The Healthcare Services Employees' Union (HSEU) is the union representing employees in the healthcare sector. She has come a long way from her inception as a Public Sector Union to a quasi-house union representing employees working in restructured hospitals to an industrial union for healthcare employees today.

 

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the healthcare employees as civil service employees of the government hospitals were represented by the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE). Restructuring of the government hospitals began in the late 1980s and went on to the year 2000. With the Hospitals going private, employees could no longer be represented by AUPE. On 31 st December 1989, staff of the Singapore General Hospital and National Skin Centre, realising the need for a new Union to safeguard the interests and welfare of their fellow colleagues and themselves came together to form the Health Corporation of Singapore Staff Union (HCSSU). As restructuring gathered pace, staff from institutions such as KK Women's and Children's Hospital (1990), Changi Hospital (1990), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (1992), National Dental Centre (1998), National Heart Centre (1999), Alexandra Hospital (2000), Institute of Mental Health (2000), Singhealth Polyclinics (2000) and NHG Polyclinics (2000) were brought into the HCSSU fold.

 

On the other hand, the National University Hospital Employees' Union (NUHEU) was registered as a house union on 1 st August 1987. Interest in the formation of a Union at National University Hospital had been expressed by many of the employees in the mid 1980s. This was due to the fact that many of them had been AUPE members when they were with the Ministry of Health. As the National University Hospital was a private hospital, many of the employees could not be represented by AUPE.

This led to the formation of NUHEU as the first hospital house union in Singapore .

 

Both HCSSU and NUHEU became affiliated with NTUC upon their founding. Being new unions with little experience, they sought the assistance and advice from NTUC on administrative and industrial relations matters such as the negotiations of Collective Agreements. Under the guidance of NTUC, both unions saw an increase in their membership. Over the years since their founding, both Unions have gained positive recognition as responsible and creditable voices for the employees in the hospitals. The Unions have played vital roles in the following areas:

 

• Improving communication between the employees and management of the organisations involved.
  
• Ensuring fair terms and conditions of service for all employees.

 

In 2005, with the fast changing landscape of the healthcare industry, the HCSSU and the NUHEU began talks for merger of the two unions. This would eventually lead to the signing of the memorandum to merge the Unions on 22 nd March 2006. On 18 Nov 2006 HCSSU was officially renamed HSEU. The merger of the two unions was a logical move to consolidate resources and expand services to employees working in the healthcare sector. Since the merger, the Union has continued to grow strongly. Membership as at December 2007 has exceeded 11,000.

 

With plans by the Singapore government to turn Singapore into a global medical hub in the near future, the healthcare sector is poised to grow strongly and the role of the union will become more crucial. HSEU will play an important role as the voice of the healthcare employees and in looking after their welfare.