Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls for strong cooperation between trade unions, port authorities, and government to protect jobs of port workers from technological changes. The port industry has faced several technological transformations such as the progress of technology [Singapore]. To protect port workers from technological disintegration and global trade trends, there must be a strong and planned collaboration between trade unions, port authorities, and the government.

His statement was made during a celebratory event of the maritime union (SPWU) on October 17th, where he asked trade unions and leaders of the port authority (PSA) to work with the administration to help workers adapt through reskilling, which happened in previous industrial transformation phases. Only with reskilling will workers be able to take on high-value roles based on technology and ensure their professional longevity. 'As in past periods of transformation, we should not leave workers to face these changes alone. More often than ever, it will be necessary for an SPWU strong and guided administration, working cooperatively with a competent and innovative PSA team, to ensure the success of PSA and its job positions,' SM Lee said.

SM Lee specifically mentioned that the port sector has faced several technological transformation periods, with manual stevedores and crane operators replaced by remotely operated vehicles driven by automated systems. The five decades of milestones and moments that have contributed to Singapore's success - narrated through our titles - every time positions have changed, the port authority has retrained workers to assume new roles, while trade union leaders have persuaded workers to adopt a flexible attitude and continuously improve themselves, as SM Lee emphasized. He confirmed that, as in the periods of industrial transformation before, it is necessary to further train workers through reskilling, as it happened in previous industrial transformation phases.

The maritime union, founded in 1946, currently represents over 10,000 members from various organizations such as PSA Corporation, PSA International, and other maritime logistic companies. Moreover, SM Lee warned that the port sector is also facing demands from other market gates rapidly digitalizing and automating, and that the sector itself faces current green fuel resource challenges like ammonia and sulfur, and rapid progress in AI, sensors, and robots that are already transforming port operations. SM Lee specifically mentioned that repetitive work tasks like coning and deconing could be assigned to artificial workers in the future.