Mission Update

1 May 2018 

Sister Mary Liew, President of the NTUC, Brother Chan Chun Sing, Secretary-General, brothers and sisters, a very Happy May Day to all of you!

I was very happy just now to listen to Brother Chun Sing and to watch him introduce new people on stage, and have the new people have a chance to speak to you and tell you what they are thinking of doing. I think it is the right way for the Labour Movement to go. It is the right way for Singapore to go.  One of these days, I will do the same thing like Brother Chun Sing.

We have good reasons to celebrate today. Last year, our economic growth was better than expected. We made 3.6 per cent growth, much higher than the 1 to 2 per cent that we had forecasted. More new jobs were created, and average wages went up. Of course, the strong global economy gave us a boost but our workers also did their part and productivity growth was particularly encouraging. In fact, productivity growth last year was the highest we have had in seven years, since the special year in 2009, 2010, when we were rebounding from the Global Financial Crisis.

This year, we have sustained the momentum and we expect growth for the whole year to be 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, and if all goes well, we should do better than 2.5 per cent. I hope the things hold up, and we get another good year.

External environment

How our economy does depends on the external environment. The major economies – US, Europe, China – they should be alright this year. Beyond that, weaknesses may show up and we can see some things which should worry us in the longer term. But even now, there are tensions brewing which are clouding the outlook.

The Trump Administration in America has made trade a top issue, and especially trade between the US and China. It has imposed tariffs on solar panels, and tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. It is putting restriction tariffs on US$50bn worth of Chinese products and it has done all this unilaterally, without going through the WTO. The Chinese, politely but firmly, said they do not want a fight – but if there is a fight, they will奉陪到底. That means accompany the US every step of the way, to the bitter end. When the US imposed US$50bn tariffs on US$50bn of Chinese products, the Chinese had no alternative. They responded similarly, $US50bn tariffs of US products would have special tariffs. But they did not end there. The US immediately escalated – US$100bn of extra tariffs more on Chinese products, a total of US$150bn! So now it is not just a trade issue but also a matter of face, and therefore so much harder to solve.

This is very worrying for us, for several reasons. First, Singapore will suffer collateral damage even though we are not part of the fight. For example, when the Americans did duties on solar panels, on steel and aluminium, those duties are not just on China’s products, they apply to other countries as well, including Singapore’s exports.

Even though the Singapore companies are not subsidised, and not dumping but never mind the Chinese say, 一竹竿打翻一船人 – you just sweep the bamboo pole and everybody is knocked down. Likewise, when China, a few weeks ago, said that they were going to have tariffs on synthetic rubber products, they named the US, EU and Singapore and that will impact our businesses too. So that is the first one, we can be collateral damage.

Secondly, when the Americans act unilaterally like this, it undermines the WTO system, which is supposed to be open, supposed to be rules-based, supposed to be multilateral, that is how we all do business with one another. And that is how we can have free, fair, orderly world trade. All countries, big and small, play by the rules. All countries, big and small, can benefit.

Now, some big players are breaking the rules, doing what they want. Well, they are big, they can do it.  But when they break the rules like this, it will encourage everyone else also not to have respect for the rules, and when they come under pressure, they are more likely to do the same. The international trading system will become more uncertain, and more risky. There will be less trade, there will be less investments.  In a world where the rules are not followed, all countries will suffer, but small countries like us will be worst hit. So that’s the second reason to worry.

The third reason for us to worry is because when the US and China have trade tensions, it will not just be about trade or about economics. It can easily lead to a more serious quarrel, which will affect the security and stability of the world.

If the two countries fight over trade, I think that it will be very hard for them to cooperate on other issues. And it is going to generate more rivalry and suspicion between the two. Why are you doing this? Can I trust you? What precautions must I take? Then, the other side will have to take more precautions and then there will be more frictions and possibly conflict. Other countries who want to be friends with both sides will be put under pressure – are you my friend or his friend? We will be asked by both sides. So what is at stake is not just prosperity, but war and peace.

We can see these trends building up. They are dark clouds on the horizon. But the storm will take a while to gather. Chances are, for our economy, we will be alright this year. But in the longer term, if these trends continue, it will be very bad for the world, and very bad for Singapore.

