New Healthcare Professionals Community seeks to benefit 9,000 workers

The Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) launched the Healthcare Professionals Community (HPC) on 30 September 2024 to support the growth and development of workers affiliated with healthcare professional associations.

The HPC will see some 9,000 members across nine healthcare professional associations leverage HSEU’s and NTUC’s network and resources to gain better training, development and welfare support.

HSEU has formalised the initiative with the nine associations. The partnership is HSEU’s first with professional associations.

The partnership with the associations will enable workers in private healthcare and specialised fields, such as optometrists, oral health therapists, psychologists, and physiotherapists, to gain access to training opportunities similar to those offered to workers in public healthcare institutions.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng said: “This [partnership] enables NTUC and the Healthcare Academy to better support training, development and welfare for a wider pool of healthcare workers, especially those in the private sector and specialised fields.

“NTUC is committed to the growth of every worker, and this is at the heart of what we do. We will continue to take action for our workers so they can achieve better wages, welfare and work prospects.”

Training and transformation

The partnership will also strengthen collaboration, leading to sectoral Operation and Technology Roadmaps (OTR) and Company Training Committees (CTC) to drive healthcare transformation.

Healthcare workers can expect improved wages, welfare, and work prospects with the efforts, said HSEU.

The union added that it will support workers affected by sector changes “to ensure no one is left behind.”

HSEU added that the HPC is a step forward in the union’s outreach to private healthcare providers and healthcare professional associations beyond public healthcare.

HSEU President K Thanaletchimi said: “Our hope is that the HPC will promote public-private partnership so that the public and private healthcare sectors can play a greater role in complementing and supporting each other to uplift the industry.

“We welcome more associations and societies interested in leveraging HSEU and NTUC’s network and resources to join our community.”

New mentorship programme

HSEU and the healthcare professional associations will also collaborate on outreach and recruitment efforts to better represent the interests and concerns of workers in the healthcare sector. 

HSEU will launch the Healthcare Mentorship Programme (HCMP) to strengthen collaboration and understanding with the nine associations.

The HCMP will be conducted in the first quarter of 2025 in collaboration with the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute.

The two-way mentorship in the HCMP will benefit both association and HSEU leaders. Association leaders will learn about industrial relations from HSEU leaders, while HSEU leaders will gain field-specific knowledge from the associations.

The mentorship aims to help the leaders better advocate workplace issues, improve the work environment and career prospects.