Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Transport and Foreign Affairs Chee Hong Tat will be joining the Labour Movement as Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) effective 15 May 2021, announced NTUC in a media statement on 7 May 2021.
He will also be appointed Group Director of the NTUC Training & Transformation Group, cadre member of Union of Power and Gas Employees, and Executive Secretary of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries.
Mr Chee will continue to concurrently serve as SMS for Transport.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier sent a letter to NTUC President Mary Liew on 21 April requesting for NTUC DSG Koh Poh Koon to return to serve the Government on a full-time basis.
To keep the Labour Movement’s leadership strong, PM Lee recommended the secondment of Mr Chee to NTUC to uphold the work of championing workers.
The NTUC Central Committee (CC) has accepted the recommendation and will be co-opting Mr Chee as NTUC DSG into the committee.
Mr Chee reacted to the announcement of his NTUC appointment through a separate response that was also released to the media.
He plans to carry on the good work done by DSG Koh and harness his various experiences to advance the interests of workers.
“I’m looking forward to joining NTUC and build on the good work that Brother Poh Koon and the team has done for the past few years.
“I’d like to bring my experience from MTI (Ministry of Trade and Industry) where I worked closely with companies and trade associations; and also MOE (Ministry of Education) where I worked on SkillsFuture and lifelong learning, to build on the good work of the company training committees, operations and technology roadmaps, to help our companies become more productive, more competitive, and ultimately, to give our workers better jobs, with better pay, and better lives,” he said.
Mr Chee is familiar with the Labour Movement, having recently received the Distinguished Service Award at the May Day Awards 2021 for various contributions.
In the course of his career, he has also worked closely with several unions, including UPAGE, HSEU, and transport sector unions. He also holds an advisory role in NTUC U SME (Small and Medium Enterprises).
In his Facebook post on 7 May, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng thanked Mr Chee for his past contributions to NTUC and welcomed him into the Labour Movement family to do more.
“Brother Hong Tat is no stranger to the Labour Movement. For this year’s May Day Awards, he was nominated by both the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union and Union of Power and Gas Employees for his strong support in strengthening the protection of our healthcare workers as well as the upskilling of our power and gas workers.
“In 2018, he also took on an advisory role to our NTUC U SME team to engage SMEs by taking in their feedback when formulating policies, and ensuring that SME workers can adapt to the new economy.
“As the Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Transport, he has initiated many active engagements with transport unions to ensure that our transport workers’ welfare are taken care of. Now that he is in NTUC, we will be able to do more to help our workers gain better wages, welfare and work prospects,” he detailed.
NTUC DSG Koh was co-opted into the NTUC CC as DSG on 23 April 2018.
On 22 April 2021, he tendered his resignation to Ms Liew upon the request by PM Lee to return to the Government, and she accepted it. He will be relinquishing his DSG and other NTUC appointments on 14 May 2021.
In the media statement, NTUC highlighted DSG Koh’s various contributions to the Labour Movement, including driving training strategies and efforts; setting up over 600 company training committees; helping over 100 companies to adopt the operation and roadmap tool; advocating for higher wages for lower-wage workers through the Progressive Wage Model; as well as championing better wages, welfare and work prospects for workers in the metal, electronics and electrical industries.
In his Facebook post on 7 May, DSG Koh said that he will continue to work closely with the Labour Movement in his new appointment.
“I will be taking on an additional appointment as SMS in the Ministry of Manpower, on top of my current portfolio in the Ministry of Health. My work for workers’ interests and training will continue to be issues that are close to my heart, and I look forward to future opportunities where I’ll be working with my Sisters and Brothers to further strengthen the bonds of our Tripartite partnership,” he said.
