Promotion of Collaborative Tripartism through National Education Curriculum

Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Education (Schools) whether our brand of collaborative tripartism can be better preserved and promulgated by including it in our National Education curriculum.

Madam, the Ministry of Education (MOE) agrees that students should know about tripartism and the part it plays in shaping Singapore's growth in the past, present and future. While it is not specifically taught in a module labelled "tripartism", students do learn about it in a number of ways.

Firstly, students learn how positive industrial relations contribute to stability and growth. For example, through History, secondary school students learn how the Labour Movement activity in the 1950s created the need for mediation to maintain peaceful relations between workers and employers in Singapore. Junior college History students study strategies adopted by Southeast Asian countries to pursue development. They may explore the case study of Singapore and learn how tripartism contributed to stability which attracted foreign investment. In Economics, the study of national economic policies, like economic restructuring, wage level management, labour productivity and mobility, allow for the discussion of the roles played by employers, employees and the Government in maintaining a conducive economic climate.

More broadly, students learn how consensus is built when groups with different interests work together to achieve collective goals. In Character and Citizenship Education lessons, emphasis on values like responsibility and resilience helps us stay economically competitive and build social cohesion. In Social Studies, students learn how the Government, the community and individuals work together for the common good of society.

MOE regularly reviews our curriculum to better engage our students, and we will continue to help them learn how societies build consensus, in the same way that tripartism builds consensus and collaboration between unions, employers and the Government.

Madam, I have a follow-up question. With regard to tertiary education students, when they go on an attachment, is there some form of attachment to organisation that values tripartism, so that they can have first-hand experience of tripartism and how it works?

Indeed, Madam, if I can give an example, there is a programme between Temasek Polytechnic and the Singapore National Employers Federation. Through this, the students will have experience in the Ministry of Manpower, Industrial Arbitration Court, National Trades Union Congress, the Workplace Safety and Health Council, and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices. So, through a variety of processes and interactions, the students can learn about the different agencies, offices and activities that contribute towards the outcome of tripartism.