilities and part-time studies.  Some of you in fact work on the night shift and rush off for work immediately after classes.  There are others who sacrifice overtime work for studies.  And of course besides the classes, you have your reading and projects to do which eat into precious family and free time.

4.     So we have very good reason to be happy that 59 unionists from the diploma course and the 51 from the ACIR have successfully completed their courses.   Congratulations and well done to all our graduands!

5.     I also highlighted last year the exceptional sacrifices made by one of our Diploma students, Jawiah Bte Rahmat from National University Hospital Employees Union last year.   I am pleased that Jawiah has completed her studies and will be graduating today.  Jawiah has still not fully recovered from her illness.   We wish Jawiah a solid recovery and hope she fulfils her dream of pursuing further studies.

6.     It is very encouraging that enrolment in both the diploma and the ACIR has grown steadily over the last few years.   Enrolment for the diploma has risen almost two and half time times, from 29 in 2000 to 70 this year.   For the Advanced Certificate, we have also seen an increase in recent years.

7.     Part of the reason is word-of-mouth marketing by graduates from the courses themselves, who encourage their fellow union officials to sign up.  For example, the Treasurer from the Singapore Bank Officers Association Charles Siow graduated from the Diploma class.  He in turn persuaded his Union President Frankie Tan to enrol for the Diploma.  There are also other examples of officials encouraging each other, notably in unions like AUPE, UPAGE and UWPI. I thank them all and encourage all our unionists to please continue your support.

8.     We are also very encouraged that participants find the Institute’s courses enriching their personal lives, besides providing skills and knowledge for union work. In a recent survey of past Diploma students, 4 out of 5 students (79%) felt that the diploma benefited them personally.  Several highlighted that the Diploma helped to open their minds to taking in new ideas and knowledge. Some said it was useful for decision making, communication and projecting themselves.  A few highlighted the benefits of negotiation skills  -   including one gentleman who said the diploma helped him to better negotiate with his wife. 

9.     We are delighted by another finding from this recent survey.  Close to one-third (32%) of the graduates from the Diploma course have proceeded to further studies after completing the diploma. The remaining graduates have indicated they will take up courses in future.  The Diploma was indeed aimed at providing an avenue for unionists to progress themselves.  So we are glad that this objective is being met.

10.    Some unions do not sponsor the fees for officials taking the diploma. This is understandable given their limited funds.  But it also means that some unionists have to miss out on the diploma because of financial reasons.  We hope to address this  with the introduction of ten NTUC Training Awards each year for the Diploma.  These awards are sponsored by the Singapore Labour Foundation.   Each award will cover 90% of the diploma fees and carry an allowance of $1600.  

11.    Let me say a few words also about our Certificate courses. Overall, participation in the various certificate courses increased from 706 in 2002 to 827 last year and 890 this year. This is another good sign of the seriousness with which our unionists are seeking to develop themselves. I am glad that the two new certificate series in leadership and HRM (human resource management) that we piloted last year are gradually gaining acceptance. 

12.    Another key priority for the Institute this year was to support the national wage restructuring initiative.  1284 unionists attended courses related to wage restructuring.  This is significant, when we consider that we have 8000 union officials in total.  109 management staff, from 100 companies, were also involved in wage restructuring courses.   (Other courses and talks attracted close to 3000 union and non-union  participants, including management staff of companies.)

13.    We have a solid industrial relations climate in Singapore, that allows us to attract investments, grow the economy, respond quickly to setbacks, and create jobs. The NTUC and trade union leaders have played the key role in contributing to this state of affairs.  Even in the most difficult situations, most unions have generally opted for conciliation and arbitration instead of industrial actions that damage confidence. For the record, we have not had a strike in Singapore since 1986 and this is not because unions do not have the right to strike.

14.    We have to ensure that newer generations of union leaders keep up our culture  of pro-growth unionism. Our experienced and seasoned unionists will have to engage with them regularly.  We must be able to influence newer unionists that our practice of tripartism and collaborative labour-management relations is the way forward, and is in the best interests of our workers. 

15.    The NTUC by setting up the OTC Institute and providing training grants is committed to this continuing education of union leaders, and to keeping our culture of pro-growth unionism. The government will also play its part, by giving SDF grants. And  employers must play their part. They have a stake in ensuring that unionists are well schooled in our collaborative style of labour-management relations, and in the challenges confronting companies and the workforce.  

16.    In this regard, some unions have fedback to us that getting union leave for training courses is a problem.  This could be due to genuine operational reasons, but is sometimes due to a plain lack of understanding on the part of employers.   Enlightened employers look at such training as an investment for the future. A  strong union, up to date with latest developments and practices, is an asset for the company.   By working with the union, companies are able to introduce new work processes, flexible work practices and competitive wage systems. The union also plays a role in communicating changes in the environment to employees, and building their sense of ownership over the company’s goals and strategies.    Productivity goes up, sales go up, and over time both workers’ wages and company profits go up. I urge companies to take the long view, recognise the merits of a strong and capable union, and support training for union officials.

17.    A number of employers, including some MNCs, in fact go beyond just  providing union leave.  For example, ExxonMobil pays for all the union training courses of its union officials.  Panasonic Refrigeration Devices and Singapore Power sponsor union officials for the Diploma. Many other employers make direct contributions to the unions’ education funds.  And employers like NUH even provide facilities for training, such as when the union decided to conduct the ACIR at the hospital earlier this year. I commend all such employers for their far-sightedness.

18.    Let me conclude now, by expressing my appreciation on behalf of the OTC Institute Board of Governors to all who have in one way or other contributed to the success of our efforts to provide relevant and useful training for our unionists over the last year.  Once again, my warmest congratulations to all graduates in the Advance Certificate in Industrial Relations and the Diploma in Employment Relations.