Labour Research Conference 2020

With a focus on trending labour issues, the Labour Research Conference 2020 centred around the theme "Workers' Matters: Finding ways to brave the roads ahead". This event marked the team's inaugural hybrid conference amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. During the conference, the establishment of the PME Taskforce was announced. The conference featured three panel discussions and insights shared by union leaders, academics, and industry experts. Attended by close to 400 participants from the Labour Movement, management partners, representatives from ministries and government agencies and academics from IHLs.

 

Session 1:

Mindset, Motivation and Mentoring — Supporting Workers Through Digital Disruptions

 

As Industry 4.0 gains momentum, the impact of skill-based technological change is ever more acutely felt by both corporations and employees. This panel seeks to shed light on the challenges that workers face as companies embark on digitalisation programmes, and the support that corporations can provide to mitigate these difficulties. It will discuss how stakeholders can collectively prepare workers with the digitalisation mindset and upskill or reskill them to stay future-ready.

Panellists

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Professor Lim Sun Sun

Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Professor Lim Sun Sun has extensively researched the social impact of technology, focusing on technology domestication by families, workplace digital disruptions and public perceptions of smart city technologies. She recently published Transcendent Parenting - Raising Children in the Digital Age (2020) and co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication and Society (2020). From 2018 to 2020, she served as a Nominated Member of the 13th Parliament of Singapore.
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Mr Thuvinder Singh Bachan Singh

General Secretary, Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore

Mr Thuvinder received the Comrade of Labour Award in 2015, as he supported the call by the Labour Movement and helped to implement the Progressive Wage Model. This helps to increase the productivity of workers and raise their wages. Externally, Mr Singh also sits in the UNI SLC, the UNI APRO Information, Communication, Technology and Services Industry & Post & Logistics Committee and World Committee.
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Mr Ng Tiong Gee

President, Tech Talent Assembly

Mr Ng Tiong Gee is currently the Chairman of Yellow Pages Pte Ltd, an online directory and digital marketing company where he is leading its digital transformation. He is an industry leader who has substantial experience in the information technology sector and strategic human resource management. He lectures in NUS Strategic Technology Management Institute and is also currently an adjunct CIO of IDC.
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Ms Melissa Tan

General Manager, Wah & Hua Pte Ltd

Ms Melissa Tan is a passionate environmentalist. As Wah & Hua Pte Ltd's General Manager, she spearheads the company’s business development initiatives and continues to look for opportunities to expand the company’s presence locally and abroad. She is the Chairman of the Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore, championing the association’s efforts to enhance the professionalism and technological capabilities of the waste management industry in Singapore.
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[Moderator] Mr Fong Yoong Kheong

Principal Industrial Relations Officer, Workforce Group, National Trades Union Congress

Mr Fong Yoong Kheong supports and synergises the efforts of the workforce segments, including the Unions; U Associate; U SME; U Freelancers and Self-Employed (FSE); Migrant Workers‘ Centre and Centre for Domestic Employees. He is also Lead, NTUC Aerospace and Aviation Cluster where he supports the unions in industrial relations, training and membership matters.

Session 2:

Navigating the Maze of Employment — Helping Workers Overcome Challenges and Realising Their Aspirations

 

We now find ourselves in the depths of a recession, against the backdrop of a global pandemic. With rising unemployment, the pressure is on many to land a job. This discussion will focus on the factors that tend to result in workers facing difficulty gaining employment or re-employment, or being entrenched in short-term jobs. Additionally, it will examine the barriers and support required to achieving upward mobility for workers.

Panellists

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Mr Gerald Tan Ziping

Projects Director, Avodah People Solutions

Mr Gerald Tan Ziping is passionate about the advocacy and use of career development towards helping people find meaning and purpose in their careers. He enjoys developing career development interventions and consultancy to help individuals and groups with varying career needs on a systemic level. His experiences include reviewing unemployment support policies, designing and operating career services for the public and leading a team to develop skills and training advisory services.
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Mr Sazali Zainal

President, Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union

Mr Sazali Zainal is currently an Aircraft Service Engineer at ST Engineering Aerospace. His 24 years in the aerospace industry gave him in-depth knowledge of the industry. He is passionate about helping the workforce stay relevant and encourages businesses and workers to embark on training regularly. He pays particular attention to the difficulties faced by the lower-middle income employees, especially during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Associate Professor Ho Kong Weng

School of Economics, Singapore Management University

Associate Professor Ho Kong Weng's research interests fall in the areas of social mobility and inequality, life aspirations and subjective well-being of workers, and economic-social issues related to the Singapore society. He serves as a member in the Research Advisory Panel with the Prime Minister’s Office Strategic Group, has served as a research investigator in the various waves of the National Youth Surveys, and had done evaluations on a programme assisting low-income families.
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Dr Ruby Toh

Principal Researcher, Institute for Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences

Dr Ruby Toh leads research studies in the area of labour markets, employment facilitation, and careers. Her current research includes employment vulnerability, career decision making, career self-management, gig employment, labour mobility, and workplace discrimination. Ruby was previously a Research Fellow in Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Research Assistant in Department of Economics, National University of Singapore.
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[Moderator] Dr Alex Lum

Deputy Director, Strategy, National Trades Union Congress

Dr Alex Lum leads the research and development of strategies for the Labour Movement through identifying key issues and trends, both locally and regionally, that impact workers. His work includes analysis on skills and training gaps and the impact of technology on job opportunities. Alex has worked for 20 years in translating data, behavioural and forecasting patterns into practical solutions.

Session 3:

The Winding Road Towards Recovery: Focusing on Skills Security

 

Workers have been plagued by increasing uncertainty over their jobs and skills. This panel seeks to discuss skills security, using the findings of fieldwork with transport workers in the Asia-Pacific economies, as well as highlight tangible ways to acquire skills to ride through the various disruptions. It is a journey towards recovery, resilience, and revolution — all with the goal of making tomorrow a little better than today.

Panellists

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Mr Poon King Wang

Director, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Mr Poon King Wang's multidisciplinary research focus on the human dimensions of smart cities and digital economies, and the impact of digital transformation on the future of work, education, and healthcare, and on society at large. He pays particular attention to how leaders of cities and companies can design strategies and policies to lift the lives of their citizens and workers, with the same technologies that are disrupting work, economy and society.
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Mr Benjamin Tang Chun Wai

President, Port Officers’ Union

Mr Benjamin Tang Chun Wai first joined the union in 2004, and has been serving in the union for 16 years. Port Officers’ Union represents all the Professionals, Managers and Executives working in PSA Corporation. Within PSA Corporation, Mr Benjamin Tang works as a Senior Manager, overseeing building development projects in the upcoming Tuas Megaport. Mr Benjamin Tang chairs the NTUC Care and Share Committee which administers all the assistance funds and programmes across affiliated trade unions.
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Associate Professor Randolph Tan

Director, Centre for Applied Research, Singapore University of Social Sciences

Associate Professor Randolph Tan's current research interest is in the area of labour economics, with a focus on manpower issues in the Singapore economy. His past research has covered hypothesis testing in linear simultaneous structural equation models, modelling of housing markets, and multi-factor productivity analysis, and he has supervised as well as served as examiner for Master’s and PhD candidates in these areas.
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[Moderator] Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo

Principal Industry Training Officer, Training and Work Prospects, National Trades Union Congress

Mr Jagathishwaran Rajo guides unionised companies with Company Training Committees (CTCs) to develop customised strategy roadmaps and jobs-skills action plans, while tapping on relevant resources within NTUC and the larger ecosystem to achieve effective business and workforce transformation outcomes. From 2012 to 2016, he served as an IRO with the Building Construction & Timbre Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) and then moved onto Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) from 2016 to 2020.

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