The NTUC Central Committee has appointed Minister of State (MOS) in Prime Minister’s Office Desmond Tan as NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG)on 30 June 2022.
He will also oversee NTUC’s Transformation Office and NTUC’s Training & Placement ecosystem as the Group Director of the NTUC Training and Transformation Group.
Mr Tan said: “I’m grateful for the support from the NTUC Central Committee and sisters and brothers at the Labour Movement. I look forward to meeting and learning from our union leaders and getting to know more of our workers’ concerns and aspirations.
“I am truly honoured and will do my level best as we champion for better wages, welfare and work prospects for all our workers.”
Mr Tan’s appointment comes after former NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Chee Hong Tat relinquished his NTUC role to return to Government work full-time on 13 June 2022.
On behalf of the central committee, NTUC Vice-President K. Thanaletchimi welcomed Desmond Tan's appointment as DSG.
“With his experience and exposure in people centric organisations such as the Peoples’ Association, I believe he has much to contribute to the betterment of the workers by being worker-centric – just as it is important to be people-centric,” said Ms Thanaletchimi, who is also the president of the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union.
Together with fellow NTUC Vice-President Ong Hwee Liang, Ms Thanaletchimi felt that it is important now for Mr Tan to get “up close and personal” with the unions and its leaders, so that he will have a good sense of workers' concerns and aspirations.
As Mr Desmond Tan will be the new group director for training and transformation, NTUC Central Committee Member Tan Richard said that he is looking forward to see what the new DSG will be able to bring to the table towards helping companies transform.
Meanwhile, Mr Desmond Tan has also been appointed as advisor to the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) from 28 June 2022.
He will help lead the SISEU as its executive secretary from 6 July 2022.
His appointment as SISEU executive secretary is in addition to his on-going role as advisor for the Supply Chain Employees’ Union (SCEU), a position he has held since 5 February 2021.
Mr Tan was elected a member of parliament following the 2020 general election where he contested in the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) of Pasir Ris-Punggol.
Since winning the election, he has served as the MOS for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.
During his capacity as MOS for MHA, he worked together with the Union of Security Employees (USE) to enhance the Progressive Wage Model for the security sector.
NTUC Central Committee Member and USE General Secretary Raymond Chin said that Mr Tan has been very supportive of USE and also the tripartite efforts for the private security industry.
“When we initiated an exercise to raise awareness against abuse of security officers, he was quick to support and even helped launch it with us. His background and knowledge of the industry will definitely be a plus as we push on in our industry transformation efforts,” said Mr Chin.
