Introduction
Mr Speaker, I rise in support of the Budget. We are living in a disrupted age, marked by:
a. greater geopolitical and economic fragmentation and uncertainty;
b. technological disruption, especially with the rapid development of AI technology; and
c. a rapidly ageing population.
As the Secretary-General of NTUC, I am keenly aware that for many of our workers and families, these disruptive forces are not distant issues, but daily lived experiences.
This is reflected in NTUC’s Survey on Economic Sentiments conducted with 2,000 workers in 20251, workers’ top concerns were as follows:
a. 37% were concerned with wages not keeping up with cost-of-living.
b. Nearly 20% were concerned with job security due to factors such as economic uncertainties and technological changes.
c. Close to 20% were anxious about AI-related job displacement or had already experienced some negative impact due to AI. PMEs and younger workers were the most concerned about the impact of technological disruptions on their job security.
This Budget is therefore critical to lay a strong foundation for this disrupted age. The choices we make today will shape the course of our future – and the lives of our workers and families.
I thank fellow MPs from both sides of the Chambers who have spoken up for our workers.
NTUC and the Labour Movement will study your suggestions carefully.
LABOUR MOVEMENT’S POSITION ON THE BUDGET
Mr Speaker, the Labour Movement supports this year’s Budget, which will help secure the future of our workers and their families in a changing world.
Yet, as President Tharman recently reminded us at Davos:
a. in a changing world, we must do more to strengthen trust internally.
b. and that is done by acting pre-emptively to address people’s hopes and fears 2.
This is why the Labour Movement is calling on our Government to re-double efforts on 3 fronts.
a. First, empower every worker to be AI-Ready.
b. Second, strengthen support for workers who are vulnerable to disruption at the individual level.
c. Third, strengthen the Labour Movement’s ability to protect and uplift our PMEs.
I will outline these calls in my speech today. My fellow Labour MPs will build on them in their respective speeches across different worker segments.
EMPOWER EVERY WORKER TO BE AI-READY
Mr Speaker, in my Motion of Thanks speech, I spoke about how many workers, especially our young graduates and PMEs, feel uncertain about what they need to do to prepare for AI-driven disruption.
They ask good practical questions:
a. What core skills must they build up so that they can keep up with AI?
b. How can they use AI to become more productive in their specific job roles and industries?
c. And how can they keep pace with rapid AI developments to future-proof their careers?
Singapore has built a comprehensive skills and training ecosystem:
a. There are more than 1,600 AI courses listed on the SkillsFuture course catalogue.
b. These range from basic to specialised AI courses, costing anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars after funding.
But for the average worker, it is not easy to know which course or pathway will genuinely help them to become AI‑Ready.
At the same time, many businesses recognise the value of AI, but struggle to translate that recognition into clear and implementable strategies that deliver real productivity gains and a competitive edge.
That is why I support the establishment of the National AI Council, to be chaired by Prime Minister Wong.
I look forward to a comprehensive and cogent national AI strategy, one that will:
a. chart clear implementation roadmaps for industries,
b. and provide practical guidance so that every Singaporean can benefit in the AI era.
The Labour Movement calls on the Government to ensure that:
a. Every worker, regardless of their background, experience, or current skills level, will know practically how to equip themselves to be AI-Ready.
b. Every worker will have the support they need to access AI-related training, including those who have may used up their SkillsFuture Credits or wish to take up more specialised courses that cost more.
And, Mr Speaker, the Labour Movement will play our part too.
NTUC has launched “AI-Ready SG”, a one-stop platform that will help:
a. Train and upskill workers to be AI-ready;
b. Support firms in business transformation and job redesign, towards better jobs with better Wages and Work Prospects; and
c. Improve job matching so workers can access better job opportunities.
Concretely, through “AI-Ready SG”:
a. Union members will get NTUC funding support to offset up to 50% of unfunded subscription costs for eligible AI tools.
