A Singapore co-operative came to the aid of its community in a time of need and demonstrated the seventh co-operative principle.
‘Concern for Community’ is just one of seven principles that was practiced by NTUC in June when communities were faced with life-threatening levels of pollution.
Illegal forest clearing fires in North Sumatra pushed the Pollutant Standard Index to over 400 — the first time in its history it had reached a ‘hazardous’ level.
The haze reached crisis levels and prompted many residents to take swift action to protect themselves resorting to panic purchases especially of particulate filtering N95 masks, which was the only one to offer “proper protection” according to Singapore’s Ministry of Health.
Some vendors capitalised on the panic as long queues formed at pharmacies and hospitals, which led to an island-wide shortage. While prices were inflated to over SGD 10 each by some retailers, NTUC FairPrice Co-operative announced the sale of two million masks at a reduced price of SGD 2.25.
At the same time, NTUC Unity Co-operative, a pharmaceutical co-operative, reduced the price of the N95 from SGD 2.50 to SGD 2.25 in all outlets to make the masks more affordable for consumers in time of need.
Mr Mike Chian, a staff member from the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) who stood in line for one hour to purchase face masks, said: “I am happy to find masks at Unity and at a discounted price too. Unity is playing the role of stabilising the price. Co-ops in Singapore are even more relevant in times of crisis!”
Mr Chan Tee Seng, Chairman of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation, remarked that this was a “true test of the co-operative spirit”.
Photo: Shoppers queue up for face masks at a Unity Co-operative store. (Credit: Unity).
