PCHANDRAN3/4 Rojak Scale
Channel: 50FACES
Date: 19/01/2015

It is astounding to learn how Mr Chandran made his way up the ranks from a regular member to become the President of the PUB EMPLOYEES union. 

Although union work was part time, done after regular work is completed, Mr Chandran put in his best and he was duly recognised and pushed up the ranks even though seniority based promotions were the order of the day. He honed his skills in negotiations, handling grievances and employee issues by taking up many courses offered by the union. 

One of his biggest achievements was the removal of barriers that hindered technicians without diplomas from advancing in their career. Mr Chandran changed the mindset that while a diploma has great value, hands-on experience at the actual workplace was equally valuable and that, the practical benefit that comes from work experience should not be disregarded.

Mr Chandran changed the daily salaried worker system in the union that was put in place by the British. Under this old system, only the workers who were needed for the day were paid for the day’s work and those who did not get called went unpaid. Mr Chandran sought to change this and implemented a new system such that everyone was paid monthly. 

He introduced new policies where technicians who were limited to their particular role, could improve their skills and get promoted to a higher rank. This gave those who were not highly educated a chance to study again and rise up the ranks. Mr Chandran cites an example of how someone who used to earn $1,500 monthly could earn up to $5,000 monthly after the certification. 

Furthermore, he negotiated for fringe benefits such as allowances for workers in power station who had to put up with problems like heat and noise.  He also ensured that shift workers, who work odd timings that disrupt their daily routine, were adequately compensated for the daily inconveniences and troubles they had to go through.