We hope this will encourage our members to experiment and adopt AI more confidently.
b. For workers who may not know where to begin:
I. NTUC LearningHub will roll out:
(1) AI training pathways tailored to different skill levels, job roles, and sectors, and
(2) a career mentorship programme for PMEs to receive guidance from certified and experienced mentors.
II. NTUC’s e2i will:
(1) strengthen job matching, with AI augmented career coaching, and
(2) offer personalised guidance and placement support for workers navigating career transitions.
c. Our NTUC Company Training Committees (CTCs) will assist employers to embark on practical AI transformation by:
III. identifying the best business case for AI adoption through AI Transformation Blueprints and Sectoral AI transformation playbooks developed together with industry partners,
IV. connecting them to relevant training so their workers can adopt AI more effectively and quicker, and
V. accessing CTC Grant funding to fuel these efforts.
In sum, AI Ready SG aims to harness AI to fuel business growth in ways that translate into good jobs with better Wages and better Work Prospects for our workers. Win-win outcome.
These objectives are aligned with national-level efforts, such as the National AI Council and the AI Missions in key sectors 3.
We call on Government and employers to partner the Labour Movement in our efforts through AI-Ready SG, so NTUC can do our part to support our businesses and workers to be AI‑Ready.
STRENGTHEN SUPPORT FOR WORKERS VULNERABLE TO DISRUPTION AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
Mr Speaker, this brings me to my second point.
Even as we prepare every worker to be AI-Ready, some will still face disruption at the individual level.
To be clear, I think we are at a relatively strong position overall today.
a. Our economy performed well last year, and overall employment remains healthy.
b. Around 9 in 10 graduates secured employment within 6 months of graduation 4.
Nonetheless, there emerging headwinds and signs of strain that we should pay attention to and should not ignore:
a. Among the employers polled in a survey by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), nearly 3 in 5, or 60%, planned to freeze headcount this year 5.
b. NTUC’s survey found that almost 40% of PMEs were anxious about whether they could still keep their jobs beyond the next 6 months.
c. Around 900 respondents in NTUC’s survey were caregivers, and close to 1 in 2 of them considered leaving their job at least once a month due to stress from caregiving.
We must therefore strengthen support for our workers, so they can navigate transitions confidently and, where needed, bounce back stronger.
First, we must continue to support our young graduates to secure good opportunities.
a. Tripartite partners must be ready to step in – building on existing measures like the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) Programme.
Second, we must do more to support our PMEs who face retrenchment.
a. Today, only workers earning $5,000 or less monthly are eligible for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme (JSS).
b. As of September 2025, exceeding this income cap was one of the reasons for 60% of applications to be rejected 6.
c. As more PMEs may experience churn, it is timely for the Government to review this income threshold, so that the JSS can provide baseline assurance to our middle-income PMEs during retrenchment.
d. One possible approach is to peg the income threshold to the PMET median monthly income – which was around $7,600 in 20257
And third, we must refresh our Caregiver Action Plan to help our caregivers:
a. remain at work,
b. return to work when ready, and
c. safeguard their financial resilience and retirement adequacy during periods of career disruption.
STRENGTHEN THE LABOUR MOVEMENT’S ABILITY TO PROTECT AND UPLIFT OUR PMEs
This brings me to my final point – strengthening the Labour Movement’s ability to protect and uplift our PMEs.
Tripartism has been the bedrock of our success.
With strong tripartite partnership undergirded by a representative Labour Movement, we have been able to weather many storms, including COVID-19, and emerge even stronger.
In this disrupted age, we need to reinforce the ability of our Labour Movement to stand alongside our workers – especially our PMEs – as they navigate transitions.
First, let us move towards advance retrenchment notifications.
a. In the last few years, there have been a few high-profile retrenchments which made the news. This caused quite a stir.
b. Many times, these incidents could have been avoided if companies worked with the union involved, and if NTUC were notified earlier.
c. Advance retrenchment notifications support our ability to work together with companies to provide timely and tangible support for affected workers before retrenchment, not 5 days post (retrenchment) where many of the workers may have left the company and are no longer contactable.
d. In fact, in many major economies like the US, EU, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, China – these countries already have some form of laws or policies requiring advanced retrenchment notifications.
