Education Services Union Inaugural General Convention of Delegates

08 Aug 2006

By Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health

Venue: NTUC Centre

Mr Lim Swee Say, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC

Mr John De Payva, NTUC President

Mr Stephen Lee, President of Singapore Business Federation and Singapore National Employers' Federation

Mr Michael Tan, Chairman of ESU Protem Committee

Distinguished Management partners, Union Delegates, friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me first wish all of you a Happy National Day.

Welcome to this morning's double celebrations, marking our Nation's 41st Birthday and the official launch of ESU, the Education Services Union. 

Over the past 41 years, many unions were incorporated, as our economy grew both in scale and complexity.  ESU is the 64th union affiliated to the NTUC.   Most of the unions were formed during the earlier years of our industrialization process.  Many represent employees from the manufacturing sector, a major engine of our economy.

In recent years, as we expanded our other economic engine, in the services sector, new unions with members from the services sector began to emerge.  Like the manufacturing engine, the services engine has multiple cylinders, representing a wide range of our services activities, from aviation to telecommunications.

When Sec Gen Lim Boon Heng asked me to chair the ESU's Council of Advisors, I said "yes" immediately.  There is a reason for this.

When I served as Chairman of the Economic Review Committee's Services Sub-Committee, I pushed for the further development of our exportable services sector.  And among the new exportable services, education and healthcare are particularly promising.  I am bullish about both. 

First, these are where we have particular strengths and enjoy a solid international reputation.  For years, we have, de facto, been the regional hub, attracting large numbers of foreign students and foreign patients here to study or to get well.  The Singapore brand of trust, competence and excellence in these two areas is undisputed. 

Second, they generate many jobs and require a whole spectrum of skill sets and expertise, from cleaners to PhDs, from young to old.  Their growth will therefore be good for Singapore, benefiting families of all demographic background.

In both areas, we have achieved much.  But there is scope to expand them, as Asia grows and as their middle-class population expands.  They will demand better education and healthcare services which they cannot as yet enjoy in their home countries.  This means enormous opportunities for us.

During the ERC deliberations, we set the targets to be the "Boston of the East" in education and the "Mayo of the East" in healthcare.  These are ambitious targets but if work hard and smart at them, they are within our grasp.  For education, we code-name our strategy "the Global Schoolhouse"; for healthcare, "SingaporeMedicine".

Since the ERC report, we have been making steady progress in both strategies. 

In the last 3 years, the number of foreign patients who sought treatment here has increased by a compounded annual growth rate of 20%.  In education, we have attracted many world-class institutions to set up branches here, even as our own institutions continue to attract large number of foreign students to study here.

The formation of ESU was therefore timely as we push on the exportable education sector.  By year 2015, we project this sector to add another 22,000 jobs.  This means that ESU has the potential to become a very big union.  Our immediate target is to double the ESU membership to 10,000 by 2009 and we are confident. 

Although ESU was registered on 31 March 2006, it is not starting from zero.  In fact, it is launching from a solid foundation, which today comprises 5,010 union members from several education institutions, of which the 7 major ones are: NUS, NTU, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore American School, United World College of South East Asia, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre and Raffles Academy.

These were originally members of respectively the AUPE (Amalgamated Union of Public Employees), the SMMWU (Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union), and the SISEU (Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union).  They selflessly blessed the formation of the ESU and can rightly claim paternity to it. 

They gave the ESU very strong support.  First, they decided to transfer the respective branches to the ESU.  Second, they contributed generously to the ESU's start-up fund. 

On behalf of the ESU, the Council of Advisors and the Protem Committee, let me record our appreciation and gratitude to the AUPE, SMMWU, SISEU as well as the NTUC, for your blessings and enormous efforts in helping us put ESU on a firm footing.  We will not disappoint you and betray your trust.  The ESU will be a strong and valuable member and partner of the NTUC and its family of unions.

The ESU Protem Committee has shared with me the many initiatives that they plan to carry out.  Not surprisingly, one key initiative is to promote training and skills upgrading for its members.  Being in the education service, we should be exemplary in life-long learning, training and retraining. 

ESU will not be doing this alone.  We will work with the relevant partners.  The Union has begun engaging the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the management partners to launch suitable courses such as customer service and marketing to help improve the workers' level of service and professionalism. 

It is helpful that Mr Michael Tan of ESU sits in the WDA's Manpower Skills and Training Council for the Education and Training sector.  I am sure he will ensure a strong workers' voice in the development of the Workforce Skills Qualification System for the sector.

To our management partners, let me assure you that ESU will work hand-in-hand with you to grow your operation and create more jobs, thereby enjoying a rewarding relationship.  We will support your vision to make Singapore the global schoolhouse. 

To our other partners such as WDA, ESU will work closely with you, to tap on your experience and resources to help make our members useful, productive workers, whether young or old.

To all ESU members, today marks the beginning of your journey as a valuable member of a new union.  Let us work together to bring glory to our union, so that we can all be proud to hold its union cards. 

On this note, let me once again wish everyone a Happy National Day.