By Ian Tan Hanhonn

If there was one thing that has kept Ong Ying Shya in the field of industrial relations for the last 10 years, it is the “variety” she experiences daily.

Formerly from the education sector working in student development, she left the field to pursue her degree in economics and management.

When the time came for her to return to the workforce in 2012, she decided to try her hand at industrial relations after a friend thought she had the tenacity and personality to excel in this field.

With no prior knowledge about industrial relations, she initially gave herself a year to “get a feel” of the role. Today, she is a head industrial relations officer (IRO) with NTUC, showing the ropes to new joiners and young officers like herself when she first joined.

“I think that you must have an inquisitive and investigative nature to do what we do. You must want to find out why things are the way they are.

“You must be able to put yourself in the shoes of the management and realise why they are doing what they are doing, while simultaneously understanding your members’ concerns and how your decisions will affect their future. And through it all, you must be able to bring both parties together to arrive at a consensus,” she shared.

Or like how she summed it up in two words: aptitude and attitude.

She recalls how she initially tried to structure and organise her days unsuccessfully. As her cases poured in, she realised that she needed to be quick on her feet and adapt swiftly to changes.

“What I can say is that no two days are alike. You can make your to-do list of the things you need to complete the day before, but the cases will just come in and disrupt all the plans that you may have had,” she said candidly.

But as chaotic as the role may sound, she said it has its rewards.

“There is this sense of variety in the work that we do. We get to learn how to respond to queries over the phone; handle membership and recruitment issues; manage events; deal with different levels of stakeholders, from CEOs and managing directors to human resource and finance managers; convey feedback from the ground to management; manage members’ expectations learn how to deliver unpopular decisions to them. The list just goes on.

She added that she found the role very fulfilling and meaningful, knowing that her decisions would directly impact members’ livelihoods.

“More importantly, we also get to see how our suggestions can effect changes on policies and help, not just our members, but the whole of society,” she said.

Ying Shya is one of the IROs featured in the #EveryWorkerMatters Roving Booth that is making its way around Singapore. It is part of the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, a larger-scale series of engagements by the Labour Movement to engage all workers across various life stages.

To catch the next roving booth, visit conversations.ntuc.sg/activities.

To participate in the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, visit conversations.ntuc.sg.