Businesses, Workers, Get A Shot In The Arm
$2.3 Billion And $600 Million To SPUR Them On
Action always speaks louder than words in times of crisis. Ahead of next year’s Budget Speech now brought forward to 22 January 2009, the Government has given the green light for massive cash injections to prop up a sagging economy and sharpen workers’ competitive edge in the current world economic downturn.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Sharing Of Information Is Even More Critical In A
Downturn
Bad news on the economic front is a reality in any recession.

Building A Future
Singapore will continue to build, and there are good jobs in the building and construction industry which require training and Singaporeans can access these opportunities.

SMOU Tells Members Sailing In ‘Warlike’ Zone To Stay Vigilant
Many shipping companies worldwide are facing the financial crunch, and there may come a time when they are unable to afford the ransom that sea pirates demand for the release of their ship and crewmembers.

SMOU Members Unaffected By NOL Retrenchment
The Singapore Maritime Officers Union has been assured by Neptune Orient Lines that none of its seafaring members will be affected by the retrenchment exercise that the global cargo transport and logistics company announced on 19 November 2008.

Retrain Not Retrench
Tripartite Partners Issue Guidelines On Managing Excess Manpower
Don’t retrench, retrain. This is the underlying message in a set of Tripartite Guidelines On Managing Excess Manpower released on 19 November 2008 by the National Trades Union Congress and its tripartite partners, Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore National Employers Federation.

Take Long-Term View
Companies with insufficient work for their staff should take a long-term view of their manpower needs to decide on the best course of action. To help save jobs, they should consider other cost-cutting measures, for example, sending workers for skills training and upgrading. Retrenchment should be the last resort.

Time To Get Real
Albeit not in so many words, the message was loud and clear: This is not a time for pussyfooting or political posturing. The politics of the day is about real people, real time, real problems in a real world and not a sideshow spectacle.

Employment Act Gets More Bite
To stay in tune with the changing times and ever-evolving employment landscape, the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2008 was passed by Parliament on 18 November 2008. Last overhauled in 1995, the amendments to the Employment Act arose out of extensive consultations and discussions between the tripartite partners with feedback from the public.

First The Cutting, Then The Healing
It was swift and unexpected as nobody suspected that heads would roll. But when DBS Bank’s hatchet man wielded the axe last week, 900 heads were on the chopping block. Out of the 900, more than half working in Singapore now have to kiss their DBS careers goodbye.

LM Readies For War
The Labour Movement is gearing up for war against the global financial crisis.

Seasoned SPWU Will Weather Storm For ‘Port’ Of Gold
Port workers, being the keepers of the front gates of Singapore so to speak, would naturally be among the first to know if there’s anything amiss in the ebb and flow of a world class port built from scratch.

Food To Fuel Economy
Even as the Singapore economy begins to feel the impact of the global economic crisis, the food and beverage industry will continue to be an important creator of jobs for Singaporeans.

Contract No More
Madam Saadiah Awek, 48, had always missed out on the chances of a promotion on her job. As a Management Assistant Officer at the National University of Singapore, she was not able to climb up to a higher grade position even with good performance only because she was employed on a term contract. But this scenario has changed with the ground work done by Education Services Union.

Education: Buffer Against Uncertainties
The unions continue to do good with the disbursement of funds for various purposes.

Go Green And Help A Child
More than 110,000 children have benefited from the NTUC FairPrice Used Textbooks Project. With the global financial turmoil, this community initiative is timely in reinforcing the recycling message and helping the lower-income families to save on school expenses.

Upturn The Downturn
- Save Some, Spend Some
- Slow Runner Becomes Tiger Food
- Mini Bonds Not Mini In Risks
- Retrain To Retain
- Careful On Credit Control
- Deprived But Not Destitute

Want To Work At Marina Bay IR? Come To e2i
Don’t worry if you do not have the relevant experience to take on one of the 10,000 jobs available at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. As long as you are willing to take on a new challenge, e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) will provide you with training.

A Silver Lining for Workers Through Retraining
There were dark clouds in the sky but for employees of Saginomiya Hi-Techs Private Limited, there was a silver lining. In March this year, 45 employees in Saginomiya Hi-Techs, a thermostat manufacturer, were informed of the company’s shutdown plans.

Scoring Well At Home And In School
An hour before the afternoon bell rings in Telok Kurau Primary School, Madam Julie Chan will already be at the school library. This is where she reads aloud to lower primary pupils to help them with their reading skills.

More PREPARE For Re-Employment
With the inevitable re-employment legislation that will take effect no later than 2012, 139 companies have already completed the Programme for Re-Employment Practices: A Roadmap for Employers.

Class Of 2008 Ready To Meet Challenges Ahead
The class of 2008 from the Ong Teng Cheong Institute of Labour Studies graduated against the backdrop of a tumultuous economy. But they have armed themselves with additional firepower to help their fellow members during this difficult period - valuable knowledge and experience gained in the course of their studies.