As a small country, Singapore is always vulnerable to what happens around us. We do not control events, we do not determine what big countries do. All we can do is to speak up, make our voice heard on issues which matter to us. Hopefully if what we say makes sense people will listen, and we can have some influence on what happens.

That is why recently when I went to the Boao Forum in China, I spoke about trade, and specifically about the tensions between the US and China. Then, I took the same message, I wrote an op-ed, I published it in the Washington Post to reach the US audience. Because what I say in China, I must be prepared to say in America. Similarly, what I say in the US, I must be prepared to go to China and say it to China. This way, we maintain our credibility with both sides and retain the trust of both sides. The week after Boao, I went to London to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), last week, and I pitched the same theme – the importance of trade and investments. Many Commonwealth members are small countries, including island states in the Caribbean and the South Pacific much smaller than Singapore. Without free trade, their futures are bleak. So I made the message, I think people listened, I hope it will push the scales a little bit. But these are big forces and we have to track which way the world is going.

Restructuring the Economy; Rejuvenating our Workforce

Economy

Regardless what happens outside Singapore, we know what we have to do domestically and that is, we must strengthen our economy.

The world around us is changing very quickly. Technology is changing people’s lifestyles and behaviours. Businesses are updating the way they operate. New businesses are emerging and disrupting the status quo. Our companies and workers have been feeling the disruption for some time now.

In the last few years, our strategy has been to restructure our economy, to upgrade our workforce and we are helping businesses to transform and adapt. We are helping workers to reskill and retrain, and take on new jobs. We are making our economy more resilient and competitive.

This is not a new theme. You know the message. I have spoken about this for many May Days. So I do not have to hammer the same song.

But I want to take three specific examples of industries which are transforming and talk to you about them: transport, banking, and retail and logistics. I want to use these examples to give you a concrete sense of what is happening around us. How technological disruption is playing out, what it means for our people, for our businesses and for our workers. Also, what the Government is doing to help businesses and workers to adapt to these changes. And what you as workers can do, to help yourself to take advantage of the schemes available and seize the new opportunities.

Transport

Firstly, transport. As brothers and sisters from the NTA (National Taxi Association) and NPHVA (National Private Hire Vehicles Association) know, ridership apps like Grab and Uber have radically transformed the taxi industry in the last few years and you heard Brother Chun Sing talk about it just now.

Many commuters today use apps on their smartphones to book rides. Today, 1 in every 2 rides is booked on Uber or Grab. If you just go back five years, only 1 in 5 rides was pre-booked. And in those days, no app. Pre-booked means you telephone and you speak to an operator, and you try and book a taxi. It is not surprising that the apps have changed commuter habits because using an app is much more convenient than calling up a taxi company on the phone and being put on hold, maybe. It is more predictable than standing on the street and hailing a taxi, especially on a public holiday like today. It gives you more options – what type of car to hire, how much you want to pay, whether to share the ride with someone else to have a discount. I have no doubt commuters have benefitted.

Of course the taxi companies have had to scramble and to adapt quickly to this landscape. Some partnered with Grab or Uber. Others have gone dynamic pricing on their own. The regulator LTA has also had to keep up, to set suitable rules for the new players, to revise rules for taxi operators, to level the playing field. Today, the industry is still in flux. Recently Uber sold its business to Grab. But before they could finish selling, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) stepped in to examine the deal, because we want to ensure competition in the industry, make sure that commuters always have choices, and make sure drivers are not locked in. Other players may enter the market. We hear many stories and rumours in the newspapers. We will see, but we can certainly expect further industry developments.

The industry is in flux in many countries. Last month I was in China, visiting Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行). It is China’s equivalent of Uber and Grab, but it is much huger – 20 million drivers, 450 million users. Didi Chuxing does rental cars, but is has other products and services as well. On-demand buses – because they know where the commuters are, they can schedule the buses, route the buses to pick them up. Using data from their drivers and cars to manage city traffic. In some cities, they collaborated with the city government to operate the city’s traffic light system, to flow the traffic through the city more smoothly.

