Pool of NTUC industrial relations officers to grow

SINGAPORE — They spoke up mostly on workers’ pay and issues concerning occupational health and safety previously. Now, the responsibilities of an industrial relations officer (IRO) with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) have widened to include pushing for workplaces that are both elderly- and family-friendly.

With the labour movement undertaking more programmes and aiming to increase the unionisation rate, the pool of IROs is set to grow. This comes as the ranks of IROs have grown from 90 in 2008 to 130 today, with the growth in union membership and the formation of more union branches.

In the past year, 137 new union branches were organised, including Singapore’s two integrated resorts — Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands (MBS).

In particular, MBS’ move to open its doors for a union to offer membership to its workers after two years of talks was heralded by the Attractions, Resorts and Entertainment Union as “a significant breakthrough”.

NTUC staff had carried out publicity drives three to four times a week for 24 hours each time outside MBS, wearing sandwich boards with messages about workers’ rights and handing out publicity material.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Cham Hui Fong said the labour movement needs to “grow the pool of IROs so that we can serve our unions well”. The NTUC had set itself a goal of unionising a third of the workforce, or one million workers, by 2015. There are currently 785,000 union members.

Speaking to reporters at the end of the biennial Ordinary Delegates Conference last month, labour chief Lim Swee Say said moving ahead, “more and more of the action, consensus, we have to reach (is) not just at the national level but also at the sectorial level”.

Mr Lim added that as the economy goes through a period of economic transition, “tripartism has to be strong because the government, the union and the businesses have to find ways to work together to maximise the gain, minimise the pain for businesses, for workers, as well as for the whole economy”.

The work of IROs, Ms Cham noted, has evolved over the years to go beyond the industrial relations areas of collective bargaining and workplace representation, and now involves “enhancing the well-being of our workers and promoting good employment practices, for example, pushing for an age-friendly and family-friendly workplace”.

The job also includes membership recruitment, organising events and activities for bonding, and working with industry players such as the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

The NTUC’s current pool of IROs ranges from young graduates to those in their 60s. IROs TODAY spoke to noted the challenges of their job —from having to manage conflicts and dealing with white-collar workers who are more educated of their rights, to meeting the increasing expectation for “instant information” from union members.

Mr Nur Azaruddin Putra Mohamed Jufri, 32, said IROs need “a certain kind of personality” to succeed — they have to be comfortable with people, and also have a “thick skin” to manage problems and conflicts.

“We are working with people who obviously have different interests … You have the workers on the ground who may have a certain position on what their terms and conditions and benefits should be. Then you have management who wants to run its company in a manner which it deems fit,” added Mr Azaruddin, who is the Assistant Executive Secretary of the Chemical Industries Employees’ Union.

Deputy Executive Secretary of Healthcare Services Employees’ Union Charles Ng, 51, said the IRO job requires strong interpersonal skills — “able to listen, able to empathise, and able to counsel, when required”. “The business we engage in is a people business, and people come in different kinds of shapes and sizes, and sometimes we do meet difficult people … So we have to learn to have a sense equanimity … We have to manage our emotions,” Mr Ng added.

Another challenge Mr Ng pointed out is that IROs now have to “move faster to meet expectations” from union leaders and members. “If you wait for a day, they will ask, why are you not getting back to me,” he added.

And with more professionals, executives and managers (PMEs) joining the union folds, IROs have to “better understand their needs”. “They do not just want simple advice … but they want to engage you to know … how you can help them,” Mr Ng said.

While they officially work 42-hour weeks, the IROs said they do not have a typical work day, with duties ranging from visits to companies to get a first-hand view of workplace conditions and to develop relationships with workers and management, to attending midnight meetings with shift workers on some days, and having social events for union members on some weekends.

Making a difference in the lives of individuals, the IROs said, gives them the most meaning in their job. “My greatest satisfaction comes not just from negotiation for people as a group, but seeing what I can do for individuals who are vulnerable, who are not in the capacity to help themselves”, said Mr Ng.