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SINGAPORE: From supermarkets to childcare centres, you will see more of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in the coming years, as its cooperatives extend the labour movement’s footprint in a plan to “compete aggressively for market share”.
“Being successful as a business enterprise is what is necessary for us to perform our social role even more effectively,” said labour chief Lim Swee Say in delivering NTUC’s social report card yesterday.
For example, it is important for NTUC Income Insurance to expand in order to have sufficient resources, if it wants to dish out more rebates and higher returns on investments for policy-holders.
Similarly, if NTUC FairPrice has only a small share of the market, it will not be able to enjoy economies of scale when sourcing for low-cost products, or to pressure other supermarkets to keep prices low.
At the top of NTUC’s mind are working mothers, said Mr Lim. The union’s nine cooperatives and three related organisations plan to support this group beyond the workplace.
At this year’s May Day dinner, former labour chief Lim Boon Heng had underscored the need to keep young women in the workforce if Singapore is to raise the employment rate of seniors, as those who have stopped work to raise families find it tough to re-enter the workforce.
Judging from plans over the next three to five years, this concern looks set to be addressed. NTUC Childcare is in talks with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to double the 40 childcare centres it has, while NTUC Eldercare is targeting the opening of 10 day-care centres for the elderly.
NTUC is also not discounting the possibility of venturing overseas, although there are no immediate plans by any of the cooperatives to do so.
“There are certain areas we have to go beyond the Singapore market so that we can have economies of scale, but in so doing, we must always remember that we are not pursuing those overseas markets purely as a business enterprise — rather, it is a means to an end,” said Mr Lim Swee Say.
Asked if NTUC’s growing stature will crowd out smaller local players, he said: “The market today is so competitive ... tomorrow, if we close down NTUC FairPrice, I can assure you the competition faced by the small retailers will still be there.”
Meanwhile, Income’s new CEO Tan Suee Chieh said that NTUC Income is looking to become the top life insurance provider for its single and regular premium products over the next two years, by focusing on higher-income, “gold-collared” workers, as well as the lower-income group, which includes foreign workers.
Last year, Singaporeans received $64.5 million in direct financial contributions by NTUC cooperatives and related organisations.
Rebates, discounts and absorption of GST account for $52.5 million, while the other $12 million went to workers and members through social programmes such as NTUC Club vouchers. - TODAY/fa
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