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BY CAI HAOXIANG

LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say has identi-fied some industries that need to buck upon efforts to hire more Singaporeans in-stead of foreigners.

A stronger Singaporean core as heput it will deepen the roots of globalcompanies in Singapore, and strengthenSingaporeans ownership in the econo-mys growth.

Mr Lim named construction, informa-tion technology and shipbuilding as thosethat the labour movement need to focusits energies on, in this regard.

The secretary-general of the NationalTrades Union Congress was addressing

1,400 unionists as well as employers onTuesday at the National Delegates Con-ference to discuss the labour movementspriorities for the next four years.

This is the first time that Mr Lim hasnamed industries which need to have ahigher proportion of Singaporean work-ers. It follows on the anti-discriminationguidelines issued by a tripartite commit-tee in October, aimed at levelling the play-ing field for locals in the job market.

Stressed Mr Lim: For sectors wherethe Singaporean core is ageing, we haveto refresh it as in the case of shipbuild-ing.

For sectors where the Singaporean

core is shrinking in proportion to the in-dustry, we have to grow it as in thecase of construction and IT.

And sectors which lack skilled Singapo-rean workers can borrow global manpow-er but never lose sight of nurturing our lo-cal core, he added, citing as an exampleengine-maker Rolls Royce, which is work-ing with agencies to train locals.

As for those which are doing well in es-tablishing a strong Singaporean core

such as the wafer fabrication industry,

make it stronger, he urged.

A stronger Singaporean presence in

various sectors will root global compa-

nies here and make Singaporeans moreproud and take greater ownership of thegrowth and success of the Singapore econ-omy, he said. But more importantly, itwill also enhance the mutual respect andmutual acceptance between local and glo-bal manpower here.

Mr Lim did not give details of stepsthat the labour movement will take tohelp strengthen the Singapore core. Butinterviews with unionists and industryplayers indicate that the root of the prob-lem differs depending on the industry,thus requiring different remedial actions.

In the shipbuilding industry, for in-stance, there is no shortage of Singapore-

ans in management jobs, said Mr WongWeng Ong, president of the Shipbuildingand Marine Engineering Employees Un-ion.

But the immediate supervisors of ship-yard workers are in their late 50s and 60sand due to retire soon.

To attract younger Singaporeans tothese positions, we are working on im-proving their pay and work conditions.

For the construction and IT industries,

the paucity of Singaporean workers is feltin the higher-level jobs.

Expand Constructions chairman Von

Lee said the industry has been losingmany local engineers and managers overthe years to other sectors like finance,which appear more glamorous.

The bottom line: We need to trainmore engineers in schools, he said.

Agreeing, IT firm Datacrafts sales di-rector and MP Zaqy Mohamad said the ITindustry talent pool lacks Singaporeans intheir 20s and 30s because they are moreattracted to jobs in business and finance.

The trend of global companies out-sourcing jobs to cheaper countries has al-so resulted in a smaller proportion of lo-cals in the industry.

But local workers can be groomed totake on higher-value and eventually man-agement roles, he said.

In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Lim alsoreiterated other priorities for NTUC, inhis 2015 vision for the movement.

It needs to strive for better employ-ment terms for all, including low-wage,contract workers, older workers as wellas those in white-collar jobs.

Mr Lim also called for the NTUC to

reach out to all government ministriesand agencies, and more employers andsectors, in a more pervasive tripartism.

The NTUC will also raise its member-ship to one millionand ensure a represent-ative mix of blue-collar, white-collarworkers of all ages and nationalities.

Together we can upgrade and trans-form, build our core and sink roots herein Singapore, said Mr Lim.

haoxiang@sph.com.sg

BY GRACE CHUA

DURBAN (South Africa): Developed countries mustshow leadership in cutting their carbon emissions,

ut developing countries can and must contributetoo, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

He was delivering Singapores national statement,which outlines each countrys position and de-mands, at the United Nations climate change confer-ence in the South African city of Durban yesterday.

Ministers and leaders from more than 190 coun-tries are in town to discuss the future of the KyotoProtocol, as well as a legally binding deal for all coun-tries.

