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Labour movement, national employers' federation declare support for Ng Chee Meng as NTUC secretary-general

SINGAPORE — The labour movement’s central committee on Tuesday (July 14) threw its full support behind Mr Ng Chee Meng as its secretary-general, stressing that the post is independent of political appointments.

Mr Ng Chee Meng (pictured) said that he will continue in his role as NTUC's chief and to serve workers who have given him their trust.

Mr Ng Chee Meng (pictured) said that he will continue in his role as NTUC's chief and to serve workers who have given him their trust.

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  • Labour movement backs Mr Ng Chee Meng as NTUC's secretary-general, though he is no longer a Cabinet minister
  • NTUC president Mary Liew said that Mr Ng has pushed for initiatives that help secure the livelihoods of workers
  • SNEF president Robert Yap said that Mr Ng addresses not only the concerns of workers, but employers as well

 

SINGAPORE — The labour movement’s central committee on Tuesday (July 14) threw its full support behind Mr Ng Chee Meng as its secretary-general, stressing that the post is independent of political appointments.

The statement from the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) came four days after Mr Ng and his People’s Action Party team lost the Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) to the Workers’ Party.

Before Parliament was dissolved last month for the General Election (GE), Mr Ng was a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC. He was moved to lead a team in the newly formed Sengkang GRC for the July 10 polls.

The outcome of the election had cast doubts on Mr Ng’s future as NTUC's secretary-general, a post that has been held by a Cabinet minister in the last four decades.

In a statement, NTUC's president Mary Liew said that Mr Ng had been elected to the post by NTUC’s central committee and his position was “independent of political appointments”.

She added that members of the central committee “stand in unanimous support” for Mr Ng as its secretary-general.

“As we head into more challenging times ahead, we remain resolute in our mission to help workers,” Ms Liew said.

“(Mr Ng) has, over the last two years, pushed for many good initiatives for workers and this is work that must continue. We stand in solidarity as we continue this journey together.”

In a Facebook post, Mr Ng said that he would continue as the labour movement’s secretary-general and fulfil his elected role in NTUC.

“I will continue to serve workers who have given me their trust and I remain undeterred as the day I first joined the labour movement — to be alongside our workers and to be their voice,” he said.

He added that he was humbled and honoured by the support from those in the movement.

“There will be tough days ahead with the Covid-19 challenges,” he said. “Together with union leaders and my NTUC colleagues, we will stay the course to care for and do right by our workers.”

SUPPORTING WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS

Ms Liew said that Mr Ng — who was first elected as NTUC’s chief in 2018 — has been instrumental in pushing forward various initiatives to help secure the livelihoods of workers.

For instance, he championed workers’ training at the institutional level by setting up company training committees. The initiative sees union leaders and company management teams working together to help workers upgrade their skills.

Ms Liew said that Mr Ng had also led an effort to help workers affected by the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 12,000 workers have been matched to new jobs so far.

She said: “Time and again, he has shown his heart in caring for workers and proven his mettle.”

In a statement to reaffirm its tripartite partnership with NTUC and the Government, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said on Tuesday that Mr Ng has not only sought to look after the needs of workers, but also recognised the importance of unions playing a more active role in helping workers reskill themselves.

SNEF said that Mr Ng was also concerned about job losses and so, he consulted with the tripartite partners in January this year before setting up the Job Security Council. The launch of the council, SNEF said, proved timely as Singapore's economy has since been badly affected by the coronavirus.

Recalling a moment he had with Mr Ng in June last year, SNEF's president Robert Yap said that they were at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where they were discussing recommendations for older workers with Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.

Dr Yap remembered that they had to continue the discussions at the conference even on weekends because Mr Ng wanted to ensure that more older workers could benefit from any changes.

There were concerns about timing and flexibility from the employers’ perspective, Dr Yap said, but they were able to come to a consensus eventually.

The recommendations were released in August last year, which resulted in decisions being made to raise the retirement age to 65 and re-employment age to 70 by 2030, alongside increases in the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution rates for older workers, among others.

"The episode showed that he would fight to maximise the benefits for workers but would still address the concerns of employers,” Dr Yap said.

He added: "I am confident that the tripartite partnership in Singapore will remain strong with (Mr Ng) as the secretary general of NTUC... Through the partnership, we can help Singapore emerge stronger from Covid-19.”

Mr Ho Meng Kit, chief executive officer of the Singapore Business Federation, said that it was up to NTUC to decide whether it has a secretary-general who is a Cabinet minister.

"Our business leaders and the Singapore business community have historically worked closely with the Government and the labour unions at various levels under the tripartite partnership," Mr Ho said. "We have thus worked with a broad group of labour leaders at enterprise, industry and national level."

Mr Ho added that these leaders are representative of their unions and "show deep conviction" in looking after the welfare of workers. They also care equally about the sustainability of Singapore businesses.

Some analysts told TODAY earlier this week that they were unsure if Mr Ng would still have the political clout to represent workers, since he is no longer an MP. But others interviewed believed that Mr Ng would still be able to carry out his role effectively and keep watch over workers’ livelihoods during the pandemic.

They said that Mr Ng may even be in a better position now to lead the labour movement, because he can devote “100 per cent” of his time to the unions and workers.

ROLE OF LABOUR CHIEF

For the past 40 years, the role of NTUC’s secretary-general has been filled by a member of the Cabinet seconded to the labour movement.

Ms Liew said that this was an arrangement made at the request of NTUC’s central committee.

“While the two roles have been inextricably linked, they are independent of each other,” she said.

Ms Liew said that union delegates elect the secretary-general once in four years at the national level.

This happens during the NTUC National Delegates’ Conference, where union delegates elect the 21-member NTUC central committee to oversee the work of the labour movement.

Members of the central committee elect among themselves the president, secretary-general, the secretary for financial affairs (or treasurer), vice-presidents, and other principal office-bearers.

At the last National Delegates’ Conference in October 2019, a new 21-member NTUC central committee was elected. The committee, which includes Mr Ng as secretary-general, will serve a four-year term until 2023.

The role of NTUC’s secretary-general has largely been held by a full government minister in Cabinet.

The late Devan Nair founded NTUC in 1961 and led the labour movement as its secretary-general until 1965. He took up the position again from 1970 to 1979, before becoming MP for the Anson constituency and then president of NTUC. He stepped down as MP when he was elected as Singapore’s third president in 1981.

Past NTUC chiefs have included Mr Lim Chee Onn, who was Minister without Portfolio at the Prime Minister’s Office; former Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong; Mr Lim Boon Heng, who was Minister in the Prime Minister's Office; and former Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say.

Related topics

NTUC Ng Chee Meng labour movement employers workers

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