Brother Andy Lim, Chair, NTUC HCB Cluster & Vice-President, NTUC Central Committee,
Sister Julie Cheong, Co-Chair, NTUC HCB Cluster & Member of NTUC Central Committee,
Management Partners,
Distinguished Guests,
Sisters and Brothers,
A very good morning to all. It is my pleasure to join you at the inaugural Hospitality and Consumer Business (HCB) Symposium 2024.
Just not too long ago, the COVID-19 pandemic brought our airports to a standstill, casting doubts on their full recovery. This halt had ripple effects, hitting the hospitality and tourism sectors hard.
Today, we are seeing increased activity at our airports, with travel and tourism on the rise once again.
In fact, last year, Singapore achieved 13.6 million international visitor arrivals and S$27.2 billion in tourism receipts, marking almost a full recovery to 2019 performance.
This year, STB is projecting between 15 million – 16.5 million international visitor arrivals and is expecting tourism receipts to reach between S$27.5 billion to S$29 billion.
This is no mean feat as the upper bound of STB’s Tourism Receipts projection, if achieved, will be a new record for Singapore, and it will mean that we have emerged even stronger after the pandemic.1
As we keep the recovery momentum going, we must press on to shore up our competitiveness. In a way, I’m like the typical Asian parent—content with good progress, but always pushing for better.
We must continue to dream, dare and do.
Today’s symposium is thus extremely apt and timely, with the theme – “The Power of Emerging Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Driving Business and Workforce Transformation."
And, I have one key message: Take Action via three “Ups”: Upskill, Up-Membership, Uphold Tripartism!
Upskill
The first “Up” is no stranger to you – Upskill!
Upskilling provides opportunities for workers to reskill and upskill throughout their careers.
This is so that our workers continue to be relevant, and Singapore remains competitive on the global stage.
In this regard, one way NTUC value adds to both employers and workers is through the NTUC Company Training Committees or CTCs.
CTCs is an NTUC innovation that brings win-win outcomes for companies and workers.
For companies, CTC brings higher productivity as they transform their business with the grant.
For workers, CTC brings sustainable outcomes towards better wages, welfare and over a long term, better work prospects.
Since 2019, our CTCs have moved the needle, creating good outcomes for our workers and employer partners.
Just last week, NTUC announced the formation of over 2,700 CTCs across various sectors of our economy. This surpassed our target of forming 2,500 CTCs by 2025.
To date, close to 6000 workers are to benefit from NTUC’s CTC Grant.
Of which, 3 in 4 of these workers will receive an average wage increase of 5% above their annual increment,
and the remaining 1 in 4 of these workers will benefit from structured career pathways through Career Development Plan.
Beyond the two mentioned outcomes for workers, the recent enhancement allows companies to commit to a ‘Skills Allowance’ for their workers when they tap onto the Grant for their business transformation needs.
This will allow workers to benefit from acquiring the competencies needed for the change in job roles.
CTCs have successfully brought together employers and union leaders to co-create solutions that enhance productivity, improve work processes and upskill our workforce.
We will continue to deepen our partnerships with you, evident in the three MOUs signed between NTUC and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), CHAGEE2 and AI Singapore today.
These partnerships reflect NTUC’s commitment to enhancing skills development and career advancement for workers.
Let me cite an example of how CTC has helped companies.
In mid-2023, a local apparel brand, IORA3 Group, got to know about the CTC initiative.
With a leap of faith, they decided to onboard a total of seven business units on this initiative; became unionised under The Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) and embarked on a transformation journey with NTUC.
Together with officers from the NTUC’s Training and Transformation and NTUC’s e2i team, IORA Group scoped a project for their Enterprise Resource Planning System that required complex customisation to meet their operational needs across the seven business units.
IORA Group successfully tapped on the CTC Grant and committed to wage increments above the annual increment for 144 workers, and provided the workers with clear, structured career development plans and upskilling their workers in the process.
