The new national CET campus at Jurong Lake District will be named the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability. 

NTUC Secretary General Lim Swee Say made the announcement at the labour movement's May Day celebrations today. 

The campus, which opens in 2013, will also be home to the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute. 

NTUC says this is a befitting tribute to the late Mr C V Devan Nair who was a founding member of NTUC. 

Mr Nair was the NTUC Secretary General from 1963 to 1965 and from 1970 to 1979. 

He was President of Singapore between 1981 and 1985. 

Together with it's sister CET campus in the east, the Devan Nair Institute will become a one stop hub for workers to access skills training and upgrading as well as job opportunities. 

When completed in 2013, both campuses will train up to 50,000 workers annually. 

Some 8,500 people comprising union leaders, government ministers were at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the NTUC.

SINGAPORE: Ms Angela Oon, a Workers’ Party (WP) candidate for the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC), on Sunday night evoked nostalgia among constituents by talking about the kampung spirit which makes their neighbourhood " special" .

In her maiden rally speech at the Yishun Stadium, Ms Oon recalled the old kampungs in Yishun and reminisced about landmarks of bygone days, such as the Chong Pang roundabout and the Sultan Cinema.

" Do you remember when the PAP Government took back your land?" she said, referring to the Government’s resettlement of villagers in the area in the ’80s and ’90s.

" People of Nee Soon, our team understands who you are. We understand the Nee Soon heritage. We understand that, for you, community and family come first."

Ms Oon urged voters there to ask the Government whether its S$600—million renewal plans for the town would be carried out regardless of the election results.

Foreign Minister George Yeo, who helms the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Aljunied GRC team, had said renewal plans for his constituency that had been announced would not be affected even if the WP’s " A team" there emerged victorious at the polls.

The rest of the WP’s Nee Soon line—up, which includes Dr Poh Lee Guan, Mr Sajeev Kamalasanan, Dr John Yam and Mr Watson Chong also spoke on Sunday night.

They touched on hot topics in these elections, such as the cost of living, the influx of foreigners, and affordability of public housing. Dr Yam and Mr Chong questioned the number of new jobs that the two integrated resorts have really created for Singaporeans.

Meanwhile, WP chairman Sylvia Lim took issue with the PAP Government’s changes to the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme.

She said the deferment of CPF drawdown age from 62 to 65 and increase of the Minimum Sum required in the account was akin to it treating Singaporeans like children who need others to keep their money safe.

" The money in your CPF account belongs to you. But, for many years, the PAP has been changing the rules and doing what it wants to keep your CPF money secure from you," she said. " Your CPF balances are what you have saved from slogging hard for 30 years ... yet the Government goes about changing the rules as if the money belongs to them."

She added that the WP believes that the CPF system should be more flexible drawdown age should be lowered to 60 and those facing financial problems should be allowed to tap on their CPF savings under " strict guidelines" . —

TODAY

 

 

Reform Party Chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam says the People's Action Party is out of step with Singaporeans. 

Speaking at his party's rally in Yio Chu Kang Stadium tonight, Mr Jeyaretnam said real wages have been unable to keep up with inflation and productivity has seen a sharp drop. 

" They would have to run for a hundred years to catch up. They are so out of step with the world, out of step with democracy, but worse of all, out of touch with the Singaporean on the ground."

Mr Jeyaretnam, who is standing in West Coast GRC, was rebutting Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang who had said the Reform Party was out of step with other opposition parties. 

The Reform Party's candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC, Mansor Rahman, has called for all PAP MPs and Ministers to resign from the NTUC. 

He said trade unions must be free from political affiliations. 

The 59 year old former unionist pointed to Mr Lim Swee Say's appointment as Secretary General of the NTUC. 

" How could the representative of the government be in the union. That means there's no difference between the PAP and NTUC."

 

 

by Joanne Chan

Unionists have welcomed the government's commitment to improve the lives of workers - through skills upgrading and special programmes for low-income earners. 

During his half hour speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong outlined the steps taken by the government to enhance the lives of workers, and highlighted the unique relationship between the government, unions and employers in Singapore.

NTUC Central Committee member and General Secretary of the Singapore Teachers' Union, Edwin Lye, said he was heartened to hear the Prime Minister pay tribute to the labour movement. 

" The reaffirming of the support of the labour movement and recognising that the labour movement is an intricate part of the nation, and the fact that government will support in terms of real funding to enhance the capacity of future union leaders, so that we will be able to continue to grow from strength to strength."  

Mr Lee announced a 50-million-dollar development fund to build leadership in NTUC.

Alex Yam, principal executive at the NTUC youth development unit, said the fund will help bring in more youth leaders.

" This would be very helpful for us to see if there are any new areas for us to develop them, to bring more young leaders in and of course grow our leadership overall."

NTUC Deputy Secretary-General, Halimah Yacob, said she welcomed the programmes in place to help low-wage workers, such as Workfare and the Workfare Special Bonus.

" I like best the part where he said that we have not forgotten about the low-income workers and low-skilled workers. They will continue to have priority for the government in order to upskill their skills, and ensure that they have better wages and a better life."

Some 8,500 people participated in the NTUC May Day Rally.