Our Guest of Honour, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Minister for Manpower, Brother Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for National Security & Minister for Home Affairs, Brother Teo Chee Hean
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
NTUC Central Committee Members
President Emeritus Bro John De Payva
Brother Lim Swee Say, Secretary-General, NTUC
Tripartite partner, President of SNEF, Brother Stephen Lee
Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth & Sports Brother Chan Chun Sing
Senior Ministers of State, Ministers of State, Speaker, Senior Parliamentary Secretaries and Members of Parliament
Distinguished Guests, Brothers and Sisters
Good Evening and welcome to May Day Dinner 2012.
A year ago we met amid heightened vigilance over slowing growth and rising unemployment in the global economy. Nevertheless, Singapore finished the year in 2011 with a very respectable 4.9% GDP growth and an unemployment rate of 2%. This did not come by chance but must be credited to the close and effective practice of Tripartism.
A year on, the rain clouds continue to gather over Europe and the US. The Singapore economy is closely linked to the global economy. The flux in the global economy will impact our workers’ jobs and incomes and the sustainability of businesses, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
I am confident that our unique tripartite relationship will again rise to the occasion, with resourcefulness and vigour. We will seek not only to ride the waves of change, but also to strengthen our productivity and competitiveness, our Singapore core and the inclusive sharing of the fruits of our growth.
At the same time, the Labour Movement saw a generational transition in leadership when nine central committee members flowed on at the NTUC National Delegates’ Conference in December 2011. Among them are long-serving stalwarts who served at the highest levels - President Emeritus Brother John De Payva, Brother Cyrille Tan, Brother Teo Yock Ngee and Brother Thomas Tay. At the Ministry of Manpower, the very respected Brother Ong Yen Her also flowed on from the position of Divisional Director of the Labour Relations and Workplaces Division, and now Senior Director and Advisor on Industrial Relations.
These leaders have laid a strong foundation for the next generation of leaders to bring the Labour Movement and Tripartism to greater heights.
We will therefore honour this evening our brothers and sisters, and partners who have made significant contributions to the Labour Movement and to Tripartism in Singapore. Thanks to the examples, dedication and commitment of these individuals, and the partnership of enlightened employers, we continue to make progress in creating better jobs and better lives for our workers, now and into the future.
We are honoured to have DPM Brother Tharman Shanmugaratnam grace the May Day Dinner this year. Brother Tharman is not only concurrently the Minister for Manpower but also the Chairman of the Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute’s (OTCi) Board of Governors. His comradeship with the Labour Movement is firm and lasting.
