Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the AUPE 60th Anniversary Dinner

Brother Ng Hee Seng, President of AUPE

Brother Sanjeev Tiwari, General Secretary of AUPE

Sister Mary Liew, President, NTUC

Brother Ng Chee Meng, Secretary General, NTUC

Sisters and Brothers

Good evening.

I am most delighted to be here to celebrate AUPE’s 60^th anniversary.

This is indeed a milestone. AUPE is one of the oldest unions registered in Singapore since its establishment in 1959.   It is also the largest public sector union representing the interest of public sector employees, from both the civil service and the statutory boards.

Let me first congratulate the Public Service for leading the way in raising the retirement age to 63, and offering re-employment to eligible officers until they turn 68 from July 1 2021, one year ahead of the national schedule. More than 2000 public officers will benefit from this move. This is clearly one tangible outcome of close union management collaboration in the public sector. But it has also been possible because the public sector has put in place processes to support older workers who wish to work longer as having a policy alone is not sufficient.  This is something which private sector employers can take heed of so that they will be better prepared to implement the extensions of the retirement and re-employment ages.

There are many reasons why we should allow people to work longer. Our longer lifespan is one reason, as a job helps us to remain engaged and productive. But employers, too, benefit from the wealth of experience that resides in older workers and, with a declining birth rate, we will soon experience a shrinking labour force where there will not be enough people to do the work. It is not tenable to try and make up for this shortfall through employing more foreign workers as that would affect our efforts to build a Singaporean core.  So, every person counts and there is a practical reason for allowing people to work longer.

My association with AUPE started decades ago when I served in the NTUC and was advising the public sector unions. Through the years, the union has had to restructure and reorganise itself many times to remain relevant to the needs of its members and our society. The Public Service used to employ a large number of people, but through reorganisation, restructuring and productivity improvements, the private sector is now the largest employer as it should be. Regardless of whether a person is employed in the private or public sector, the same considerations apply if we wish to attract and retain talents at all levels and maximise people’s potential. The Public Service today provides competitive salaries and conditions of work and, in some respects, such as work life balance, is able to provide greater flexibility.

The challenges facing the Public Service and Public sector employees are vastly different today compared to before and the Public Service has to be nimble, adaptable and responsive in responding to them.  Many factors will impact on the Public Service. The external environment is changing very rapidly and we will see greater uncertainty and unpredictability. Technological changes have drastically changed the way we work, live and play. We now have a more discerning public that expects ever higher standards of public service delivery. And, the ageing population will have a significant impact on how the Public Service does its work.  Even as the Public Service deals with the immediate and the present, it has to think of the long term interest of the country and to ensure that its policies and programmes contribute to sustainable development.

These rapid changes that are taking place will require public officers who are receptive to continuous change, able to anticipate demands and find innovative ways to address them. In other words, a transformation of our public officers through a shifting of paradigms, the willingness to learn new skills and to work out new approaches and solutions. I am glad that AUPE is working closely with the PSD and the Civil Service to form a Public Service Cluster Training Committee to support this workforce transformation through skills upgrading and enhancing employability.

Through AUPE, about 1,600 officers have attended SkillsFuture-related Programmes. One of them is Yap Chu Yong, Chairman of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Staff branch. Yap took up the challenge of learning new IT and digital media skills when he transferred to the School of Interactive and Digital Media, after working in roles that provided technical support for electronic and electrical engineering. He admits that the transition was not easy, and was worried about the new environment, the steep learning curve and the risk of not performing well enough to be re-employed, but he persevered. Yap is a role model for other public officers on the importance of resilience and investing in oneself to remain employable. It will not always be easy but everyone regardless of age or educational background can learn something new.

As I see it, technology will play a major role in the transformation of the public sector workforce. Leveraging on technology will increase efficiency and productivity, enhance customer satisfaction and help in job redesigning. There will be greater job satisfaction too as public officers can spend their time on more challenging tasks.

Under the Public Service Cluster Training Committee, AUPE is also working closely with the Public Service agencies to identify jobs that need to be redesigned or which will be automated; identify future jobs and skills in demand and develop training programmes that can serve agencies as well as officers across the sector.  These are tangible moves to prepare public officers for more rewarding careers in the public sector and to help them remain employable.

I am glad that the close tripartite relationship that exists between the government, employers and unions has enabled Singapore to reach consensus on many employment matters, such as the extension of the retirement and re-employment ages. In many countries, employment matters are a constant source of conflict leading to instability and affecting everyone. This is something that we need to recognise and appreciate and should not take for granted just because we have enjoyed many years of industrial peace.  At the heart of the conflict between labour, management and the government, in most countries is the lack of trust and consensus in the state’s stewardship of resources and in the fairness of its distribution.  We are fortunate to have avoided such conflicts and disruptions because of the strong trust, respect and understanding that exists among the parties.

AUPE’s and the Public Service Division’s close collaboration in helping public officers to navigate changes and better contribute to an efficient and productive public sector, is a case in point.

I am confident that AUPE will continue to remain an effective voice for its members in the years to come. A strong union is needed to represent the voices of the people in the public sector. With this, the union and government can work together in a consensus-building manner. It is important for the public sector to continue to transform itself to face the challenges ahead.

Once again, happy 60^th anniversary.  Thank you.