NTUC Ordinary Delegates’ Conference 2025: Towards a relevant and representative Labour Movement

*The article has been updated on 14 November 2025. 

NTUC held its Ordinary Delegates’ Conference (ODC) 2025 from 13-14 November at the D’Marquee in Downtown East to take stock of the Labour Movement’s key achievements in the past two years and chart its direction forward.

The ODC is held two years after the National Delegates’ Conference (NDC) in 2023, which outlines the Labour Movement’s goals and priorities for 2027.

The signature NTUC event saw union delegates convene for a mid-term progress update, reviewing efforts to help workers and members.

Welcoming Platform Work Associations into the Labour Movement

At ODC 2025, NTUC marked a key milestone in its journey to uplift platform workers with a strong mandate to recognise Platform Work Associations (PWA) as full affiliates of NTUC. Over 90 per cent of union delegates voted in favour of amending NTUC’s constitution on 14 November 2025.

The National Taxi Association (NTA), National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), and National Delivery Champions Association (NDCA) collectively represent cabbies, private-hire drivers and delivery workers.

The move signals that the unions strongly support NTUC’s mission to uplift platform workers.

“As platform workers represent a unique group of workers, we must ensure that they are represented within the Labour Movement.

“The strong support from the NTUC-affiliated unions to welcome our three PWAs would allow the Labour Movement to be more inclusive and better represent our platform workers, ensuring that our PWAs have a voice in shaping our mission where every worker matters,” Ms Thanaletchimi said.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and Advisor to the PWAs Yeo Wan Ling commended the leaders and staff of the associations for their commitment to making platform workers’ livelihoods better.

“From standing by them in times of challenges to pushing for the landmark Platform Workers Act, and now securing recognition of PWAs as full affiliates of NTUC, their tireless advocacy has made a real difference,” she said.

NTUC will be submitting the proposed constitutional amendment to the Registrar of Trade Unions for approval.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng (first row, right) and Advisor to the Platform Work Associations (PWA) Yeo Wan Ling (first row, second from right), union delegates and staff welcome the PWAs into the Labour Movement fold.

Union delegates welcomed the associations into the Labour Movement.

NDCA President Ng Gan Poh, who helms one of the associations, is heartened that PWAs will be getting firmer support to continue improving platform workers’ livelihoods.

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Staff Union General Secretary Mabel Low called the change a milestone for relevance and fairness that refreshes the traditional union makeup of the Labour Movement.

United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries General Secretary Tan Richard noted that the amendment signifies NTUC’s commitment towards inclusivity.

“Platform workers are workers too. If we don’t include them, it means that we are not practicing what we preach. It is great to have them as part of the family,” he said.

The acceptance of PWAs within NTUC follows another major milestone— the enactment of the Platform Workers Act in January 2025, one of the first in the world to offer workers statutory protection. The landmark law is a culmination of the decade-long advocacy by NTUC and the PWAs to secure stronger protections for platform workers.

Under the law, these workers now receive financial support for injuries sustained during work through the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), enhanced retirement and housing adequacy with CPF contributions, and stronger advocacy with formal, union-like representation through the PWAs.

Strengthening partnerships and priorities for the new work era

On 13 November 2025, the first day of the ODC, Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong delivered a keynote address as guest of honour to around 1,400 key union delegates, tripartite leaders and distinguished guests.

ODC 2025 Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong delivers a keynote speech to around 1,400 union delegates, tripartite leaders and distinguished guests

He said that the ODC is a timely occasion to reaffirm the tripartite partnership, and emphasised the continued importance of tripartism that has helped businesses and workers navigate challenges through the years. Mr Gan added that NTUC's relationship with the Government and the tripartite framework are more vital than ever amid an uncertain global environment and AI-driven economy.

Click here to read Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong's speech.

Meanwhile, NTUC President K. Thanaletchimi recapped the key focus areas of the pre-ODC session on innovating membership, leadership, and business strategies for the future.

She elaborated that NTUC will strengthen its foundation for relevance and growth by exploring how initiatives like the Whole-of-Integrated NTUC and digital transformation can be better leveraged to stay connected to members.

Ms Thanaletchimi also said that NTUC will continue to build on its innovation culture through deepening the collaboration with the Jobs Security Council to ensure transformation leads to better outcomes for workers, businesses, and Singapore.

She added that NTUC will also boost its leadership pipeline by improving the quality of union leaders and ensuring that they can position the Labour Movement as a key agent of influence on the national stage.

Click here to read NTUC President K. Thanaletchimi's speech.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng delivers his speech at the NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference 2025.

Additionally, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng highlighted the Labour Movement’s significant achievements since 2023 and NTUC’s main priorities moving ahead.

He revealed that NTUC has over 1.4 million members today and is on track to hit its target of 1.5 million members by 2030.

Amid global turbulence and the push towards an AI-centric world, Mr Ng said that NTUC must remain people-centred and people-powered to help workers navigate the challenges and seize opportunities. 

Click here to read NTUC Secretary General Ng Chee Meng's speech.

Click on the Secretary-General’s Report to read more about the achievements.

Innovation in the age of AI

Since the NDC in 2023, NTUC has focused on driving innovation to support workers and members in an AI-focused economy.

Innovating services: New AI-powered career companion

In July 2025, NTUC piloted the beta version of its revolutionary NTUC AI Career Coach (AICC), an AI-powered, self-help, one-stop platform to guide all workers in their career journey. It supports better jobs and skills matching for workers at different stages of their career.