The Kyoto Protocol, a legal pact that requires de-veloped nations to cut their carbon dioxide emis-sions, as well as other measures to help developingcountries cope with the impact of climate change,will run out by the end of next year.

Singapore, DPM Teo said, associates itself withthe developing-country Group of 77 and China, andwith the 39-member Alliance of Small Island States.

At the opening of the high-level ministerial seg-ment on Tuesday, representatives of these develop-

ing- and vulnerable-country groups pleaded for anew legally binding agreement and for internationalfunding mechanisms to be implemented.

DPM Teo said the measures agreed on in previoustalks should be carried out. For example, under lastyears Cancun Agreements, all developed countriespledged to reduce their emissions, and developingcountries undertook nationally appropriate mitiga-tion actions.

By UN estimates, those pledges will result in 3-7gigatonnes less carbon dioxide emissions. Globalemissions from the burning of fossil fuels for energyalone, by comparison, were 30.4 gigatonnes last year a record high.

In Cancun, governments also agreed that develop-ing nations should get finance, technology and train-ing to help them tackle climate change.

Those must translate into concrete measures likesetting up and putting money into a Green ClimateFund previously agreed on.

Singapore suggested three guiding principles forthe talks, which have two days left to go.

One, the system to combat climate change mustbe multilateral, meaning every country has to playby the rules.

Two, there should be transparency, meaning coun-tries must be able to measure, report and verify thatthey made the emissions cuts they pledged.

And three, there should be universal participa-tion, meaning all countries must participate accord-ing to their respective abilities.

What this means is that the developed countrieshave to show leadership in emissions reductions. Butdeveloping countries too, can and must make a con-tribution to the process, taking into account their na-tional circumstances and constraints, he said.

Some 90 countries have already pledged to reducetheir carbon emissions, he said, but we need to en-

courage others to come forward and make theirpledge.Singapore had pledged in 2009 at the Copenhagen

conference to cut carbon emissions by between 7and 11 per cent without a legally binding agreementand 16 per cent with one.

DPM Teo outlined some of the actions that Singa-pore has already taken: switching from fuel oil to nat-ural gas, which cuts carbon emissions, and imple-menting vehicle quotas and usage constraints likeElectronic Road Pricing.

It also has research programmes in clean technolo-gies, such as solar energy, electric vehicles and a newcentre set up with Shanghai Jiaotong University thisweek to study energy from waste and pollution moni-toring.

And as a member of the International Maritime Or-ganisation and the International Civil Aviation Or-ganisation, Mr Teo said, Singapore is also working to-wards multilateral measures to cut emissions in theinternational maritime and aviation sectors.

Through these efforts, we hope to develop effec-tive solutions that can address the challenges facedby Singapore, and also contribute to global efforts tomitigate climate change, he said.

See reports, World Page A28

BY TOH YONG CHUAN

YOUNGER workers want more transpar-ency in dealings between unions, employ-ers and government a departure fromthe behind-the-scenes approach that hasthus far marked tripartism here.

That is the view of the labour move-ments longest serving president, MrJohn De Payva, 62, who retires today af-ter 15 years at the post. He believes meet-ing these changed expectations will posethe biggest challenge for union leaders.

Younger people dont really want tosubscribe to behind-the-scenes hardwork. They want us to be transparent andvocal, take nasty employers to task andeven tell the Government, This is notenough, you have to do more, he said inan interview with The Straits Times.

If union leaders work in standing upfor workers rights becomes more visible,that in turn could help to attract moreyounger workers to join the labour move-ment, he added.

There could be a bigger catch ofyoung leaders who say, They are actuallydoing so much, and it didnt dawn on methey were doing all this, I think I canhelp, and I also want to come in and domy part, he said.

Mr De Payva and several otherlong-serving National Trades Union Con-gress leaders were thanked by Prime Min-ister Lee Hsien Loong and NTUC secre-tary-general Lim Swee Say on Tuesday,when they opened the three-day NationalDelegates Conference. It ends today withthe election of a new Central Committee,the labour movements highest deci-sion-making body.

