NTUC held on 12 September 2022 an evening focus group discussion at the Sprout Hub to address the growing interest in sustainability, Enterprise, Social, Governance (ESG) issues, and the green economy.
The event was part of NTUC’s #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations. Over 70 people participated in the discussions. They include business leaders, workers, union representatives, economic researchers and government agencies.
Through the dialogue, NTUC hoped to get a better insight into how the Labour Movement can partner with companies in their transformation journey towards the green economy and understand workers’ aspirations and concerns within this space.
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng was the guest of honour at the event. NTUC Central Committee members also participated in the discussions.
Mr Ng said NTUC would continue to engage workers, employers and experts in this field through conversations to understand what a refreshed compact around work will look like as Singapore transitions towards a green economy.
He said: “We want to aid workers and companies to transit as seamlessly as possible to the green economy, achieve inclusive growth, create quality jobs for all, and manage the corresponding challenges collectively.
“NTUC will be looking to co-develop concrete ideas and ways our CTCs can work with companies to help facilitate this green transition.”
During the discussion, a poll conducted revealed that 60 per cent of the participants were optimistic and confident about being a part of Singapore’s green transition
However, 28 per cent were still unsure about what the green transition entailed, and a further 11 per cent were not confident about the green transition.
SME owner Wei-Shan Chua shared that while she fully supported the transition towards a more sustainable future, her limited manpower resource has challenges.
She said: “The challenge we face is to make time for employees to go for training, because we don’t have as much redundancy as bigger companies, and we must organise and plan for it before it can happen.
“It is a tricky balance, but it is a necessary step, and we recognise it, and I think most companies are prepared to adopt it, especially mine.”
Other participants also felt that the conversation was a step in the right direction.
Singapore University of Technology and Design Research Fellow Samuel Chng, who was part of the discussions, said: “It is good that NTUC is engaging different stakeholders from the workers to the organisations, to trade bodies and even the Institutes of Higher Learning.
“We agree that there is a need to engage in further conversations to come to a conclusion on how workers can contribute towards the green transformation in our industries.”
To support Singapore’s plans of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, NTUC will work with tripartite partners to create and safeguard jobs so that workers can continue to thrive during this transition.
NTUC will continue to partner with government agencies, companies and workers to support training and transformation efforts through its Company Training Committee (CTC) and Operation & Technology Roadmap (OTR) initiatives.
The congress will also work with government agencies such as Workforce Singapore (WSG) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), as well as Institutes of Higher Learning to identify basic and intermediate green certification Continuing Education & Training (CET) courses.
Find out more about the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations at conversations.ntuc.sg.
