It’s surprising that a Latin American leader of all people was astonished when he heard that Singapore’s labour chief Lim Swee Say is also a government minister.
“He looked at Swee Say, and looked at me. He said: 'Is that really true?' He could not imagine it,' said Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, reports the Straits Times.
Doesn’t the Latin American leader know the backgrounds of the leaders of his own region?
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is a former union leader. And so is Bolivia’s President Evo Morales.
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party has a close relationship with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which is headed by Lim and has members in parliament. And it has been good for everybody. The government can be proud of its excellent rapport with business and labour, which has ensured peace, stability and prosperity.
But Singapore is not the only country where union leaders can rise to government office.
Former British deputy prime minister John Prescott had been a union activist.
Barack Obama was a community organizer.
Zimbabwe’s new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was a union activist.
Australian Bob Hawke was a union leader before he served several terms as prime minister in the 1980s and early 90s.
India’s VV Giri was a labour leader before he joined the Congress party and later served as president from 1969 to 1974.
And there must be others too.
Unions are allied with political parties in other countries as well, including Britain and America. During President Obama’s election last year, we saw unions back the Democrats. Britain’s Labour Party sprang from the trade union movement and is still affiliated to unions.
The difference is unions don’t go on strike in Singapore as they do in other countries. And, yes, the NTUC is one of Singapore’s biggest retailers, insurers, taxi operators, a major healthcare provider and active in the leisure industry. It has been a big success in business.
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