Looking further ahead, Didi is working on self-driving vehicles. This is one of their experimental vehicles. Didi believes that self-driving cars will be a reality in 10 or 15 years’ time. For public transport, maybe even sooner than that. In Singapore, our buses are still driven by bus captains. But the bus captains are now assisted by controllers sitting in the depot, who monitor where they are because there is GPS and will guide them. Tell them “speed up a bit”, “slow down a bit”. They manage the flow, make sure the buses arrive one by one, and not three and four at once.

I do not think bus captains will have to worry self-driving vehicles because I do not expect to see driverless buses on the roads anytime soon. Our MRT trains are mostly automated except for the North-South and East-West Lines. But although they are “driverless”, in fact the operators put somebody in the trains to be in charge, because if something goes wrong, just in case, to have somebody there, he can respond straightaway. He can act, solve the problem, the train can move without causing delay. The same with buses, when buses become “self-driving”, I am sure we will still need bus captains. The driving will be easier because it will be less laborious. You can just monitor what is happening and make sure the computer does not make a mistake. But it will mean the bus captains will be able to give better service, to expand their jobs, to look after their passengers and to give their passengers a safer and more reliable ride.

It means the bus and train captains will have to adapt. They can take the cue from our taxi drivers. I know when ride-sharing first came, taxi drivers had grumbles, but in truth taxi drivers generally have adapted quite well to the market changes. Most taxi drivers were already smartphone users; they just needed to learn how to use the new apps. Even the older drivers did not have much problems because the apps are easy to use, and the companies provided training.

Brother David Chan is one such former taxi driver. He is 58 years old, he has been a taxi driver for more than 20 years. He used to dislike ride-sharing apps. He thought they were the enemy, stealing the customers. But last September, he decided to try out Grab, after a friend referred him. He found he had more bookings, he earned more. Now he is happy about ride-sharing. David is in the NTA Exco, so he helps other drivers who are interested to learn how to use the apps, to teach them. Because of Grab, David also went into cashless payments and he has also learnt to use internet banking. And it just shows that you are never too old to learn to use technology. 活到老学到老! But of course David is 58 years old. So I should say 活到老学到老, 不过还不老. He is still young.

Banking

A second industry which is being disrupted is banking. Unlike transport, the changes in banking have been happening for quite a lot longer.

Banking used to be a brick and mortar business – you go down to the branch, queue up at the counter, produce your passbook or chequebook, and then make your transaction with the bank teller.

But technology has improved the convenience of banking over the years. In the 1980s, we had ATMs. This was what it looked like in those days. Took a while for people to get used to them. They were worried about getting the right number of notes, whether they would be robbed, whether their PIN may be stolen. But ATMs became popular, because you did not need to travel all the way to the bank or to queue up to withdraw or deposit money.

Then 20 years ago, internet banking started. You could log on from your computer, transfer money and pay bills at home. You could see all your detailed banking records online, anytime.

Now, the third phase is mobile banking and you can do banking transactions on your smartphone, on-the-go, anytime, anywhere. With smartphones, you can also make electronic payments, or pay somebody directly into his bank account. You go for lunch, you need to split the bill, you use the app, the app has a special function, how much is the bill, how many people, you do the sums, and share it for you. I talked about PayNow at the National Day Rally last year. PayNow lets you pay someone else directly, if you know his identification card number, or his smartphone number. You do not need to know what his bank account is. Today, PayNow has 1 million users and is still growing.

Over the next few years, I expect mobile banking to take off in a big way. You just look at China – in the cities, no one uses cash. Everyone uses WeChat Pay or AliPay for everyday transactions. If we look further, beyond five years, I think we can see a fourth phase of disruption in the finance industry because fintech is coming. Financial technology, using IT for finance in a pervasive way. Fintech companies are starting to disrupt traditional financial institutions. For example, there are fintech firms that compare different insurance plans for you. You can work out the sums, decide and buy your own insurance plans online. Some firms will even give you a discount or customise your insurance plan, if you wear a fitness sensor that tracks your health and lifestyle.

There are other new services are emerging. There are robo-advisors that use artificial intelligence (AI) to offer you financial advice, tailored to your needs and circumstances – how old are you, what is your family, what are your expectations, how much are you earning and it will give you advice on how much you should save for your retirement, and what sort of investment products are suitable for your profile.

