航运在线4月25日讯4月22日晚，“SMOUDalianNight暨2011届学生船员岗前培训结业典 礼”在大连香格里拉酒店隆重举行。
新加坡东南区市长MRMATTHIASYAO 先生在“SMOUDalianNight暨2011届学生船员岗前培训结业典礼”上发表讲话。
全文如下：
新加坡东南区市长MRMATTHIASYAO 先生
Good evening
Special Guest Mr Yang Chun, Deputy Director, of Maritime Safety Administration in Liaoning of the People’s Republic of China.
Mr Thomas Tay, General Secretary of Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union(SMOU)
Professor Liu Zheng Jiang, Vice President of Dalian Maritime University
Mr Wang Yu Cheng, <Vice-Chairman>, China International Contractors Association(COSE)
Mr Li Tieqiao, President of National Committee of the Chinese Seamen Union(CSU),
PRC Government Officials, Manning Agents, and Shipping Official
Singapore Shipping Officials & Employers,
Distinguished Guest, Ladies and Gentleman,
I think everyone present here for making this night possible. Tonight we celebrate the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union’s(SMOU)60th Anniversary with our Chinese members.
I am honoured to be invited to officiate at this event here in this beautiful city of Dalian, which is a city steeped in maritime traditions. Dalian and Singapore are both important port cities, serving as regional transportation hubs and international shipping centers. We also serve as springboards for maritime labour resource.
When I came for the SMOU’s inaugural CadetsPlus Qindao night in 2007,I was impressed by SMOU’s efforts to engage the trade union’s members from the PRC, and also by 80 Cadets graduating from the pilot CadetsPlus progtramme that year. This morning, I was excited once again to see more than 220 young and energetic Chinese cadets graduate from the Dalian CadetsPlus program and eagerly awaiting to embark on their careers as young mariners.
SMOU is a trade union started in 1951.In a matter of 60 years, SMOU has established itself as an international trade union with more than 22,000 members from all over the world. Five years ago, there were 320 members from the PRC. Today that number has grown ten times to 3,300 members who come from many provinces in China, They have worked or are working onboard our Singapore-Flag ships.
I have been told that the PRC Officers are of very high discipline and quality. Many shipping employers now look to the PRC as a preferred source when they recruit seafaring officers to man their ships. PRC Officers have done their country proud. They have established a very good reputation internationally.
The CadetsPlus program is a collaborative effort between the Shipping employers and the SMOU. It builds on the strong foundations already acquired by the PRC cadets in an effort to help the PRC cadets become not only the best Seafaring Officers of the future, but also the most employable Officers to our Shipping Employers
This evening, aside from celebrating the success of the Cadets who have completed their CadetsPlus training with distinction, we’re also here with fellow SMOU members and their families from the PRC to acknowledge the SMOU members’ contributions to Singapore shipping and international shipping.
On this occasion, I’m glad to also see SMOU, a union with its roots in Singapore, making a strong effort to engage its members here in the PRC through such celebratory occasions, Membership give strength to a trade union. SMOU would not have come this far without the unyielding support of its membership. SMOU constantly adopts a win-win approach for our partners and does its utmost to ensure employment and employability for members working onboard vessels, It cares for its members by offering welfare benefits and schemes including the Seafarers Provident Fund(SPF),Singapore Maritime Training Fund(SMTF) and insurance schemes to protect and cover its members.