Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Next Manpower Minister? Josephine Teo won’t be drawn into succession talk

SINGAPORE — Second Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has paid tribute to Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say for his “boldness and experience” in labour issues, amid talk that Mr Lim, 63, is among the ministers who could be stepping down as part of an upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.

SINGAPORE — Second Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has paid tribute to Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say for his “boldness and experience” in labour issues, amid talk that Mr Lim, 63, is among the ministers who could be stepping down as part of an upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Workforce Singapore roadshow on Tuesday (April 17), she pointed out that they have been colleagues for almost 20 years.

“Mr Lim is a one-in-a-billion minister, having garnered much experience through his work in the Labour Movement all these years… We have always worked well and harmoniously together. I think the current working arrangement is still a great one.”

Before their appointments in the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Mr Lim and Mrs Teo, 49, were also co-workers at the Economic Development Board (EDB) as well as the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), where Mr Lim served as deputy secretary-general from 1997 to 1999, and then as secretary-general from 2007 to 2015.

On whether she might be taking over as Manpower Minister, Mrs Teo would only say that she has been involved in the labour movement for a longer time, compared with work in her role as Second Minister for Home Affairs and a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, where she oversees the National Population and Talent Division.

Mrs Teo was elected to Parliament in 2006 and took office at all three ministries last year. Previously, she also served in the Finance, Transport, and Foreign Affairs ministries.

From 2007 to 2011, she was also assistant secretary-general of the NTUC, and from 2006 to 2011, she was executive secretary of the Singapore Industrial Services Employees’ Union.

“I find the work meaningful in all the three ministries (now),” she said. “Of course, when it comes to MOM, I have a much longer engagement because I did spend quite a number of years in the labour movement. I don’t think we have to wait very much longer till the Cabinet reshuffle is announced, I think we just have to be a bit more patient. We will come to that.”

A major shake-up of the Cabinet is expected to be announced this month, which will see younger ministers being placed in new portfolios to prepare them for bigger leadership positions.

‘WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM’

In sketching out the manpower policies that she hopes MOM can address, Mrs Teo highlighted jobs and retirement security, progressive workplaces and better wages as the issues that are on Singaporeans’ minds.

“Will we get better jobs? Will we be able to earn higher incomes? Will we find a workforce that is more inclusive? And will we find workplaces that are more progressive? Will we have security in retirement?

"I think those are the areas that people will be most interested in, and of course, we will want to articulate how we hope to be able to achieve this.

“We all have to work together as a team. For instance, as MOM works on raising the bar in helping workers to access job opportunities, those opportunities must first be created. For that, we need our economic agencies to lead the way.”

Political analysts interviewed by TODAY said that they would not be surprised if Mrs Teo were appointed to helm the MOM.

Associate Professor Eugene Tan, a law lecturer at the Singapore Management University, said that among the fourth-generation leaders, Mrs Teo has the “most relevant experience” in the manpower domain apart from Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin, who was formerly Manpower Minister.

Adding that MOM is “a technically demanding assignment requiring different skill sets and expertise”, he said that she will be able to “hit the ground running” and the role ties in with her being the minister overseeing population issues.

Agreeing, political scientist Woo Jun Jie from Nanyang Technological University said: “Given her background in MOM and the Labour Movement, I will not be entirely surprised if she takes on the manpower portfolio. Furthermore, I do think that it is about time that a female minister takes on a heavyweight ministry.”

Assoc Prof Tan said that Mrs Teo would be “quite a logical choice” if there is an intent for more women to lead the ministries.

Ms Grace Fu, 54, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was the first female minister appointed to helm a ministry in October 2015.

Asked to comment on female ministers taking charge of “heavyweight” ministries, Assoc Prof Tan said the perception that some ministries are “heavier” than others may not be that relevant.

“Issues relating to identity, culture and values are complex and challenging, too. The point is that the fourth-generation leadership need to hone different competencies,” he said.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.