Ms Alice Lim, President, Singapore Shell Employees’ Union

Mr Thomas Thomas, General Secretary, Singapore Shell Employees’ Union

Distinguished guests, comrades,

Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to be here tonight to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of unionism in Shell Singapore.  

For the last 50 years, the Singapore Shell Employees’ Union (SSEU) has steadfastly championed the cause of workers.  It has actively and constructively engaged the management on workers’ concerns and aspirations.  It has reached out to its members, provided for their training needs and welfare, and rallied their support for initiatives that bring long-term benefits to Shell and its workers.  From time to time, union-management relations at Shell have encountered difficult patches.  But both sides have resolved these issues, and through closer cooperation and dialogue forged a stronger partnership. 

As we mark this 50^th anniversary, we acknowledge the contributions of all the leaders and members of SSEU – past and present – who have worked to enhance the well-being of workers in Shell, and contributed to a strong and responsible union movement in Singapore.  We also remember the efforts put in by all our workers and unions who have played their part in building harmonious and stable industrial relations over the years.  Working together, we have overcome many challenges, grown the economy, and built a strong and united nation.

Looking ahead, there is every reason to be optimistic about our future.  Asia is brimming with renewed dynamism and vibrancy. The emergence of China and India is attracting investments and talent into the region.  Japan is also recovering and will provide added momentum for the region’s growth.  Closer to home, our neighbours in Southeast Asia are doing well.  

Singapore will benefit from this positive external environment.  Domestically, our economy continues to grow steadily, not just in one or two areas, but across many sectors.  The pickup in economic activities has already generated nearly 50,000 jobs in the first half of this year, most of which have been taken up by Singaporeans.  This is the highest pace of job creation recorded since 2000.  In this climate of a growing economy, the petroleum and petrochemical industries have done particularly well, showing healthy growth and solid employment gains.

Nevertheless, we cannot take our future for granted.  While the rise of China and India has opened up many new opportunities, it has also intensified competition, and accelerated the pace of change and restructuring.  Our economy and workforce will have to adapt to these changes.  We have created many jobs because we have fostered change and restructuring in our economy. If we resist change, and try to maintain the status quo in order to protect existing jobs, the effect will be counter-productive.  New jobs will not be created, unemployment will go up, and the economy will stagnate.

Some countries have more difficulties than others in adjusting to the changes in the global economy.  Look at the European nations.  Having been accustomed to heavy welfare for many years, their people are now reluctant to change the status quo.  It has become difficult to forge a consensus to move ahead with reforms.  As a result, many economies in Europe are stuck where they are, and continue to perform poorly with unemployment rates in the double-digits. One exception is Finland. The Finns have remarkably reached a consensus on reforms, but it is probably the result of the deep recession of the early 1990s, when unemployment rose to 18%.

Companies too are not spared.  In the US, the companies that provide generous welfare benefits now find themselves burdened with mounting ‘legacy costs’.   General Motors (GM), for example, has thousands of redundant workers still collecting pay-checks even though they are no longer building vehicles.  The workers naturally do not want to leave, and GM now faces huge losses and even a risk of bankruptcy.  If that happens, all of GM’s workers will suffer in the end.

In Singapore, we are, fortunately, not burdened by such problems.  We eschewed welfare from the start, recognising that it would cause us harm.  Our approach has always been to work hard, to move faster than our competitors, not to delay changes which are necessary, and get into position quickly to exploit our strengths.  Our unions and workers understand this, and thus are supportive of change –  even when such change may be painful in the short term. 

The Board of Directors of Shell met in Singapore recently. They asked me how Singapore was able to implement rational, hard-headed policies for the overall good of the economy, and get union support for them, instead of going down the road of welfare like other countries. I told them this was possible only because Singaporeans have seen the results of our policies, and know that they are necessary to keep the economy growing and create more jobs for Singaporeans.  It is also because we have worked closely with the unions for many years, so there is good mutual trust and understanding. So long as the policies work and new jobs are being created, we will stay on track. If not, we will have a problem. The CEO then said that he had asked the union leaders he had met the same question, and been given exactly the same answer.  

This is what gives companies like Shell the confidence to operate in Singapore.  Shell has been here for more than a hundred years.  It has invested in many major projects over the years, including a refinery in Bukom and a petrochemical production centre which is the largest in the Asia Pacific region.  Indeed, Shell is now one of Singapore’s largest foreign investors with over US$6 billion in cumulative assets.  It continues to explore new projects in Singapore, such as the proposed ethylene cracker plant presently being considered by the Shell Board.   These are votes of confidence of the Board  in Singapore, and especially in Shell’s workers and the union. 

The strong tripartite partnership between workers, employers and the government is unique to Singapore.  This is our key competitive advantage.  It has been instrumental in creating a favourable investment climate, enabling us to attract companies to invest and do business here.

Going forward, we must continue to work together – in this spirit of tripartism – to upgrade and remake the economy.  This is the way forward to grow and prosper, create more jobs for Singaporeans, and make a better future for all of us.  

On this note, I congratulate the SSEU on its 50^th anniversary and wish you all a pleasant evening. Thank you.