'THANK you for the kind words that you have all spoken, in public and in private to me. My role has been exaggerated somewhat. I have simply followed a path that was laid by wise leaders who came before me.
Let me start with a quotation:
'The typical labour boss was an orator; an accomplished mobiliser of workers for militant action. He was not interested in economic development, political stability, retraining of workers, solving unemployment and so on, because he believed that all these would work to the advantage of the employing class, and until the back of the employing class was broken, there could be no solution to workers' problems.'
Ladies and gentlemen:
As secretary-general of the NTUC, I have been asked many times, by foreigners and locals alike, whether there is a conflict of interest with my role as a member of the Cabinet. The unspoken question was: Does your position as a Cabinet minister prevent you from taking militant action on behalf of workers against employers? These questions will not go away. Swee Say, you will face these questions many times in your tenure as Secretary-General. There will always be those who hanker for the typical labour boss that the late Mr S. Rajaratnam described in the quotation I have lifted.
Yet, if I am asked to mention only one thing for which I am proud of in my stewardship of the NTUC, it is the unique practice of tripartism that distinguishes Singapore's industrial relations from almost all other countries. It is our strength, our 'secret weapon' in global competition.
The credit for this unique practice of tripartism goes to our founding leaders, in the trade unions, and in government. As labour minister, Mr Rajaratnam addressed the May Day Rally in 1970. He spoke of the 'almost revolutionary change in the attitude of a majority of trade unionists in Singapore towards economic development' after the pivotal seminar on modernisation of the trade unions. He called them the 'new unionists'. And this is how he described them:
'The new trade unionist, unlike his predecessor, starts with the basic assumption that without economic development, there can be no real improvement in the living standards of workers. There must first be a steady increase in total national wealth before workers can have an increased share of it...He also feels that he must actively participate in bringing about rapid economic development. He sees labour and labour unions...as vital and necessary elements in economic development.
'Labour, the new trade unionist is aware, is as important to economic development as capital and overall planning and direction by government and economic and industrial experts. An essential and prerequisite for rapid and meaningful economic development is close cooperation between labour, entrepreneurs and government...Each is useless without the others.
'Without entrepreneurial capital and know-how, government and labour cannot, in the light of realities in Singapore, by themselves bring about economic growth. Without an efficient, honest and imaginative government, labour and capital cannot initiate rapid economic expansion. And labour by itself cannot do very much to maintain a stable economy, let alone promote economic growth.'
So on May Day 1970, Mr Rajaratnam described the beginnings of our practice of tripartism. Was this an idealistic dream? Many new jobs were created; the nightmare of mass unemployment faded. We can say that the rest is history. Singapore grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. In his May Day message that same year,Mr Rajaratnam paid tribute to the courage of the unionists:
'Between being popular and being right, they elected to be right. When in August 1968, the Government sought the cooperation of these trade-union leaders in the implementation of the Employment Act and the Industrial Relations Ordinance, they had a difficult choice to make.
'They could have opposed the new laws and thus won easy popularity as champions of the workers. They, however, chose the difficult way. They came out in support of the new labour laws simply because they were convinced that these were necessary to avert a serious economic breakdown and eventually massive unemployment...
'Had these trade unionists lacked courage, there would today be thousands of workers demanding not more pay, but jobs which are not there to give.'
That founding generation of trade unionists was led by the late C.V. Devan Nair. He spelt out the approach that the NTUC took in an essay Trade Unions In Singapore, published in 1976 in the book Socialism That Works.
Economic growth, Mr Rajaratnam said, was to provide workers with better wages. He wrote:
'It is not, and never has been, the intention of this Government to promote economic development merely to bring comfort and joy to a minority of employers.'
The intention of the Government was clearly stated by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew:
'It is the consciousness of our being co-owners of the new society we are creating that provides the drive for fulfilment. In multiracial countries like ours, trade unions have a special role in building up this spirit of camaraderie among the workers. Developing the economy, increasing productivity, increasing returns, these make sense only when fair play and fair shares make it worth everyone's while to put in his share of effort for group survival and group prosperity.'
