By Ramesh Subbaraman
Two political office holders will be joining the Labour Movement as Deputy Secretaries-General (DSG) effective immediately, announced NTUC in a media statement on 23 April 2018.
They are Minister for Education (Schools) and Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng and Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and National Development Koh Poh Koon.
The aim is to strengthen the leadership of the Labour Movement.
Request for Support
NTUC President Mary Liew, on behalf of the NTUC Central Committee, had earlier sent a letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 16 April 2018 to request for suitable officeholders to serve the Labour Movement.
Ms Liew noted that at the 2017 PAP Party Convention, PM Lee had indicated to NTUC that it should plan for leadership renewal.
“To take the Labour Movement forward, we desire people who have the interests of working people at heart and who can understand the priorities of the Labour Movement in the face of evolving challenges.
“To this end, should PM require Brother Chan Chun Sing to return to Government in due course, may we request PM to let Brother Ng Chee Meng serve in the Labour Movement. We believe Brother Ng Chee Meng has the desired attributes to lead and connect with the Labour Movement for the next lap,” she said.
She also said in her letter to PM Lee that one of the key priorities in the next lap of the country’s development was to strengthen the training and skills upgrading of the working people, in tandem with the execution of the ITMs.
“To this end, we would also like to request PM to appoint another suitable office holder to serve the Labour Movement who can interface the LM with Government agencies so as to translate the ITM plans into more tangible training programmes for our working people. It will also be an added bonus if this office holder can help expand the LM outreach to new groups of working people including professionals, managers and executives (PMEs),” said Ms Liew.
In his reply to Ms Liew in a letter, PM Lee said he intends to ask NTUC Secretary-General Chan Chun Sing to return to the Government and agreed to release Mr Ng to first serve on a part-time basis and full-time from 1 May 2018 onwards.
PM Lee added that he will also ask Mr Koh Poh Koon to serve in the Labour Movement on a part-time basis while concurrently retaining relevant ministry appointments.
He believes Mr Koh will be an additional interface between the Labour Movement and government agencies.
In his letter, PM Lee agreed that strengthening the training and skills of working people and expanding the Labour Movement’s outreach to new groups of workers are key priorities for the next phase of Singapore’s development.
And he is confident that the DSGs – Ng Chee Meng, Heng Chee How and Koh Poh Koon – will as a team, contribute much to NTUC’s efforts in all these areas.
Concluding, Mr Lee said: “I look forward to the Labour Movement’s continued support and contributions as we work together to improve the lives of Singaporeans.”
The NTUC Central Committee met on 23 April 2018 to discuss appointing and co-opting Mr Ng and Mr Koh into the NTUC Central Committee.
Responses from the New DSGs
Both Mr Ng and Mr Koh spoke to the media following the announcement of their appointment in NTUC.
Mr Ng said the Labour Movement is very close to his heart and wants the success of Singapore to be shared amongst workers.
“The immediate priority I have is to really go down to the ground, to talk to our unions and union leaders, to see and understand better the needs of our workers, and to reach out to U Associate, U FSE, U SME and the Migrant Workers’ Centre to have a better grasp of what may be the ground issues.
“In doing so, I hope to have a good conversation to deepen my understanding of the challenges, the aspirations and needs of our workers. And in that way, hopefully through those conversations, we can generate fresh and new ideas to bring the Labour Movement forward,” he said.
On Mr Koh’s role in the Labour Movement, Mr Ng added that he would be looking into making the 23 Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) real and tangible on the ground so that workers can see the benefits that the ITMs will bring in order to generate better paying jobs and better work prospects for the future.
Mr Koh added that his concurrent appointments in the Labour Movement and in the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) are a good way of linking what needs to be done with the ITMs.
“The ultimate aim is to ensure we have a transformed economy but more importantly create good jobs for Singaporeans that are ready for the future. This is a good way of embodying tripartism in a very genuine and concrete way.
“In the ITMs, it is not just about adopting technology or a business model. What is important is that at the end of the day, the final common pathway of all our ITM transformations boils down to Singaporeans taking on jobs that are more relevant for the future. The unions actually play a very important role in helping our workers to take on new skills to be future ready,” emphasised Mr Koh.
NTUC Leaders Welcome the New DSGs
In his Facebook page, the labour chief said the new DSGs bring with them their respective expertise and experiences.
“We will benefit greatly from Chee Meng’s experience in MOE and the various leadership roles he has assumed in his career. Poh Koon, on the other hand, with his experience in MTI, will be an asset in the areas of training and helping to operationalise the Industry Transformation Maps across our LM stakeholders,” said Mr Chan.
Meanwhile, Mr Heng added on his Facebook page that both Mr Ng and Mr Koh have his absolute support.
He looks forward to working very closely with them in NTUC to further the interests of working people in Singapore.
