4,000 workers and their families celebrate the early success of the
Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP)
1. 4,000 workers and their family members, unions and company representatives participated in the first Inclusive Growth Carnival on 2 April 2011 at Downtown East. The day-long Carnival was organised to celebrate the early success of the Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) which has seen 255 projects and close to 20,000 workers benefitting from productivity gains.
2. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean, joined in the celebrations. The programme also included entertaining activities built around the theme of the tripartite partners' approach to better jobs and better lives.
Inclusive Growth Journey
3. With the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council (NPCEC) set up in 2010 to galvanize Singapore's national productivity drive, one of the first programmes that was endorsed was the $40 million Inclusive Growth Programme.
4. Administered by NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), IGP was launched in August 2010 to help companies roll out productivity improvements and to share productivity gains with workers. IGP targets to benefit 25,000 low wage workers (lower 20th percentile of the workforce earning a monthly pay ≤$1,400) over two years. Funding under IGP is mainly tied to how companies commit to measure and set targets on productivity improvements, and share the gains with workers in the form of better pay.
5. Buy-in from companies has been encouraging. Beyond the traditional Job Re-creation Programme sectors of Conservancy Cleaning, Security and Landscaping, there is increasingly interest from Services and Manufacturing sectors. As more sectors such as F&B, Hospitality and SME Manufacturing have early adopters to embark on automation and improve processes, the pace for industry redevelopment will pick up and more workers will stand to benefit.
6. Improving the skills, productivity and wages of low-wage workers across sectors is a shared goal of the tripartite partners. The efforts from companies, Government and unions are critical to move towards the aim of increasing the wages of Singaporeans by 30 per cent over 10 years.
7. "For the last 50 years, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) had worked closely with the tripartite partners to strengthen our society. With Singapore's low unemployment rate and steady increase in real wages, our workers are able to lead better lives through better skills, better jobs and better pay" said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean, who is also the Chairman of the NPCEC.
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About National Trades Union Congress
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions in the industrial, service and public sectors representing more than 570,000 workers in Singapore. NTUC comprises 60 affiliated unions, one affiliated national taxi association, 12 social enterprises and four related organisations. Our objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and workers remain employable for life; enhance the social status and well-being of workers; and build a strong, responsible and caring Labour Movement. Our vision is to create a better and more meaningful life for working people of all collars, ages and nationalities to work, live and play together in Singapore, with a mission to help working people earn a better living and live a better life.
For more details on NTUC, please visit our website at www.ntuc.org.sg.
About e2i (Employment and Employability Institute)
As THE market-place for workers, employers and training providers, e2i exists to create better jobs and better lives for workers. In 2010, we helped 40,000 workers through providing better jobs, developing better skills through professional development, and improving productivity for companies. An initiative of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), supported by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF), and the Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF), e2i serves all segments of workers, from rank and file to professionals, managers, executives and technicians.