There are other uses of AI. Programmes to help banks find out when somebody is money laundering, when there is terrorism financing going on. You use big data, use a smart programme, your eyes are always open. MAS has done a lot to make Singapore a popular place for fintech companies and it is creating many new jobs and opportunities, especially for young people. Just in these last two years, we have had 2,000 Singaporeans take up jobs in fintech companies. MAS is also working with our banks to plan ahead, build their digital capabilities, reskill and redeploy their employees. As mobile banking becomes more pervasive, I think banks will need fewer physical branches. In fact, Singapore banks are already trimming back and rationalising their branch networks. It means the banks are going to have to reskill and redeploy the frontline staff – the bank tellers, the counter staff, the call centre agents. They are working at it together with MAS, Workforce Singapore and the unions to develop Professional Conversion Programmes (PCPs), starting with consumer banking because that is where many of the banks’ staff are.

For example, UOB developed a Professional Conversion Programme to retrain frontline officers to understand data analytics, to provide financial advice using digital platforms. One of those selected for the pioneer class was Ms Catherine Lau who is a branch service manager. She has been working with UOB for more than 40 years. Initially she was apprehensive about keeping up with the content, but with her supervisor’s support, she went ahead and she did well in her course. In June, she will complete her PCP. Meanwhile she has already taken on new responsibilities advising clients at UOB’s headquarters. It is possible to change, to retrain, to take up new jobs – and there will be new jobs which you can do. Make the effort and do it.

Retail and logistics

A third sector which is being disrupted is retail and logistics. E-commerce has grown very rapidly and it is replacing traditional brick and mortar stores. More people are buying things on the Internet, delivered to the home. If you already know what you want to buy, e-commerce can save you a lot of time and some money. My children do it a lot, and once in a while I do it too, with some help from them!

Delivery used to be done by the Post Office, sometimes Fedex or DHL, and it would take days or weeks. But technology has transformed this too. You can use sensors to know where the thing is, robotics to manage your warehouse and cloud computing to run the whole operation. Many delivery services, like NinjaVan, now cover the last mile of e-commerce.

Upstream, the warehousing business has also gone high-tech. I visited NTUC FairPrice’s new facility in Joo Koon three years ago. Brother Seah Kian Peng showed me around and the High Tech Distribution Centre is equipped with robotics, radio-frequency identification (RFID), and an automated storage retrieval system. The whole thing operates like a “huge vending machine”. Let me show you a video of the “vending machine”.

Kian Peng tells me that FairPrice recently rolled out a new Transport Management System, in collaboration with A*Star. It speeds up the order process, so now FairPrice can fulfil a lot more orders, and faster. You can order groceries and perishable items from FairPrice On and they will be delivered the next day – it is a game changer, you do not have to go to the market anymore.

Other logistics companies have invested in high tech facilities too. Last year, I opened Supply Chain City, which belongs to Brother Robert Yap’s YCH group. Brother Robert Yap, who is the SNEF President, and here today, told me he is testing new technologies. For example, autonomous vehicles and drones, augmented reality and virtual reality systems. The drones fly around to do stock taking automatically. So you do not have to have a man climb up, climb down, move the ladder, climb up, and may topple over, and risk his life. It is fast, efficient and cheap. Singapore is short of land and manpower. These new technologies will help overcome constraints, and keep us a step ahead of competitors.

The retail stores will have to respond to the changing demand and new technology. Recently, I met Brother Low Cheong Kee. He owns Home-Fix, a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) store. He told me how he had taken over his father’s old hardware store business in Geylang Serai many years ago. He modernised the business, put stores in shopping centres with high traffic and retrained employees to advise customers on what products to buy. He did very well, and he has over 20 stores in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

But he told me he has a problem. Today, he is still getting lots of visitors to his stores, but they come, they see, they do not buy. What do they do? They browse, hold the product in their hands, take pictures, go home and order the item from Amazon or Taobao. Now he has become a showroom operator!

Brother Cheong Kee is changing his business model again. He is strengthening his presence online to reach more customers. He is expanding his services to include sending someone to do the repairs for you. It is not just DIY, but DIFY (Do-it-for-you). He is also running training courses, teaching customers how to repair appliances and fix up their home themselves – DIWY (Do-it-with-you)! In that way, he is building up new relationships, doing things which online stores will find hard to replicate. I wish Brother Cheong Kee and Home-Fix every success in this transformation.

