The May Day Awards was back with a bang this year, with NTUC presenting 141 awards to individual leaders and organisations for their outstanding contributions to workers in Singapore.
The highest award this year – the Distinguished Comrade of Labour – was conferred on former Manpower Minister and former NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say.
The ceremony was held at Mediacorp’s MES Theatre on 5 May 2018 and hosted by NTUC President Mary Liew and NTUC Secretary-General (SG) Chan Chun Sing.
More than 1,000 guests comprising May Day Awards recipients, Labour Movement leaders and tripartite partners attended the distinguished awards ceremony.
Addressing the awardees in her opening speech, President Liew said: “The May Day Awards is about all of you here. It’s about celebrating your hard work, your labour and sacrifice, and the many other things that you have done for the Labour Movement.”
This year, NTUC recognised awardees who have strengthened labour-management relations, helped working people stay relevant in today’s workforce and joined hands with the Labour Movement to be representative of all working people.
NTUC also refined the Partners’ Award category to include two new categories – Working People’s Advocate and Partner of Labour Movement.
The Working People’s Advocate category is for leaders of associations and organisations who have demonstrated and supported the Labour Movement values.
Meanwhile, the Partner of Labour Movement category is for associations and organisations who have contributed significantly to drive the Labour Movement’ causes through collaborations, projects and initiatives that have a national impact.
Apart from the May Day Awards, NTUC also presented two new awards to 49 organisations in recognition of breakthrough initiatives that have impacted the lives of workers – the Breakthrough Award and the Digital Transformation Award.
On the highest award of the year, Mr Lim Swee Say has now joined the ranks of the very few individuals who have received the Distinguished Comrade of Labour Award.
The Labour Movement gave him a standing ovation when he went on stage to receive the award.
SG Chan said that the most outstanding trait of Mr Lim was his “selflessness”.
“Brother Lim Swee Say, all of us in the Labour Movement salute you,” said SG Chan.
The award is the Labour Movement’s highest accolade given only to those who have made unique and supreme contributions to the Labour Movement.
Past recipients include the likes of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the late Mr Ong Teng Cheong, Mr Goh Chok Tong, Mr Lim Boon Heng and Mr Stephen Lee.
In a recent exclusive interview with LabourBeat, Mr Lim said: “In the Labour Movement, the belief is that jobs are the best welfare and full employment is the best protection for our workers. For all in the Labour Movement and tripartite partners, this is not just a slogan. This is something we are passionate about. We are strongly committed and really want this to happen and, in a way, make it a reality for our fellow workers.
“This May Day Award is not just for me. I think all the award recipients would fully agree with me that it is a celebration and recognition of the unity, strong alignment, and mutual support that we give to each other. We’ve always had one clear focus in mind, and that is to serve the interests of our workers.”