To companies that have yet to embark on the CTC initiative, I strongly encourage you to partner NTUC on this and apply for the CTC Grant to support your transformation initiatives.
Up Membership
The second “Up” is to up membership, so that collectively, NTUC can better represent the interests of the workers within your companies in Singapore.
NTUC's strength lies in its membership. While we are proud of our robust 1.3 million members and the numbers are a testament to the trust workers place in us and our ability to represent them effectively, NTUC strives to grow even further.
If we had only one member, our voice would be unheard. But together, as a collective, our voice is stronger, and it echoes louder, and we are better able to champion your interests.
I heard that many of our management partners today are sponsoring NTUC membership for their employees as part of their staff benefits.
This provides access to perks like NTUC GIFT insurance, discounts on daily essentials, and additional training grants which they can stack on top of their Skillsfuture credits.
These benefits not only enhance employee satisfaction and retention, but they can also help companies to take care of their staff by investing in their overall well-being and professional growth.
Thank you for taking care of our workers, let us continue to partner and up membership to achieve more win-win outcomes!
Uphold Tripartism
And this brings me to my last “Up” – upholding tripartism.
In Singapore, Tripartism is a key strength which brings the Government, unions, and employers towards a common cause of promoting economic growth and ensuring that everyone benefits fairly from the growing pie.
We live in an increasing uncertainty in a tumultuous world.
There is a trade war ongoing, reversing globalisation, impacting economies.
There is a tech war bifurcating frontier technology from AI to computer chips.
And hot wars have resurfaced in Europe and in the Middle East.
In many countries, more workers are turning to strikes to resolve their issues.
In the United States, Boeing workers recently went on strike.
Earlier this year, South Korean doctors took to the streets for better working conditions.
It is against this backdrop that upholding tripartism becomes even more crucial to ensure a thriving economy and Singapore’s continued success. And in true Singaporean fashion, when we succeed, we ensure that our workers benefit too.
Establishing a Community of Practice (CoP)
Today, besides the three MOUs aimed at supporting worker upskilling and job creation within the HCB sector, I am also happy to note that NTUC will be signing an MOU with the Singapore Institution of Safety Officers (SISO). That is one more “Up” in the speech – Upgrade our workplace safety and health practices. 😊
Supported by the Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC) and the Workplace Safety and Health Institute (WSHI), a Community of Practice (CoP) will be formed, bringing together unions, safety experts and industry leaders to raise safety standards in the industry.
As a pioneering initiative, it aims to drive best practices, foster collaboration and promote safer workplaces that align with the needs of both workers and businesses.
The partnership will also result in the curation of relevant content for CoP sessions, as well as encourage the adoption of innovative WSH technologies to eliminate the need for workers to engage in hazardous tasks.
Safety is paramount. Beyond the three ups – upskill, up membership and uphold tripartism, I urge employers here today to partner NTUC, and through CTCs, to adopt innovative WSH technologies to make every workplace a safer workplace.
Conclusion
I will not take up more of your time, as we have an exciting programme ahead of us today. And if there's one thing to remember from today, let it be this: take action with NTUC, to Upskill, Up Membership, Uphold Tripartism, and Upgrade our WSH practices. 😊
In our own spaces, let us drive a culture that encourages training as we continue to prioritise and invest in our workers to enable business transformation and growth. Share the growth, and together we work towards having a thriving economy.
With that, I wish you all a productive and successful symposium ahead.
Thank you.
1 Data extracted from Speech by STB Chief Executive Melissa Ow at Tourism Industry Conference 2024 (10 May 2024), https://www.stb.gov.sg/content/stb/en/media-centre/speeches/speech_by_CE_Melissa_Ow_at_tic_24.html
2 Pronounced as “Cha-Ji”, this is an international tea beverage brand recently expanding in Singapore.
3 Pronounced as “I-YO-RA” Group, a clothing brand.
