Gd Lord !!!! Some focker will do any thing just to make a pt !!! Choking indeed !!! I'm focking choking wif disgust at tis focking wayang !! If tis focker c the suffering of peasants collecting cardboards n tin cans, elderly workers cleaning yr kopi tables, cleaning yr public toilets, n begging fer job, focking evil minion will really choke SG wif his monsoon tears !!!!
Workers' caring spirit lauded
August 8, 2008 Friday
Teary NTUC chief pays tribute at launch of book on daily-rated workers
WHEN daily-rated worker K.Sithambaram, 38, was offered a promotion this year, he hesitated.
Accepting it would mean he could no longer serve the Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers, of which he was deputy general secretary.
But his union chief, Mr G.Muthukumar, urged him to take up the job as a technician on a monthly salary for the sake of his two children, aged seven and 12.
The incident brought tears to the eyes of labour chief Lim Swee Say yesterday as he related it at a book launch.
His voice choking with emotion, Mr Lim had to pause twice to recover his composure before urging daily-rated employees to follow in the footsteps of Mr Sithambaram by improving their lives as well as those of their families.
Later, Mr Lim told reporters he had been moved by the selflessness of the two union leaders.
'This spirit of caring for each other, to always want to do the very best for the daily-rated employees to the extent of putting their interest ahead of self-interest really touched me.
'It's that kind of spirit that typifies the labour movement,' said the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
Getting his mechatronics qualification was important for Mr Sithambaram because, with only N levels, his job prospects then were dim.
For two years, he travelled twice a week from his workplace in Tuas to Bukit Batok to attend a course which would lead to a National Institute of Technical Education Certificate.
It paved the way to his new job at the Tuas Incinerator Plant which pays him $1,600 a month, $400 more than he received in his former job as a foreman.
His story has been chronicled in a book on daily-rated employees, called The Unsung Heroes.
Around 100 of these workers were at the Botanic Gardens to hear Mr Lim heap praise on them for keeping Singapore clean and green.
They faithfully sweep the roads, collect refuse, man incinerator plants, tend to trees and check for mosquito breeding, he said.
But as they have little education and make less than $1,200 a month, Mr Lim urged them to ensure their children receive a better education. It is one way to boost a family's livelihood, he said.
Some of the workers' children are walking down that road, going to university with the help of bursaries from the daily-rated workers' union.
The sale of the 96-page book is helping the union raise funds for more bursaries and for workers' training.
Ten organisations have given the fund-raising effort a boost by donating $10,000 each for a copy of the book autographed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. They include Singapore Press Holdings, Great Malaysian Textiles and NTUC FairPrice.
The training of workers is the focus of Mr Muthukumar, 57, the union's general secretary.
Since assuming the position in 2002, he has convinced all 1,000 members to attend at least one upgrading course.
His worry is that their jobs are at risk as the public sector outsources work to contractors.
It was what led him to encourage Mr Sithambaram to take the certificate course and to accept the promotion.
'I want everybody to move up. That is my dream,' said Mr Muthukumar.