Singapore’s 14th General Election will see a total of seven unionist vying for seats in the next parliamentary term.
Leading the charge will be NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, who is contesting at Jalan Kayu Single Member Constituency (SMC).
The candidates filed their nomination papers at their respective nomination centres across the island on 23 April 2025.
The six other unionists include NTUC Deputy-Secretary General Desmond Tan, NTUC Assistant Secretaries-General Patrick Tay, Desmond Choo, Melvin Yong and Yeo Wan Ling, and NTUC Freelancers and Self-Employed Unit (U FSE) Assistant Director Jagathishwaran Rajo.
Candidates will contest for the remaining 92 seats across 32 constituencies, after the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) won Marine Parade-Braddell Heights Group Representation Constituency (GRC) through a walkover.
Polling day will be held on 3 May 2025.
Mr Ng, 56, has been serving as NTUC Secretary-General since 2018.
He made his political debut in 2015 where he was part of a six-member People’s Action Party (PAP) team that contested in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
He previously served as Education Minister between 2015 and 2018, and as a Minister in Prime Minister’s Office between 2018 and 2020.
Mr Tan, 54, will be fielded in Pasir Ris-Changi GRC.
He made his political debut in the 2020 General Election when he joined the five-member People’s Action Party (PAP) team contesting in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
The team won 64.15 per cent of the votes that year.
In June 2022, Mr Tan, who was also a Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, joined NTUC as Deputy Secretary-General and has consistently been advocating training and transformation initiatives.
Mr Tay, 53, who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Pioneer SMC since 2020, will return to contest the same constituency.
A lawyer by trade, he has held several positions with unions of the Labour Movement since 2002, and he has been the NTUC’s Assistant Secretary-General since 2014.
Mr Tay has spent the last few years championing for better representation and work rights for PMEs.
He has also been an MP since 2011.
Mr Choo, 47, will return to field at the newly carved Tampines-Changkat SMC – previously a division under the Tampines GRC.
He has been part of NTUC since 2010, becoming its Assistant Secretary-General in 2014.
Mr Choo has been an MP since 2015, and he has also been serving as the mayor of the North East District since 2017.
Mr Yong, 53, will return to field in Radin Mas SMC – a constituency he has represented since 2020.
He first joined the Labour Movement in 2015 and has been consistently championing for initiatives to drive safer workplaces.
He has also been an MP since 2015.
Ms Yeo, 48, will be fielded in the newly formed Punggol GRC.
Punggol GRC is a new four-member constituency, created by merging parts of the former Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC and Punggol West SMC.
Ms Yeo is also the director for NTUC’s Women and Family Unit, where she advocates for the rights of women and for stronger work-life harmony.
Mr Jagathishwaran, 37, will be fielded in Aljunied GRC. This is his first General Election.
Mr Jagathishwaran has been with NTUC for 13 years, and he has been an advocate for workers’ rights and well-being.
Currently, he focuses on supporting freelancers and self-employed individuals, helping them come together and access better support.