Mr Lee praised Mr De Payva for lead-ing the NTUC through many ups anddowns, crises and good times.

All 10 who step down from the CentralCommittee today are passionate andwell-respected leaders serving with work-ers at heart.

Mr Lee singled out three for specialmention: financial affairs secretary TeoYock Ngee and vice-presidents CyrilleTan and Thomas Tay.

Mr De Payvas journey to the top ranksof the labour movement began in 1973. Asa 26-year-old accounts clerk at UnitedEngineers, he joined the house union, be-coming its branch secretary in 1975 afterthe union was taken over by the Singa-pore Manual and Mercantile Workers Un-ion (SMMWU).

Four years later, in 1979, he resignedfrom United Engineers to become an in-dustrial relations officer at SMMWU.

His manager offered to retrench him

so he could get a payout, as the companywas then going through restructuring. Hehad worked for nine years and wouldhave received a tidy sum, but he said no.

I am going into SMMWU to representworkers... My conscience wouldnt allowme to take the money, he explained.

He rose rapidly through the ranks tobecome SMMWU deputy secretary-gener-al in 1985 and secretary-general in 1988,a post which he still holds. Under hiswatch, the union grew from 12,000 mem-

bers in 1988 to 83,000 today. It is nowthe largest union here.

He first became active in NTUC in1982, when he was made the secretary fororganising, the equivalent of todays di-rector of membership.

He was to be thrown into the thick ofaction as Singapore headed into a reces-sion in 1985.

He remembers meeting then DeputyPrime Minister Goh Chok Tong to discussa 15 per cent cut in employers Central

Provident Fund contribution and rallyingworkers to support the move.

Recalling that episode, he said: Tome, it was the first strong demonstrationof tripartism. We put our trust in tripart-

ism without knowing if employers willkeep the faith. We know very well theGovernment will.

In 1988, Mr De Payva was elected toNTUCs Central Committee.

Six years later, he became a Nominat-ed Member of Parliament. He spoke upon workplace safety, the use of CPF forpart-time studies and taking errant em-ployers to task for not paying workersCPF, among other issues.

During his tenure as NTUC president,Singapore went through the Asian finan-cial crisis in 1997, Sars in 2003 and the fi-nancial meltdown in 2008.

Known for being a soft spoken buttough negotiator, he was modest abouthis contributions. I look at things usingcommon sense, and I let my conscienceguide me, he said.

On beingNTUCs longest-servingpres-ident, he said it was not something thatI could even imagine.

As he prepares for a new role as advis-er and mentor to younger union leaders af-

ter today, it is plain that some issues stillirk him.

He points out two: Managers and exec-utives who do not want to deal with un-ions, and labour MPs who do not speakup on labour issues.

You can print that, he said firmly,because I want to send a strong messageto them.

On his retirement, he said: I wouldrather be a person who is prepared to stepdown rather than be a person who isasked to step down.

He sits on the boards of several region-al and international labour organisations,and will continue to be involved in them.

And he will keep his door open to fel-low unionists: Hey, I am still going to bearound. I mean you need to chit-chat onissues or what, just come.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean delivering Singaporesstatement at the UN climate change conference in Durban,South Africa, yesterday.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES

Mr John De Payva at the annual dinner of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers Union last week. Mr De Payva retires today as thelongest-serving NTUC president, a post he has held for 15 years. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

Labour chief saysconstruction, IT andshipbuilding sectorscould use more locals

Stronger Sporean core ineconomy needed: Swee Say

U N C L I M A T E C H A N G E C O N F E R E N C E

All countries have partto play, says Singapore

Younger workers want transparent, vocal unions

v

TARGETED APPROACH

For sectors where theSingaporean core is ageing,we have to refresh it as inthe case of shipbuilding. Forsectors where theSingaporean core isshrinking in proportion tothe industry, we have to

grow it as in the case ofconstruction and IT.NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say

primenews

THE STRAITS TIMES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8 2011 PAGE A6