SG Chan Chun Sing Says S’pore Economy Improved By 2%, But Here’s What He Really Meant

In early August, Singapore’s very own Labour Movement organised a National Day Observance Ceremony at Our Tampines Hub.

If you were there, you’ll see a sea of reds cheering and waving at the stage like Justin Bieber was there to perform.

Except better.

You had folks who have worked tirelessly to improve the job economy in Singapore. That’s way better than any pop star, right? Sorry, girls, please don’t kill me.

But that’s not the main point of the article. Nor is Mdm Halimah Yacob, the presidential candidate who was at the event, the star of the show as well.

But she’s plenty important, I assure you.

Just…not to this article.

 

Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing’s Secretive Message

When SG Chan Chun Sing stepped onto the stage, he secretively told the crowd, “I’m going to tell you a secret.” And who doesn’t love secrets, right?

“This year, Singapore’s GDP growth is better than last year by 2%.”

You’ll be like…

But here’s what he wanted to say.

For the past year, the buzz word has been “disruption”. Even the Labour Movement jumped on the bandwagon with its Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) unit, which aimed to better facilitate the connecting of people of today to the jobs of tomorrow.

The Labour Movement also continues to increase its representation of workers across the spectrum – from unions to workers in MNCs, SMEs etc, freelancers and migrant workers.

This year saw the Labour Movement hold several skills and job fairs with other organisations to get Singaporeans to not just upskill, but move up the corporate ladder.

All this while negotiating retrenchment benefits for workers of companies like Yellow Pages when they announced they were closing an entire division by itself.

Yeap. Pretty much all in a year’s work.

But it’s not all about the Labour Movement and its successes.

Oh no, SG Chan doesn’t do things that way.

He’s kind of like that typical kiasu parent most of you have at home. Every compliment must come with a warning.

Wah, you get an A this time. Very smart! But must be careful hor, don’t be complacent because next test you might just get a B.

Yeah, you get what I mean.

Despite the success, he also told industry partners to not get complacent (see what I mean?) and continue to keep up the good work.

First, he stressed the need for the Labour Movement to translate all 23 Industry Transformation Maps into tangible actions Singaporeans can understand and do.

In layman’s terms, for workers to know where the future jobs (and money!) will be at and how the union can help workers upskill to fit these roles.

Secondly, he asked that they encourage everyone in Singapore to make full use of their SkillsFuture credits.

Basically, get Singaporeans like you and me to look to the future instead of just working like a zombie in the office.

So the main takeaway from his speech?

You’ve done well. Now, do better.

And I believe it applies to all Singaporeans, not just NTUC’s partners.

So…have you used your SkillsFuture Credit yet?

Feature Image: YouTube

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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