It's been slightly over a year since Minister Chan Chun Sing left the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) behind to lead NTUC.

And he celebrated the milestone by calling the labour movement "unusual" in his latest blog post.

Right.

Now we know what the ubiquitous "U" stands for.

Warning: Clickbait alert.

Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, let's find out what he actually meant by "unusual".

"Unusual fact" 1:

"In most parts of the world, unions are seen as an anachronism of the past."

Anachronism of the past, how so?

While unions worldwide are struggling to stay relevant (the rise of white collar workers or constant struggles with the powers that be, for instance), we take missing out on the 1-million members mark as bad news.

The number is an anomaly no doubt, considering that some 70% of the work force here is formed by white collar workers.

Isn't the union all about the welfare of blue collar workers? This brings us to the next unusual fact.

"Unusual fact" 2:

"... they were surprised that we defined our mission as taking care of ALL working people, and not just the blue-collared rank and file workers."

News flash: NTUC grows tie-ups to aid PMEs

NTUC has more than doubled the number of professional associations under the U Associates Programme – simply put, an initiative that allows professionals to mingle and be mentored by an old hand of the particular industry, say, engineering.

With four new professional guilds joining the programme, the number currently stands at 26.

And since the buzzword nowadays is SkillsFuture, the programme is actually a pretty good way to upgrade oneself since there are plenty of networking opportunities and rub shoulders with industry leaders, who might even take you under their wing.

The best part? You don't even need to spend your $500 SkillsFuture credit. You just need to be a member of one of the 26 professional guilds.

"Unusual" fact 3:

"...many foreign companies found it “unusual” that we constantly talk about helping our companies and workers to grow the pie together, rather than to fight over a slice of a shrinking pie."

Wait a minute. Why is this even unusual? You mean foreign companies rather fight unions or governments than to stay competitive and earn more moolah?

"Unusual" fact 4:

"The management was surprised when we asked them if they were able to recruit the skilled workers they needed and if they needed any help in training their workers."

Okay, at the rate this is going, everyone is gonna be stunned into a veggie state.

According to Chan, there was distrust when the union sat down with the top management of a foreign hi-tech company in Singapore. After all, foreign companies are probably accustomed to terms like "collective bargaining" and "conditions for strikes".

The union, instead, killed the company with kindness with offers of training.

Cue mandatory gif.

"Unusual" fact 5:

"There are 3 “U”s in the word unusual."

You don't say.

Top photo from Chan Chun Sing Facebook page.

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