Fresh graduates exploring their options can use the AICC’s career profiling tool and Career Explorer to discover suitable jobs and chat with the AI coach to gain career tips and job search strategies.

Mid-career workers who want to pivot into new industries can consider the platform’s personalised recommendations based on skills, experience, and goals, to get insights into job suitability and areas for development.

Workers seeking an upgrade from their current role can leverage the AICC’s AI coach to identify in-demand skills and Career Explorer for suitable pathways. The AI-powered chat function provides real-time, personalised guidance to build confidence.

Workers stuck in roles that don’t match their skills can use the platform to search for skills-appropriate opportunities. They can also use the AI Resume Builder to refresh their resumes to align with job descriptions and the AI Interviewer to sharpen their interview skills through interactive practice sessions.

Through the AICC, workers can assess their career readiness, pinpoint skills gaps and explore pathways to upskill or pivot into in-demand roles.

According to Mr Ng, over 3,500 individuals, including PMEs, have used the AlCC to advance their careers and skills.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng visits the AI Career Coach booth to understand how workers can benefit from the real-time, self-help career resources.

Innovating products: In-demand AI skills

NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) has evolved with the workforce and companies’ increasing demand for AI-related learning.

Under the NTUC LearningHub Learning eXperience Platform (LXP), which provides bite-sized online courses, NTUC LHUB has seen a shift in demand from foundational digital skills to AI-powered learning.

Today, Generative AI, Data Storytelling, Analytics, and Microsoft Copilot are among the top five most-enrolled courses on LXP.

Innovating mindsets: AI-Ready SG

At a recent Parliament session, Mr Ng suggested an AI-Ready SG initiative that integrates existing Government and tripartite resources to enable firms and workers to be AI-ready.

AI-Ready SG calls on workers to use AI tools to drive personal learning, leverage AI to explore new ideas, and embrace lifelong learning to unlock new opportunities. NTUC also urges employers to adopt AI responsibly by redesigning jobs, upskilling workers, and ensuring a just transition. Employers must also ensure that employees are equipped with relevant skills and rewarded through productivity gains.

Unions and associations are already gearing up to be AI-ready, recognising its importance in aiding workers to thrive in the digital economy.

Banking and Financial Services Union President Annie Lee said that the union will focus on upskilling and empowering workers to stay resilient and confident in the digital age.

Meanwhile, the National Private Hire Vehicles Association is exploring using AI to analyse trends in the point-to-point industry.

"This will allow us to provide drivers with timely insights, understand their needs more deeply, and enhance our administrative processes to serve members more effectively. As Autonomous Vehicles are progressively introduced, drivers who are interested will also have access to training support to pivot into new roles created by these emerging technologies," the association's Executive Secretary Raven Lee elaborated.

Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees President Nicholas Lee added that the union has been organising AI-related courses for its members as the public service sector becomes more AI-focused. 

"During our regular management-union meetings, we've highlighted the need for our members to be AI-ready and strongly encouraged our members to take up and support their organisations' various AI-related courses and workshops," he added.

The proposed initiative builds on the Company Training Committee (CTC) framework to enhance AI adoption across sectors.

Companies can utilise the CTC to kickstart or accelerate AI adoption, receiving support for developing transformation roadmaps and implementing AI-driven productivity projects.

Workers at any stage of their career can leverage career navigation tools and support under the CTC to take on AI-enabled job roles and have clearer upskilling pathways with AI-related skills.

Mr Ng said that NTUC has observed more businesses focusing on AI through the CTCs.

“We are helping companies adopt AI responsibly to raise productivity and upskill workers. Together with our tripartite partners, we’ll journey with our workers so that every worker can grow, seek new opportunities, and succeed,” he said.

Even as the Labour Movement prepares for an AI-centric future, the disruption may lead to job losses. Unions, such as the Built Environment and Urban Trades Employees' Union, have been proactively engaging their unionised branches to learn if jobs are being affected, so they can step in to support workers and companies in a timely manner.

"In addition, we utilise CTC platforms within our unionised companies to highlight ground concerns and provide feedback on training to ensure a smooth transition for the workers during the transformation," BATU President Kesavan Vasundran added.

More details on AI-Ready SG will be unveiled in 2026.

Innovating the Whole-of-Integrated NTUC ecosystem

NTUC has also ramped up its Whole-of-Integrated NTUC capabilities through its ecosystem of unions, associations, partners, and affiliated companies, to enhance efforts in advancing workers.

Today, with the CTC Grant, nearly 10,000 workers from over 500 companies can look forward to an average wage increase of 5 per cent above their annual increment, structured career pathways through career development plans and skills allowances.

In the past two years, NTUC has taken the CTC to the next phase with the formation of cluster CTCs to drive sector-wide transformation. This approach involves NTUC partnering with SkillsFuture Singapore to appoint industry-leading companies, known as Queen Bees, to facilitate knowledge and skills transfers to their SME suppliers and workers. These Queen Bee firms are expected to share best practices, co-develop training solutions, and identify emerging skills to empower their SME ecosystem, advancing their respective sectors.

To date, Queen Bee partnerships in precision engineering, supply chain and logistics, retail, maritime, and public transport sectors, have the potential to uplift around 45,000 workers across 600 SMEs.

For workers, discover more about AI Career Coach, part of NTUC’s AI-Ready SG initiative.

For employers, find out more about how you can transform your business with our Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative.