6 September 2015 60 CENTS MCI (P) 044/12/2014 A VOICE FOR Meet the familiar faces from the Labour Movement who will be contesting in the coming election to better represent your interests at the workplace. Chan Chun Sing Heng Chee How Patrick Tay Yeo Guat Kwang Ang Hin Kee Zainal Sapari Desmond Choo 2 GENERAL ELECTION FOCUS NTUC This Week 06 SEPTEMBER 2015 Candidates From The We want to keep this country special! Labour Movement We are not contented in Dissolution of Parliament on 25 August 2015 and making it normal! Other countries with a big Nomination Day on 1 September 2015 are done. land mass and huge And now Singaporeans are gearing up to go to the resources can be polls this Friday on 11 September 2015. We are normal but we just as excited on our side to see familiar faces are determined and strong voices from the Labour Movement that even stepping up to the candidates line up to contest with our finite in the General Election. Here, we introduce the resources, we Labour PAP candidates... will continue to be special. That we will Compiled by NTUC This Week Team have a home that is special so that our Mr Chan Chun Sing people will be proud After filing his papers on Nomination Day, NTUC Secretary-General Chan to call themselves Chun Sing, 45, now officially anchors the five-member PAP Tanjong Pagar GRC Singaporeans … Never team for the coming General Election. Mr Chan, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, was a PAP believe those who tell candidate in Tanjong Pagar GRC at the 2011 General Election. you that they want Formerly Social and Family Development Minister, he joined NTUC full- to make Singapore time in April 2015 and took over the helm as Secretary-General on 4 May ordinary. If Singapore is 2015. His many goals for the Labour Movement include developing a future- average, who will come ready workforce that can rise up to meet the challenges of global competition. here to invest? Who will come here to create jobs? Who will build this Our Labour Chiefs have always country for us? Nobody!” helped our workers, especially the low-wage workers. They have helped increase the salary of low-wage workers and now the pay is higher, especially for workers in the transport sector. Our Labour MPs have helped us and now it is time for the unions to support them.” Mr Ong Leong Chin, Executive Committee Member of National Transport Workers’ Union In this term of the government it has created many jobs, grown wages for all income groups, introduced GST Vouchers and progressive wages Opportunities For All and enhanced Workfare to help low-wage workers. The PAP envisions a bright future for every Singapore where In this abridged version of the People’s Action opportunities abound and there is pride and recognition in every job. Party’s (PAP) Manifesto, we take a look at Together with employers, industry and workers, the PAP said what the Party has lined up for workers and it will: Singaporeans. u Help Singaporeans acquire skills and progress in their careers through SkillsFuture; u Invest in every Singaporean to help them get good jobs, upgrade and make the best in life; In the PAP Manifesto, Party Secretary-General and Prime Minister Lee Hsien u Provide more support and job assistance for PMETs; and Loong said the country did not avoid tough problems, and during the global u And help businesses with manpower resourcing, talent retention financial crisis, the nation tightened its belts and weathered the storm. and development. NTUC This Week 06 SEPTEMBER 2015 GENERAL ELECTION FOCUS 3 Mr Heng Chee How Mr Heng, 54, is NTUC Deputy Secretary-General. He was a Member of Parliament for Whampoa Single Member Constituency before the last Parliament was dissolved on 25 August 2015. It was then announced that he would be fielded in the Jalan Besar GRC after Whampoa became part of it in the Report of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee. He joined NTUC in 1995 and is currently Centric Director of Union and Social Enterprises, Executive Committee Chairman of the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute and Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries. Over the years, he has held various portfolios and championed many causes, including the re-employment of older workers. Brother Heng has always had the heart for our workers, especially in the area of re-employment for older workers. He worked hard for many years to have the re-employment age raised from 65 to 67, till Prime Minister I will continue to devote my Lee Hsien Loong announced at this energies to advocate for the year’s National Day Rally that the re- interests of mature workers to enhance employment age would be raised to 67 their employment and skills upgrading in 2017.” prospects, workplace health and fair Mr Cyrille Tan, United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries treatment.” Consultant Mr Zainal Sapari An NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG), Mr Zainal, 49, also leads NTUC U Care Centre and NTUC Care & Share Department. He concurrently serves in the Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU) as its Advisor and Executive Secretary. In his time as Labour Member of Parliament, he spoke up for Singapore’s low-wage workers and played an instrumental role in pushing for the Progressive Wage Model in the cleaning, security and landscape sectors. Following Nomination Day on 1 September 2015, Mr Zainal has had his candidacy for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC confirmed. His six-member People’s Action Party team is led by DPM Teo Chee Hean, and will contest against the Singapore Democratic Alliance. The union fully supports our brother, Zainal Sapari. He has been our champion for the betterment of the lives of Singapore’s low-wage workers. This of course includes his work in pushing for the Progressive Wage Model in the security industry. We wish him all the I will forever speak up for the rights of workers, especially low-wage workers. best for this election, and we would Struggling for this cause is like joining a like to see him win.” race without a finishing line. There is still Mr Hareenderpal Singh, President of Union of Security more we can do for this group, and this is Employees what I will continue to work on if re-elected.” 4 GENERAL ELECTION FOCUS NTUC This Week 06 SEPTEMBER 2015 Mr Patrick Tay Previously from Nee Soon GRC, NTUC Assistant Secretary- General Mr Patrick Tay, 44, is part of the team contesting the West Coast GRC for this year’s General Election. Mr Tay is also the Director of both the Legal Services and the PME Unit in NTUC. He has lobbied for greater workplace protection for PMEs, leading to the announcement of the Fair Consideration Framework and changes to the Industrial Relations Act, which allows rank-and-file unions to collectively represent PMEs. Mr Tay also serves as an Executive Secretary to The Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union. From the low-income workers to the PMEs, We will continue our efforts towards building Patrick knows the ground well the Singaporean core and ensure we level and he has shown that he truly the playing field for our PMEs. We will also look to has the workers at heart.” implement SkillsFuture initiatives, sector by sector, Mr Nakalingam Silva, Immediate Past President of to upskill them (PMEs) and ensure they remain Union of Security Employees future-ready.” Mr Yeo Guat Kwang Mr Yeo, 54, will be contesting in Aljunied GRC after his candidacy was confirmed on Nomination Day. Mr Yeo currently holds the position of Assistant Secretary-General in NTUC and is concurrently the Director for the Labour Movement’s Small and Medium Enterprises Secretariat and Workplace Safety and Health Secretariat. As Chairman of the Migrant Workers’ Centre, he called for employers to spell out key terms of employment clearly to migrant workers when they start work in Singapore. The Employment Act was amended on 17 August to require employers to issue itemised payslips and key employment terms. I will continue to advocate for fair employment practices. We have seen more PMEs (Professionals, Managers For Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, I wish and Executives) worried about work and their job security. It is important for us to him all the best. I believe he continue to strengthen the measures in may give us some good results.” these areas to achieve the objective of Mr Lim Heng Khee, President of Singapore Industrial & Services creating better jobs for each and every Employees’ Union Singaporean.” NTUC This Week 06 SEPTEMBER 2015 GENERAL ELECTION FOCUS 5 Mr Desmond Choo Mr Choo, 37, is currently the Director of NTUC’s Youth Development Unit. He is also the Deputy Director of NTUC’s Industrial Relations Unit and serves as the Deputy Executive Secretary for the Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union. Apart from advocating for youth development in Singapore, Mr Choo has also been speaking on family issues and work-life balance by calling for more companies to increase paternity leave and to adopt flexible work arrangements at the workplace. Mr Choo had his candidacy confirmed on Nomination Day and is part of the the five-member PAP team contesting against the National Solidarity Party in Tampines GRC. Desmond Choo has worked with a few unions in his time with the Labour Movement. He also brings with him insights from the private sector. AREU has much to gain from his experiences and There are two things that I’m passionate about.