E-commerce needs logistics and retail businesses to work very closely together. Home-Fix partners third party logistics providers to deliver their products. Similarly, logistics providers like YCH have to integrate their systems with their retailers too. This is not just about transforming individual industries one by one, it is about cross-industry collaboration. It means that retail employees must learn to work with new technologies, pick up new skills in logistics, like supply chain and inventory management. The logistics workers have to understand the retail business, learn new skills there and work with their employers to stay competitive.

The Industry Transformation Map for Retail describes this in detail, including a skills map, fully worked out. NTUC’s newest union, as you heard from Brother Chun Sing, the Supply Chain Employees Union, announced just yesterday, will help drive the ITM for the sector. If you are thinking about joining the sector, there are lots of courses available that you can use your SkillsFuture credits for, so please check it out.

So what do these three examples – in transport, in banking, in retail and logistics, what do they show? First of all they show that technology is making our lives better. It is helping us live and work better. It is giving us all, more options and opening up more possibilities and the changes are positive changes. We have to embrace them. We cannot stop them. We cannot hold it back.

Secondly, it shows that companies have to upgrade to meet changing customer demands, and to compete with one another, not just in Singapore but also abroad, around the world. We must support companies to upgrade, so that we can renew our economy and stay competitive.

Thirdly, workers have to adapt, to embrace the change, to pick up new skills and take on better jobs. There are many schemes to help workers, and you should take full advantage of them. Before coming in for the Rally this morning, I took a walk around the stands and there were stalls there by training providers who were offering SkillsFuture courses to workers, PMETs and employers, and there was quite a range. Some with e2i, some with the polytechnics, and some with “Adapt and Grow”.

I just read you a few of them. NTU, SkillsFuture series seminar on Industry 4.0. “Adapt and Grow” by MOM, e2i and WSG shows you career transition planning, career guidance and how to search for a job. Singapore Institute of Hospitality – lifelong learning for hospitality professions. Courses from SUSS, courses on cybersecurity, learning hub, from the real estate and construction academy, from the polytechnics, from all kinds of programmes including SISEU Academy – Workplace Safety and Health. The courses are available. The material is packaged. One to two day courses, they are short, supported by SkillsFuture credits, subsidised by the Government, and recognised by employers. Take them up, take advantage, learn something new, make yourself more employable. I know that it is not easy to change. I know it is coming fast and furious, and many workers worry about the pace of change. But the Government and the Labour Movement, we will walk with you and support you all the way.

For younger Singaporeans not in the workforce, you will have sound education and market-relevant skills that will be sought after in the job market. For those already in the workforce, especially the older ones, we look out for you, and support you with all these schemes and programmes, make you more employable.

That is what the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) are about. We have 23 of them. Next May Day quiz we will test you on some of them. Each ITM is for a different industry. Each ITM has a skills map, detailed, to help you figure out exactly what skills and capabilities you need to progress in that industries.

After you decide what you want to do, you can take up programmes like SkillsFuture and “Adapt and Grow”, in the ITEs, polytechnics or universities. Retrain, reskill throughout your career. If you want to change careers, we also have schemes like Career Trial, Place-and-Train, and Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP), to encourage companies to take you on and train you up, even if you do not have direct experience in that business. Here the Labour Movement plays a crucial role. You provide training and upgrading at the e2i, at the Devan Nair Institute, at the Lifelong Learning Institute. You bring together workers with the same interests on different platforms, some physically, some online, but they get together, exchange experiences, network and learn together. Most importantly, you nurture in workers the mindset of lifelong learning.

That is why when the NTUC Central Committee wrote to me and asked me for a political office holder to work on industry transformation, to help MTI coordinate the implementation of the ITMs, I agreed straightaway. I decided to send you Brother Koh Poh Koon. Because Poh Koon is the best fit. He is in MTI, he co-chairs one of the ITM clusters, he was a professional before he came in to politics, so he can help you reach out to the PMETs as well. Poh Koon will strengthen the LM’s link with industry and businesses, and also the Labour Movement’s link with the Government. I think that is the way forward.

