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SINGAPORE : Speeding up the pace of re-employing older workers is a key priority for the labour movement in the next four years, according to Mr Lim Swee Say who has just been re-elected as NTUC Secretary General.
The labour movement will also focus on addressing workers' concerns on making healthcare affordable.
Summing up deliberations at the three-day delegates conference, Mr Lim said the NTUC will also work with employers and the government on means testing in hospitals.
On Monday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told unionists that to help the lower income, hospital subsidies should be determined by how much the patient can afford.
NTUC is setting up a panel of experts, headed by Deputy Secretary General Heng Chee How, to help unionised companies adopt pro-business practices which will help in re-employing older workers.
Other concerns among workers are affordable healthcare and adequate medical insurance coverage.
The newly re-elected labour chief is not too pleased with the slow progress on the Portable Medical Benefits Scheme (PMBS).
Mr Lim said: "More and more workers, when they leave their job place, they will be caught in a situation where by the time they want to take on medical insurance on their own, they will be (faced with) this condition of exclusion or pre-existing illnesses.
"That is the reason why as a labour movement, we have to find ways to speed up PMBS so that fewer workers will be caught in this situation. The idea of PMBS is to help more workers to get medical insurance when they are still healthy. By the time they are unhealthy, it is already too late because the pre-existing illnesses will be excluded."
If means testing is used for admission into hospitals, the NTUC wants to ensure that workers will not be adversely affected.
"We would like to see what the ingredients are in the means testing involved. Obviously, there must be a lot of consultation between the Ministry of Health, NTUC and workers and the unions because whatever the changes, we would like to see how it can be detailed to promote our Portable Medical Benefits Scheme," said Halimah Yacob, the newly elected NTUC Deputy Secretary General.
The NTUC Secretary General said the labour movement wants to achieve four things for workers and he calls them the 4Ds - Do Good, Do Well, Do It Together and Do More For Workers.
The NTUC will take stock of its vision in two years when it holds the next ordinary delegates conference. - CNA /ls
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