Tripartism Singapore Has The Right Ingredients
Openness and frank discussions are the hallmarks of a successful tripartite system. This is evident in the Singapore context.

Better Governance For Impact And Focus
Act Amended To Strengthen Cooperatives
The Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act 2008 was passed by Parliament on 16 September 2008 and came into operation on 20 October 2008. It aims to help the cooperative sector raise its level of accountability and governance, as well as to set the framework for a more risk-focused regulatory regime.

Insure Early For Glowing Health
Against the backdrop of a fast-ageing population and rising medical cost inflation which hit 6.3 per cent last year, it is now more important than ever to have adequate health insurance to protect your finances.

Flying High The Singapore Flag
The Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union takes pride at being a professional global tripartite union, and is adamant that the Singapore Flag is not a Flag of Convenience.

Singapore Compact Can Feel Good About Doing Well And Doing Good
The Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility that encourages businesses to work together with stakeholders to do well and to do good, has earned resounding applause from its peers in the region.

Safety In Numbers
In the past 12 months, the Singapore Port Workers Union successfully recruited 700 workers into the union. Among the new members, 500 are workers from non-traditional sources.

Learn, To Prepare For Every Turn
On 18 November, 16 individuals received the Lifelong Learner Award in recognition of their perseverance in upgrading their skills and taking on new challenges to stay relevant at work and employable.

Soak In Some SUN, Sweat it Out
It’s not everyday that you see the staff of NTUC-Administration and Research Unit don their sports attire and sweat it out for some fun and games.

Singapore Health Award 2008
Jurong Shipyard Goes Platinum For Silver Workforcet
Regular health screening and a chronic disease management programme has helped Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd reduce its average medical costs per employee by one-third over the last seven years.

Bowling A Perfect Game
Labour Movement Builds Communities On Oiled Lanes
For aspiring keglers in the Labour Movement family, there is no better place to bowl than at any of our Orchid Bowl centres.

Woo With A Wow!
Retail CCI Pulls In The Customers
It pays to invest in service. This is true for both businesses and workers and certainly true for FarEast Flora.com Private Limited.

Resilience: Key To Turnaround
The credit crunch in America has now spread to become a financial tsunami and every country is impacted. As we read the newspapers, the situation seems to be worsening and for many of us, the impact is beginning to be felt.

Farewell, Brother Mansor
Former Labour Member of Parliament Mansor Sukaimi passed away on 14 November. He leaves behind his wife, three children - a son and two daughters - and 12 grandchildren. Brother Mansor, 65, was diagnosed in August 2008 with leukaemia, a type of cancer in which white blood cells displace normal blood.

Right Time for Rides on Buses, Trains and Taxis
At a time when people are cutting down on lavish expenditures, public transport is one commodity that most resort to. This is crystal clear from the increased public transport ridership by about 8 per cent in the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period a year ago.

Jobs Aplenty In Bus Industry
NTWU-SMRT Reaches Out To Community And Members
Over the past month, the National Transport Workers’ Union and SMRT Corporation Limited have combined their resources to reach out to the community at Yio Chu Kang Community Club and to the newly recruited SMRT workers at Kim Chuan Depot.

STAMP Of Improvement
It’s that time of the year when school report books are distributed. Unlike other times, this time Zoel Lee and Yong Fatt Rui looked forward to receiving theirs.

Silver Collar Treasures
Join NTUC Eldercare And Say ‘iCare’
More seniors are saying “yes” to training, job restructuring and reemployment, proving they have what it takes to weather the storm.

Youth Leader Peter Lee Yeow Khoon
From Uninvolved Member To Enthusiastic Activist
When Mr Peter Lee Yeow Khoon started work in Prudential Assurance Co (Singapore) Private Limited in 2000, being involved in the union was the furthest thing from his mind. At that time, he saw no need.

Go Further With U
Hard times call for smart savings measures. That is why Mr Burhanuddin Kamaruddin believes in having many cards. To prove his point, the Engineering Supplies Executive of Singapore Airlines flashed his cards, ranging from those offering discounts at food outlets to department stores.

Make a date with Beach Games 2008
As part of the U Games line-up, Beach Games will be held at Tanjong Beach, Sentosa on Sunday, 30 November 2008 from 0900-1800 hrs. Competition highlights include the inter-union Beach Volleyball, Beach Soccer and Tug-Of-War.

Reduce, Reuse And Recycle
Green Movement
Let’s cut waste and have some fun. All this happened at the Singapore industrial and Services Employees’ Union’s Family "Let’s Go Green" Day held on 16 November 2008.

Young NTUC Green Movement
Young NTUC is going green. As one of the volunteerism structures to engage current and potential youth activists, it is embarking on the Green Movement initiative.

The Greatest Show II
Catch the stellar cast of award-winning circus performers at The Greatest Show II.