Mr Rajaratnam pointed the way forward for trade unionists:
'Responsible trade unionists must undertake two tasks - to increase the size of the economic cake and also to ensure that the slices are correspondingly larger.'
Our founding leaders had established the practice of tripartism. The NTUC went beyond collective bargaining, and set up a number of cooperatives to help workers stretch their hard-earned wages. In the process, they gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to run a successful business, further strengthening their belief that cooperation, not confrontation, was the way to improving the lives of workers.
The late Mr Ong Teng Cheong established NTUC Club, helping to remove the sense of social exclusion workers may have had when they see their bosses enjoy exclusive clubs. If the wealthy had exclusive clubs, workers too had their own, with facilities no lower in standards.
My stewardship was, therefore, one of implementing the philosophy that our founding leaders had established. As I said earlier, I simply followed the path that my predecessors had laid out. My job was to devise strategies to deal with the new problems that a changing world brings. I lived that dream.
I understood that the best welfare that one can provide a worker is a job. Without a job, high sounding pronouncements of human rights and specifically, workers' rights, are hollow, leaving him and his family hungry.
I understood that it is every worker's desire to give his family a better life. So this year his wages, in real terms, should be better than last year's, and next year's should be better than this year's. The unionist's job is to help make it happen, working with employers and the government.
I understood that real increases in wages can be sustained only if there is productivity increase. Therefore, it is also the unionist's responsibility to help companies improve productivity. Enlarge the cake, not merely fight for a bigger slice of a small cake.
I understood that it is not possible to have wages increase year by year in the short term, as there are business cycles. Unexpected calamities also play havoc with business in the short term. Therefore, to protect jobs, the wage system should be flexible.
To maintain a harmonious society, these are fundamentals that we must always strive to follow. The principles are easy to enunciate. But the three social partners - government, employers and unions - must share these fundamentals.
To achieve a harmonious society, based on cooperation among unionists, employers and government, there must be trust. Trust is established when relationships are nurtured carefully, with each party keeping true to its end of the bargain. Through successive crises, we have built on this trust. Each time, tripartite cooperation has become stronger. I have been fortunate to work with like-minded people among the employers, among government leaders and officials, and among trade unions. They have been objective, fair and sincere. Yes, sometimes discussions have been difficult, but we have shared the common goal of providing workers with the best we can.
Swee Say, I hope you will be as fortunate as I have been. For many are the problems before us, and others looming on the horizon.
For one, there is growing diversity in the workforce - short-stay foreign workers, lowly paid contract workers, temporary student workers, both local and foreign, older workers, post-retirement re-employed workers. With this diversity, how can we maintain fairness and dignity at work, in this land of opportunity for all?
Globalisation and new knowledge have caused, and will continue to stretch the income gap. Will there be a permanent underclass? How can we help those who are now the 'working poor' with Workfare to provide the low-income with an acceptable standard of living, while maintaining the will to work?
How can we manage rising expectations, reverse the nascent entitlement mentality among both the low-income and the middle-class? How can we renew their sense of being co-owners of our society, where each contributes as much, if not more than he takes from it?
These challenges will put our practice of tripartism to the test. But they also provide opportunities. Just as we have battled recessions, Sars, financial crisis, the turbulence of wars fought elsewhere, and global terrorism, and come out with our bonds stronger than ever - so also I believe, Swee Say, that you will lead the NTUC through the challenges, working closely with employers and Government, with our society emerging even stronger after each battle. And all who make up Singapore, wherever each one of us comes from, we will all say: 'We are Singapore!'
I thank you all, unionists, employers, and colleagues in government, for helping me do my work in the NTUC for almost 26 years. To all unionists, the tribute tonight is really for you. You have stood by me, and I with you. I am your brother. I have done my best. I leave with a deep sense of peace. Go forth, and build a better world. Live that dream!'
