• The Labour Movement expresses support to the incoming Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, who currently serves as Deputy Prime Minister
• NTUC continues to champion workers interests, including Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs)
Some 1,700 union leaders, tripartite partners and guests gathered today for the annual National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) May Day Rally to celebrate the achievements and honour the contributions of our workers. This year’s May Day Rally was attended by Guest-of-Honour Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong and incoming PM, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong.
This year’s May Day Rally, themed “In Solidarity, We Take Action Because We Care”, symbolises NTUC’s commitment to bettering the wages, welfare and work prospects for all workers. It also serves as a testament to NTUC’s dedication to addressing the evolving needs of workers because #EveryWorkerMatters.
Held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the event was hosted by NTUC President K Thanaletchimi, NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Ng Chee Meng and NTUC Central Committee Members; with NTUC SG Ng delivering the opening address.
PM Lee, a visionary leader who is well acquainted with NTUC, its affiliated unions and workers, has supported various government initiatives over the years aimed at bettering the lives and livelihoods of workers, especially during challenging periods such as Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19. Thus, for his final NTUC May Day Rally in his capacity as Prime Minister, the event was marked by thoughtful gestures of appreciation and recognition by NTUC.
To show appreciation for his contributions, NTUC featured a tribute video of PM Lee’s enduring partnership with our Labour Movement and workers. The video contained:
a. Excerpts of PM Lee’s speech at various May Day Rally events where he commended the unique and symbiotic relationship between the Government and the Labour Movement
b. Photographs of PM Lee at various Labour Movement events that showed his close interactions with union leaders and workers
c. Soundbites from NTUC SG Ng, and various others who have had personal experiences with PM Lee
NTUC President Thanaletchimi and SG Ng also presented PM Lee with a commemorative book titled “#EveryPrimeMinisterMatters: Our Salute to Brother Lee Hsien Loong”. The book, written as a heartfelt poem, is authored by NTUC as an expression of gratitude from NTUC and unions, serving as a testament to PM Lee's dedication and contributions to the Labour Movement and our workers. For the tribute video and the digital copy of the book, please see the link here.
NTUC Looks Forward to Welcoming the Next Prime Minister
NTUC also warmly welcomes incoming PM, DPM Lawrence Wong. DPM Wong has been a steadfast ally of the Labour Movement. He has been advocating for workers’ interests even since his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Market Authority (EMA), and later on through his role as advisor to the Union of Power and Gas Employees (UPAGE) and Building Construction and Timber Industries Employees’ Union (BATU). In 2022, DPM Wong launched the Forward SG exercise at a Labour Movement engagement with union leaders, symbolising the importance of Tripartism and NTUC’s role in upholding the compact with workers. NTUC looks forward to his leadership and collaborating further with him to better serve our workers from different worker segments and uphold our model of Tripartism.
NTUC to provide better support for PMEs
Prior to NTUC’s May Day Rally, SG Ng shared in a media session held on 25 April that NTUC will remain actively engaged in supporting the evolving interest of PMEs, with more of the workforce constituting Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs), Thus, in his May Day Rally opening speech, SG Ng outlined and reiterated the following focus areas:
d. Tripartism is key to Singapore’s industrial harmony and success.
e. NTUC has done well for our workers by championing workers’ interests across all worker segments.
f. NTUC will continue to champion PMEs in:
i. Protecting them at the workplace
ii. Helping them progress in their careers through NTUC’s Company Training Committees (CTC)
iii. Bringing career guidance and placement services closer to them
NTUC will also continue to champion the interests of other worker segments such as
youths, caregivers, older workers and vulnerable workers - as outlined in NTUC’s #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations report published last September.
