Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Environmental Services Workforce Day 2019

Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources

Mr Zainal Sapari, Assistant Secretary-General, NTUC, and Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to be here today for the Environmental Services Workforce Day.

Let me begin by thanking the Environmental Management Association of Singapore (EMAS) for being the first among the three environmental services trade associations to take the lead in organising this event, to celebrate workforce excellence as one.

If one were to ask a tourist for his impression of Singapore, one of the more common answers would be how clean our country is. Singapore is widely recognised as a clean and green city, and our rivers are sanctuaries for fauna of many kinds. However, this has not always been the case – in our early years, our streets were strewn with litter and our waterways were badly polluted. We had to make a conscious effort to transform our city into what it is today. While all Singaporeans had a part to play, it was people like yourselves in the environmental services who were the key driving force behind this remarkable transformation.

Today’s event is a small but sincere gesture to say thank you to all of you for making our city a cleaner, more hygienic and more comfortable place to live, work and play in. You work quietly behind the scenes, but the impact you make on our environment, society and our lives is substantial.

To recognise workers such as yourselves, I have started this #ServingSG initiative to recognise the contributions of those who work tirelessly behind the scenes in providing a public service to other Singaporeans. It is easy to take the contributions of such workers for granted.We are so used to it, and come to even expect it, that we tend to underappreciate their efforts. Today’s event will be the first of a series, where I hope to remind Singaporeans to take the time to appreciate the efforts of these unsung heroes. Even a small gesture, such as taking the time to smile or say thank you, can make a difference.

In our daily hustle and bustle, not many notice the incredibly important role played by our environmental services workers. Allow me to highlight three such examples of workers who have gone the extra mile to keep Singapore clean and green.

Mr Low Kum Chean, a cleaner with Veolia ES Singapore Industrial Pte Ltd, is known for his diligence and warm personality. Many who frequent Ang Mo Kio Garden West may have seen him braving the hot weather to keep the park clean every day. An excellent team player, Kum Chean also proactively helps new colleagues adjust to their work quickly. By helping to set priorities for various cleaning tasks, he has made cleaning the large park less daunting for his new colleagues.Kum Chean is a good role model to many of us for his tireless work ethic.

The second example I would like to highlight is Ms Regina Cheah.In her role as a Senior Executive at Sembwaste Pte Ltd, Regina often engages and educates many stakeholders, including corporate clients, members of the public, and students, on recycling and waste management. A strong advocate for environmental sustainability, she also walks the talk, by organising recycling and upcycling workshops for her own colleagues, and encourages them to practise environmentally friendly habits at work. Regina’s positive energy and leadership in advocating sustainability are inspiring.

The third example I would like to mention is Mr Raship Bin Othman, a Technical Director from Vcare Pest Management Pte Ltd. Mr Raship is an industry veteran with 40 years of service in the pest management industry under his belt. Starting out as a pest control worker in 1979, he has steadily risen through the ranks by continuously learning about pest behaviours and new technology that deal with pests. He is widely respected by his peers and colleagues not only for his commitment to service quality, but also for his enthusiasm in upgrading his knowledge and skills, and his willingness to go the extra mile to help his colleagues along as well.

I am glad that Kum Chean, Regina and Mr Raship, along with 24 others, will be receiving the ES Star Awards today – a new award that pays tribute to those who have gone beyond the call of duty and displayed exceptional performance at work in environmental services. I understand that there was an overwhelming response of nominations for this award and the Certificate of Excellence, a good sign that employers recognise and appreciate your hard work. I hope this will spur everyone to continue working hard and find ways to achieve higher levels of service standards and professionalism for the industry.

One way we can do so is to embrace lifelong learning – to continuously upskill ourselves so that we are future-ready professionally. To help workers identify the relevant skills needed for the future, the National Environment Agency (NEA), SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), Workforce Singapore (WSG), trade associations and unions have collaborated to launch the Skills Framework for Environmental Services for the Waste Management and Cleaning sectors in 2017. The Framework features career pathways, occupations, job roles, as well as their associated skills and competencies. It also highlights the training programmes available to facilitate skills development in the two sectors. It is important to ensure that there are good career paths for our workers to develop and earn more pay.

I am pleased to share that the agencies have since refreshed this Skills Framework to integrate jobs and skills information on the Pest Management sector, so that all three environmental service sectors are now represented. I hope that all of you will use the framework to chart your career progression and pick up new skills to remain relevant in the sector. This way, you can value add to the job and keep our environment clean and green.

Recognising the contributions of the ES workforce and supporting the upgrading of skills are key initiatives of the Environmental Services Industry Transformation Map, or ES ITM. Another key initiative under the ES ITM is transformation – how we are making jobs easier, better and smarter for our environmental service workers.

Together with Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and partners from the private sector, NEA has embarked on several Innovation Projects. These include the trial of Smart and Easy-to-Clean toilets at Changi Airport Terminal 4, the development of a self-cleaning toilet cubicle at Geylang Serai Hawker Centre, the deployment of assistive technology for Public Waste Collectors (PWCs), and a trial of an integrated facility management solution which is an autonomous robot sweeper combined with security features at Heartbeat@Bedok. With more of these projects are implemented, we can look forward to easier cleaning and waste management operations, more streamlined processes and improved work conditions.

Such innovations and use of technologies will also provide opportunities for us to upskill ourselves, and enhance our job scope. In this regard, NEA will continue to work with WSG to redesign the jobs to make work easier, safer and smarter for our environmental service workforce.

In conclusion, let me once again congratulate all the award and certificate recipients today. You, as well as all those present, play an invaluable role in keeping Singapore a clean and green city.All of you should be proud of what you have achieved. I hope that you will continue to pursue excellence in your work, and work with the Government, your employers and unions to bring the workforce to the next level – one that is professional, highly-skilled and which offers good career prospects. On behalf of fellow Singaporeans, let me thank you for your passion and dedication in keeping Singapore clean.