President of KCCSU, Ms Nor Aisah Zainal

Members of KCCSU

Comrades and friend

INTRODUCTION

Good afternoon.  I am pleased to join you this afternoon at your Members’ day and it certainly brings back fond memories I had with the labour movement where I started out as an industrial relations officer.

GROWTH OF THE LABOUR MOVEMENT AND ROLE OF UNIONS

The labour movement has made tremendous progress from its formation in 1961 during the turbulent early days of social unrest and political uncertainties. It has come a long way to enjoy the current harmonious labour movement relations where tripartite partners consisting of the government, employers and the labour movement work together for our economy to thrive for a better life for our fellow Singaporeans.

The past few years have not been easy for many Singaporeans. We had the Asian economic crisis, terrorist threats and SARS.  I believe I do not have to elaborate them as many of you are aware of their adverse effects on Singapore and many of us. The unions in Singapore, together with their members, have braved through the storms and have made many sacrifices, such as pay cut and retrenchments to help companies trim costs and remain viable during the tough period. I am glad that Singapore has rebounded after several years of slow growth as we have seen positive growth in the first two quarters of 2004.  The sacrifices of our workers have paid off. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to continue to remain nimble and adaptable to the new economy by continuing to upgrade yourselves.

ROLE OF CHILDCARE GIVERS

Members of KCCSU are important to the society. I applaud you, as teachers and staff of kindergartens and childcare centres, for your passion and contribution towards caring for our little children and moulding them to be our future leaders. 

The focus of childcare services has evolved over the years, from one of custodial care, that is, providing “baby-sitting” service for children to ensuring that they are safe, healthy and well-fed, to looking into their developmental growth, in addition to their custodial care.  It was believed that a well-rounded development in the early years will develop self esteem, confidence and build character for the child enabling him or her to grow up to be a mature and responsible adult. Therefore, you have a challenging job as a childcare giver.  You need to keep up with the demands of the knowledge based economy by continuing to update your skills and knowledge. However, I am confident that your passion and love for the children will keep you going.  The rewards of seeing each of the children under your charge grows are beyond words.

ROLE OF WOMEN IN TODAY’S SOCIETY

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate you as a working woman in Singapore’s society today. Women in Singapore have attained impressive progress in education.  The literacy rate of Singapore females aged 15 years and older is 90%, which is comparable to males (97%). At the tertiary level, women make up about 50% of students in polytechnics and universities.  Women are also making good progress at the workplace. Over the last ten years, women consistently accounted for about 40% of our workforce.  We have come a long way from the earlier days of poverty and exploitation where we played marginal roles.  Today, we have women who are permanent secretaries, lieutenant colonels and judges!

Singapore has come a long way in ensuring equality of the sexes an everyday reality.  As a small country where people are our only resource, the full contribution of Singaporean man and woman is important so that we can be dynamic and cohesive.  As a meritocratic society, we believe that everyone, regardless of gender, can enjoy full and equal opportunities.

Social Developments

While some women pursue a career in the corporate world, we also have women who choose to stay at home full time to provide and care for their family. There is nothing wrong in either pursuits as people’s needs and wants are different. Self actualization for one woman is different from another.

In the cases of women seeking a career, especially for those who are married with family and children, there is always a pertinent and persistent issue on “balancing work and family”.

The changes in the status of women have inevitably affected family relationships and the nature of the marriage contract.  As women are now better educated, men are not the only wage earners in the family.  The government recognizes the change and the greater responsibility of the women in taking care of the family.  It has therefore extended maternity benefits to another 4 weeks and granted 2 days of childcare leave for parents (both husband and wife) with children below 7 years old. 

It has also introduced the WOW! (Work-Life-Works!) fund to encourage employers to help their employees to achieve a work-life balance.  These signal the government’s commitment to making Singapore a great place for families.

While the government has provided programmes and incentives to help Singaporeans strengthen their families, it is still our responsibility to make our family life work! As parents, we should spend time in imparting moral values and beliefs to our children.

We also have the responsibility to care for the elderly, especially those who cannot look after themselves. Our society is ageing, I’m sure many of you have aged parents to take care of. Whether you have your own family or not, you will still have the responsibility of ensuring that your parents are looked after well. Our children will also look at how we treat our parents. We have to be a role model. This is the greatest challenge to us as a working parent.

Conclusion

Let us continue to press on in whatever roles that we have; as an employee of an organization, as a child to our aged parents, as a parent ourself, let us continue to improve ourselves to build a better society for our loved ones.

On this note, I wish all members of KCCSU a most delighted members’ day!

Thank you.