Speech by Minister Josephine Teo at SingPost’s Buka Puasa

Mr Simon Israel, SingPost Chairman

Mr Vincent Phang, SingPost Group CEO

Brother Mohamed Latiff, President of UTES

Brother Thuvinder Singh, General Secretary of UTES

Brother Desmond Choo, Executive Secretary of UTES and my fellow parliamentary colleague

Colleagues and friends

Brothers and sisters

1. Selamat petang. I’m very happy to return for the second year for SingPost’s Buka Puasa.

2. At last year’s Buka Puasa, rules were already more relaxed than in 2021, but even then, I remember that mask wearing was still mandatory indoors, such that we could only take off our masks while eating. I am glad that we are now back to an even greater sense of pre-Covid normalcy. I can now see all your smiles readily.

3. Your job at SingPost is very important. You are a key reason why SingPost was awarded the President’s Certificate of Commendation for COVID-19. This is an award that recognises organisations that have made a significant impact in Singapore’s fight against COVID-19. We are very grateful for your hard work. Because of your dedication in carrying out your roles and keeping the Singapore postal system going, we were able to accomplish many significant things during the pandemic, including giving every household Antigen Rapid Test (ART) kits, which provided them with a greater sense of assurance amid the pandemic.

4. This year marks a significant milestone as SingPost celebrates its 165th year in Singapore. Over the years, SingPost evolved time and again to meet the needs of residents and businesses. Today, you have all come a long way from being the country’s postal service to providing eCommerce logistics with operations in 15 markets.

5. I am heartened to see many of you embracing the new initiatives and technologies that SingPost has rolled out over the past year. For instance, in recognition of the e-commerce trend, SingPost unveiled POPStop last October. These are dedicated service centres to help e-commerce retailers conduct their businesses easily.

6. Last December, SingPost also launched POPDrop, an automated self-service drop-off box that uses RFID technology. This provides immediate tracking status when an item is dropped into the POPDrop bin. These innovations enable you to be more relevant to e-commerce retailers, provide greater conveniences to your customers and ensure that your deliveries are more carbon-efficient and sustainable. I am pleased to hear that SingPost is working with its partners to deploy more POPDrop boxes. Given its compact design, there are potentially many places where you could place these POPDrop boxes, thus providing greater convenience for sellers to drop off their items and buyers to pick up their purchases.

7. It is also important to recognise that as the company innovates, staff support is integral, as staff members have to adapt to new processes. Earlier, Brother Thuvinder already talked about the Company Training Committee (CTC) formed by UTES with SingPost. He made a call to SingPost staff to take full advantage of the company’s training opportunities to update their skillsets. Likewise, I would just like to echo this. It is a huge benefit to have management partners who see workers’ contributions as integral to their company’s ongoing success, and are prepared to set aside the resources required to provide training. By taking the training seriously, staff members can help the company to gain greater success in its transformation efforts.

8. On that note, I want to congratulate all the management in SingPost and the union for working closely together. You are a shining example. Such partnership among management, union and staff will carry you forward as you weather even more challenges that are bound to come.

9. In conclusion, let me also say that I like very much your mission of ‘Making Every Delivery Count for People and Planet’. While your operating landscape may get more challenging by the day, I can see the commitment of management, union and staff to succeed together. Such energy is always unbeatable. Congratulations on being able to work so well together, and I look forward to buka puasa with all of you.

10. Thank you once again for inviting me.

pdf version of the speech