SINGAPORE: Singapore’s labour movement will step up efforts to protect workers’ livelihoods amid global economic uncertainty, said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng on 1 May 2025.
Speaking at the May Day Rally, Ng opened with a personal reflection on the 2020 General Election, in which he lost the contest in Sengkang GRC.
“I felt that I had let all of you down,” he said, calling the experience “humbling” and full of “good lessons”.
Ng noted that new US tariffs have triggered “much anxiety and volatility”, leading to a downward revision of Singapore’s 2025 growth forecast to between 0 and 2 per cent.
He also highlighted a rise in unemployment in the first quarter of the year.
This has caused concern among both new entrants to the workforce and experienced workers, especially around job availability and security.
“More workers are likely to experience job transitions,” Ng said, pledging that NTUC would back the government’s economic resilience task force to help Singapore adapt.
Revamp of job support structures for better career resilience
As part of these efforts, NTUC will refresh its job security council – an initiative that had helped displaced workers during the COVID-19 pandemic – to provide more robust job-matching and retraining.
Ng stressed that “good jobs are the best security for workers” and outlined key strategies under the updated framework.
These include business transformation support and workforce training through company training committees (CTCs), as well as upskilling initiatives and stronger mentorship programmes.
The union will also leverage artificial intelligence-powered tools such as a virtual career coach and expand hiring networks to support job transitions more effectively.
Strengthening tripartite ties and industry collaboration
Ng emphasised the importance of working with tripartite partners and professional organisations such as the Institute for Human Resource Professionals.
He announced plans to form cluster-level CTCs to facilitate sector-wide transformation and said that NTUC would work with SkillsFuture Queen Bee companies to boost skills development across entire industries.
These Queen Bee firms serve as industry role models, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, to promote sustained upskilling and productivity gains.
Ng reflected on his personal journey within NTUC since 2020, “I have learnt more deeply that failing does not equate to failure. It is not our losses that define us; it is how we continue to press on and do our utmost that counts.”
Ng, who was part of the People’s Action Party team that lost Sengkang GRC to the Workers’ Party with 52.12 per cent of the vote, will stand in the newly created Jalan Kayu SMC in the 2025 General Election.
He will face Workers’ Party candidate Andre Low in what may be a closely watched contest.
Concluding his speech, Ng called on NTUC members to stand together for the betterment of Singaporean workers.
He urged union members to fight for a “brighter future for our children” and a “stronger Singapore”, underlining the labour movement’s critical role in shaping the nation’s economic and social resilience.
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