TODAYonline

NTUC stretches its helping hands

Co-ops search for more ways to help buffer impact of costs, reduce profiteering

Lin yanqin
yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg

WITHIN a week of announcing its 5-per-cent discount U Stretch vouchers for low-wage members, 23,000 responded to the National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) initiative to ease the burden of rising prices on the needy.

And with inflation this year forecast to hit as high as 5.5 per cent — with global food prices expected to stay high for years to come — the labour union will have to address the question of how else it can continue to alleviate the cost of inflation for Singaporeans.

For starters, NTUC FairPrice will extend its popular 5-per-cent discounts on 500 housebrand items to the end of July. The scheme has already been extended once since its launch last December, and in all it will cost FairPrice $4.5 million.

NTUC Healthcare is increasing its basket of commonly purchased items — priced about 10 per cent lower than competitors — from 100 to 120 items.

And to mark the upcoming May Day celebrations, NTUC Foodfare and Unity pharmacies will offer union members an additional 5-per-cent discount on purchases, in addition to the usual discounts.

Such measures also help address worries of profiteering in a time of rising prices — the concerns that had led to the creation of NTUC cooperatives in the 1970s, when Singapore was facing inflationary pressures.

Said Foodfare chief executive Perry Ong: "As a social enterprise and co-op, our role is less profit-driven, and we invest our profits to keep down the cost of living for Singaporeans."

Yet, in recent times, criticism has surfaced that the NTUC's various co-ops have become too "business-oriented", rather than focused on the needs of workers — a perception that Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng recently acknowledged could have arisen as a result of the co-ops' success.

Said Dr Kog Yue Choong, who wrote a commentary on this issue for Today in January: "As a co-op with a large share of the market, FairPrice has the capability to cut out profiteering and keep prices within reach, especially during tough times. This is what they were created for, and they can certainly do more."

Mr Fahmi Abu Bakar, vice-president of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, felt the union co-ops had done "a very good job" in keeping costs down.

"The economy is going to be unpredictable and difficult ahead, so if they can continue to pinpoint who needs help, and in what areas, that would be important," he added.

Professor Irene Ng of the National University of Singapore's Social Work department said the labour movement needed to be more "pro-active", rather than reactive.

"They can go out and assess what gaps need to be plugged," she said. "These are special times which call for special measures — not to talk about a dependency mentality. We should see what we can do to address such needs creatively."

Indeed Foodfare's Mr Ong said the co-op plans to extend its reach by opening more outlets to offer lower-priced meals.

"Apart from residential areas, we are considering the feasibility of operating in industry canteens and so on, to reach more workers," he said.

And in spite of the popularity of discount schemes and vouchers, Mr Ong felt these could only be offered for a limited time.

"We have to look at the economic situation as we go along. Our job is not to get rid of the rising cost of living; that's a reality people will have to face. What we can do is help Singaporeans adjust and minimise profiteering."

According to union leaders, workers' biggest concerns continue to be prices of essential items and inflation.

"I think if you ask workers whether it's enough, they are always going to say it's not, because they always welcome more help," said National Transport Workers' Union central committee member Fang Chin Poh. "There can will never be 'enough' But if every co-op continues to help moderate price levels, that will help. That should be their purpose."