Cleaners, lift technicians, waste collectors and other essential workers: The unsung heroes watching over us

From being called a 'repairman' to a 'lift maintenance specialist' today, Benson has seen various changes in his line of work over the past 15 years. 

But one thing remains unchanged: the attitudes of people when a lift breaks down. No matter what happens, lift technicians like him are often blamed for any malfunction. Despite being underappreciated, Benson's passion for his job keeps him going.

In fact, Benson is just one of many such essential workers depicted in NTUC U Care Centre's webtoon series, Please Watch-over Me (PWM).

Aimed at shedding light on the lives of essential workers, the webtoon tells the stories of everyday essential workers such as our cleaners, security officers, landscape workers and lift technicians in Singapore.

The PWM webtoon aims to raise greater awareness of workers covered under the Progressive Wage Model (aka PWM, pun intended). Through the Progressive Wage Model, NTUC, with the support of tripartite partners, seeks to uplift the lives of these workers, helping them achieve better wages, welfare and work prospects.

The first series of the webtoon, launched in 2021, was adapted into a video, while the webtoon sequel was released in December 2022.

With a slate of six new characters in the sequel of Please Watch-over Me, you'll be sure to learn something new about the essential workers you see every day and better appreciate the work that they do.

It's time to watch over our essential workers

Inspired by the lives of actual essential workers and the challenges they faced, Please Watch-over Me revolves around a chef who operates a food truck and meets people from all walks of life throughout his culinary journey.

Many of his customers are essential workers in sectors covered by the Progressive Wage Model, such as security, cleaning, and lift and escalator roles.

Introduced by NTUC in 2012 with the support of tripartite partners, the Progressive Wage Model seeks to uplift the country's core workforce.

By charting clear career pathways and training opportunities, the Progressive Wage Model benefits workers by helping them raise their wages at a sustainable and meaningful pace. At the same time, workers' higher productivity, skills and work standards will also benefit their employers.

Since its implementation, lower-wage workers in these sectors have seen better wages and work prospects as they continuously upgrade their skills and improve productivity.

On the inspiration for the webtoon, Johnny Lau, the author of Please Watch-over Me, said he had the privilege to meet many of these essential workers and created the series based on stories they had shared.

"Many of [their stories] really touched me because they are unsung heroes. They are out there facing all this 'music' every day but they still feel very positive about it," said Johnny, who is also the author of the iconic Mr Kiasu comic series.

Johnny added that he hopes the webtoon can capture the upbeat spirit of these workers and spread it among readers.

Artiste Darren Lim, who plays the chef in the webtoon's video adaptation, also chimed in, saying that he cannot imagine how life would have been without these essential workers, especially during Singapore's lockdown period.

"Waste collectors, cleaners, these people are unsung heroes working day in [and] day out, and they have contributed so much," said Darren.

"It's time for us to turn around, look at their lives and see how we can help them."

Read the first series of Please Watch-over Me here and the 13-episode sequel here, and check out the video adaptation starring artiste Darren Lim as the chef.

This article is brought to you in partnership with NTUC U Care Centre.