NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Ong Ye Kung steps down

Deputy Secretary-General Ong Ye Kung will be leaving the NTUC Administration and Research Unit (ARU) on 25 November 2012 to pursue other career interests. 

Since joining NTUC-ARU in December 2008, Ye Kung has held various key appointments:

• Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) from December 2008 to May 2011, and subsequently Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) from June 2011
• Chairman, Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) since December 2008
• Worker Centric Director since December 2008
• Executive Secretary, The Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU) since December 2008
• Executive Secretary, National Transport Workers Union (NTWU) since December 2009
• Executive Secretary, Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union (SISEU) since June 2011
• Mentor, Young NTUC since June 2011

Under Ye Kung’s leadership, e2i grew to become a leading organisation in enhancing the employability of workers and matching better employment to jobseekers. Since its inception, e2i has helped more than 200,000 workers, especially the lower wage and less skilled ones. Today, e2i serves all segments of workers, from rank-and-file to professionals, managers and executives. He has laid a solid foundation for e2i to grow into a national CET campus when the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability is ready by end 2013.

As Worker Centric Director, Ye Kung had spear-headed several major worker-assistance schemes, such as Place-and-Train, Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP), Inclusive Growth Programme (IGP) and Best Sourcing Initiative (BSI).  These schemes enabled workers to re-skill, up-skill and improve productivity to enjoy better jobs, better pay and better prospects. 

As Executive Secretary of unions, he attended to various needs on the ground and involved himself deeply with many negotiations with management.  He rallied union leaders to champion the welfare of workers and build greater trust and confidence with management partners. 

Ye Kung also led in breaking new ground to reach out to the informal and self-employed workforce and independent knowledge workers.  These efforts underscore NTUC’s proactive response to a workforce that is constantly changing in demographics.

As ASG and later DSG, Ye Kung played a pivotal role in the implementation of Labour Movement (LM) 2011 and the formulation of LM2015 vision.

Whilst Ye Kung will leave the employment of NTUC-ARU, he will still maintain strong links with NTUC, as he remains a strong advocate for the Labour Movement.  I am glad that he has accepted my invitation to continue serving as Chairman of e2i, and adviser to unions.

We thank Ye Kung for his invaluable contributions to the Labour Movement, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Lim Swee Say

Secretary-General
National Trades Union Congress