NTUC runs another survey, this time on union leaders’ reception of speeches by Ministers and MPs

Singapore's only trade union body, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has conducted yet another survey with its union leaders to gauge public sentiment.

According to a whistleblower, an email from the NTUC was sent to union leaders and members on last Saturday to seek feedback in response to the recent speeches made by the Ministers, Members of Parliaments and Nominated Members of Parliament in Parliament Debate on the President's Address 2018.

The speeches cover a wide range of topics – such as senior employment, labour issues, diplomatic relation with Malaysia, racial issues, 4G leadership and etc – which can be seen as hot-button issues with the electorate in the coming General Election.

The poll asked questions such as which speech during the Parliament debate was most memorable and where did the leaders and members get their information about the speeches from.

The poll was scheduled to be closed on Monday, 8pm but had the submission extended to Tuesday, 8pm.

In November 2017, NTUC also conducted a survey on tax matters, focusing on the Goods and Service Tax matter. This was conducted prior to the announcement of the GST hike in February the following year. The People's Action Party had promised voters that GST will not be increased prior to the General Election in 2015 as opposition parties have warned the possibility of the hike, should PAP be given a strong mandate.

After TOC ran the story on the survey,  NTUC's Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute told Straits Times that while they conducted the survey, it did not present the results to the government. Till date, NTUC has not made the results of the survey public.

Mr Steve Tan, the institute's director, said it has been conducting an average of 10 feedback exercises each year since he started heading it in 2015.

Mr Tan said, "As the voice for working people, the labour movement needs to be on top of their concerns. As such, we regularly gather feedback, both formally and informally... Naturally, this would include the national Budget."

One would have to wonder how does its leaders' response to parliamentary speeches have to do with working people and the labour movement.

In other news, it was announced yesterday that Mr Ng Chee Meng, a PAP Minister in the Prime Minister Office, formerly the deputy secretary-general, has been elected as NTUC's Secretary-General.

This entry was posted in Labour, Politics.

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