The Labour Movement must continue to be progressive, forward-looking, keeping up with the needs and aspirations of our workforce. Next year is 2019, is the 50th anniversary of NTUC’s historic Modernisation Seminar in 1969, which sets you on a new path, on tripartism, labour enterprises, the way you work with employers, with the Government, and the way you have transformed the economy over half a century.

In recent years, the Labour Movement has expanded your representation, your relevance. Union members and the number of unionised companies have grown. The Labour Movement now includes a network of more than 60 U-Associates and associations, which represents professionals, managers and executives, as well as new groups like freelancers and migrant workers.

NTUC Enterprises also expanded its range of products and services for members, especially in healthcare, logistics and services for the aged. As a result, we are unique among the advanced economies, in Singapore. Because we have seen our Labour Movement membership grow, not decline.

Brother Chan Chun Sing has been your Secretary-General for the last three years.  Chun Sing has pushed for and led these schemes. As all of you know, I am moving Chun Sing back to MTI. In MTI, Chun Sing will be responsible for the overall economy. But I am sure his experience in NTUC will prove valuable to him, and prove valuable to you too in the Labour Movement. Because he now has first-hand experience of the Labour Movement, of workers’ concerns, of dealing with the tripartite partners. The Labour Movement will now have a special friend in MTI, just as it has in MOM, with Brother Swee Say before, and now with Sister Josephine.

Your Central Committee has asked me for Brother Ng Chee Meng in place of Chun Sing, which I have agreed. Brother Chee Meng is no stranger to the Labour Movement. In MOE and MOT, he worked very closely with education, the teachers’ union and transport workers’ unions. I am confident that he will build on Chun Sing’s good work and lead NTUC well, together with Poh Koon, Brother Chee How and Sister Mary, take the Labour Movement to greater heights.

These changes are part of the leadership transition that Singapore is going through. The 4G political leadership is learning on the job, taking on more responsibilities, and preparing for succession. At the same time, a younger generation of union leaders is being groomed, learning from the elders, in time to take over the reins. As younger leaders take over on both sides, in politics as political leadership and union leadership, they must renew the trust between the Government and the NTUC, and renew their commitment to the tripartite partnership.

Tripartism is fundamental to Singapore’s survival and success. We say this every year, but I think it is important that we remind ourselves of this every year. It is one crucial ingredient that is unique to our success that others cannot copy. It is not secret in a sense that people do not know about it, but it is secret in a sense that people can see it but they cannot do it. I think that is the best kind of secret.

Tripartism has seen us through every crisis since independence. It has seen us through many transformations of our economy. Starting with our early nation building years when we had to industrialise rapidly, and survive the withdrawal of British troops. Both of which threatened both our security and our economic livelihood. Through our first major recessions, the oil crisis in 1970s, the major recession in 1985, when workers had to accept deep CPF cuts and reduce costs to restore our competitiveness. It showed us through the Asian Financial Crisis, SARS, and the Global Financial Crisis.

Each time the challenges seemed daunting, sometimes even overwhelming. But without the Labour Movement partnering companies, without the NTUC partnering the PAP in a symbiotic relationship, without the Government, unions and businesses sharing responsibility for Singapore’s future, we would not have made it here. We built this together.

There is a Chinese saying, “一代人做一代人的事” – each generation has to do its duty, its responsibility, the responsibility for its own era. “一代人做一代人的事”. Our Pioneer Generation toiled and built up our nation from scratch. Succeeding generations took up the baton, weathered the crises and journeyed Singapore from Third World to First World status. The new generation will have its challenges and problems to deal with, its own sacrifices to make, its own aspirations and responsibilities to fulfil.

What is the responsibility of the new generation of Singaporeans? It is to renew Singapore – to open a new chapter, to create new possibilities and frontiers for our country.

As we renew Singapore, we must hold fast to the values that have made us successful. The instinct to plan ahead. The drive to do better. The sense of mission – that we are building something special together, in Singapore. The duty of stewardship – that we are responsible not just to the present, but also to generations to come.

This shared responsibility, this shared sense of mission, is our strength. It is how we will show others – and show ourselves too – that Singapore will always have what it takes to endure and to succeed. This is how Singapore will remain a successful nation, for many more years to come.

Thank you again, and Happy May Day!