The intent of the Labour Movement is not to constrain companies’ flexibility. It is to put our tripartism to work in upholding responsible retrenchment and delivering more coordinated support for workers including PMEs amidst this disrupted age.
Second, let us strengthen the ability of our unions to represent more PMEs.
a. We all know that our workforce is becoming increasingly PME-centric.
b. Over the years, the Labour Movement has been innovating to improve our relevance to PMEs, including by rolling out programmes that PMEs want such as mentorship.
c. And we will do more.
d. I urge the government, together with tripartite partners, to continue working with the Labour Movement to support and enable our PMEs in the AI disruption era for win-win outcomes.
MANDARIN SOUNDBITE
Mr Speaker, in Mandarin please.
世界变化很快。经济前景不确定、人工智能发展迅速、人口也在老龄化。
不少工友最担心的，是饭碗能不能保得住。根据职总去年的调查，大约四成白领工友担心自己在半年后可能面临失业的情况。很多人心里在问：AI会不会取代我的工作？
许多工友也面对事业和家庭难以兼顾的压力。
他们的担忧，我们必须正视。
我们可以从三方面着手。
第一，帮助每一位工友把AI变成助力。
就像当年学会用电脑和智能手机一样，我们要清楚地告诉大家，学什么、怎么学，让AI成为帮手，而不是对手。
第二，检讨 “求职援助计划” 的收入顶限。
目前顶限是5000元。到去年9月，约六成申请者被拒，原因之一是超过收入顶限。2025年PMET收入中位数是大约7600元。职总建议，把顶限和PMET收入中位数挂钩，让更多有需要的求职者在转型期间，得到及时支援。
第三，加强对看护者的扶持。例如更新“看护者支援行动计划”，帮助他们在照顾家庭的同时，能继续留在职场，有稳定收入，同时累积退休储蓄。
职总会继续与政府和雇主合作，确保每一位工友在转型过程中，能站稳脚步，安心工作，安心顾家。
CALL TO ACTION & CLOSING
Mr Speaker, the challenges of this disrupted age require us to do more to strengthen ourselves from within. Let us:
a. Empower every worker to be AI Ready;
b. Strengthen support for those vulnerable to disruption, and;
c. Strengthen the Labour Movement’s ability to protect and uplift PMEs in this age where it is no longer the blue-collar workers that may face technological disruption, but AI disrupting the white-collar space as well.
The Labour Movement will continue advocating for measures that support workers today and improve their prospects for tomorrow, whether it is:
a. Helping young graduates into good first jobs,
b. Supporting PMEs to navigate career transitions, or
c. Ensuring caregivers can stay employed while caring for their families.
Notwithstanding the points I have raised on behalf of the Labour Movement, I stand in support of this Budget.
Thank you.
1 Survey on Economic Sentiments 2026
2 Transcript of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s remarks at the World Economic Forum Session: “Who Brokers Trust Now?” 21 January 2026, Congress Centre, Davos
3 These missions will drive AI-led transformation in four key sectors: advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance, and healthcare.
4 Based on the 2024 Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey (Feb 2025), 87.1% were employed within 6 months of completing their final exams (Fewer graduates found work 6 months after leaving university in 2024, median salary rises 4.2%: Survey - CNA). In 2025, 90 per cent of polytechnic graduates secured employment within 6 months of graduation or after completion of full-time national service (Full-time employment held steady for fresh poly graduates in 2025 | The Straits Times).
5Survey by the Singapore National Employers Federation – Business Sentiments Dip with Poorer Hiring and Wage Outlooks – SNEF
6 0923 Written Answer to PQ on SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme
7Median Gross Monthly Income From Employment of Full-Time Employed Residents by Occupation, Ministry of Manpower
