National Trades Union Congress

NTUC
Full name National Trades Union Congress
Founded 6 September 1961 (6 September 1961)
Members 830,000
Affiliation ITUC
Key people Mary Liew, President
Chan Chun Sing, Secretary-General
Office location Singapore
Country Singapore
Website www.ntuc.org.sg

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC), is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. It currently has 60 affiliated trade unions and 1 affiliated taxi association. Together with affiliated unions, it helms Labour Day celebrations and organises an annual rally in support of worker's solidarity and commitment to tripartite partnership.

History

The NTUC was created in 1961 when the Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC), which had backed the People's Action Party (PAP) in its successful drive for self-government, split into the pro-PAP NTUC and the leftist Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU). The SATU collapsed in 1963 following the government's detention of its leaders during Operation Coldstore and its subsequent official deregistration on 13 November 1963, leaving the NTUC as the sole trade union centre.[1] Presently, over 98% of union members are in unions affiliated with the NTUC.

After the PAP's decisive electoral victory in 1968, the government passed the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act of 1968, which severely limited workers' rights to strike.[2] From 1969, the NTUC adopted, in its own words,[3] "a cooperative, rather than a confrontational policy towards employers."

Relations between the PAP and NTUC are very close, and have often resulted in members holding office in both organisations at the same time. The NTUC's founder, Devan Nair, was a PAP stalwart and later served as President of Singapore. Ong Teng Cheong, the first directly elected President of Singapore, was both the NTUC Secretary-General, and the Deputy Prime Minister (from 1985), until his presidential election. Lim Boon Heng and Lim Swee Say, the previous Secretaries-General, also became Cabinet ministers. As of 4 May 2015, Chan Chun Sing took over as Secretary-General from Lim Swee Say, who left the NTUC to become Minister for Manpower (with effect from the same date).[4] Zainudin Nordin is the director of NTUC Care and Share while Seah Kian Peng is the director of NTUC FairPrice.

Trade unions in Singapore

Trade unions in Singapore are run along democratic lines, and membership is voluntary. Major decisions on industrial actions are taken only with majority support expressed through secret ballot.

There are three tiers of union leadership, all elected via secret ballot. Workers in a company elect their branch leaders. The next layer is the executive committee of a union. Officials from the executive committee are drawn from the branches. At the national level, there is the Central Committee of the NTUC. The 21-member Central Committee is elected every four years.

Union leaders and employers serve on key institutions such as the National Wages Council, the Economic Development Board, the Central Provident Fund and the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board. Government and employer representatives also serve on the boards of the cooperatives, business ventures and other organisations controlled by the NTUC.

NTUC Executive Committee

At union headquarters level, key branch officials represent their branches at Union Headquarters as delegates. They have a right to vote or stand as candidates in elections to the Union Executive Committee which is responsible for the effective operation of the union.

Affiliated unions are represented at the NTUC Delegates Conference, the supreme authority of the labour movement. The Delegates Conference is held once in two years. During this conference, delegates review the work of the NTUC and map out future directions for the labour movement.

NTUC Central Committee

At the national level, once in four years, the union delegates elect a 21-member NTUC Central Committee to oversee the work of the labour movement. The Central Committee members elect among themselves the Secretary-General, the President, the Secretary for Financial Affairs (Treasurer) and Vice-Presidents. The Central Committee appoints other principal office bearers.

Union leadership includes Members of Parliament. These members of parliament are subject to elections, just as the other grassroots unionists are. Many other Members of Parliament, including Cabinet ministers, serve as union advisors.

NTUC Social Enterprises

The objectives of NTUC Social Enterprises are:

The list of social enterprise includes:

related organizations

Additionally, the NTUC has an Administration and Research Unit (ARU) to carry out work related to and supporting Industrial Relations. Within the ARU, the Secretary-General functions as the Director-General. The Director-General is assisted by Divisional Directors, each of whom is in charge of a cluster of departments.

Union membership

In May 2010, the total Union Membership figure in Singapore was 555,000. There are two main groups of members: Ordinary Branch (OB) members are directly represented by the unions/affiliates and enjoy direct collective bargaining rights, while General Branch (GB) members, who work in non-unionised companies, cannot be represented directly but are given workplace advice and whose employment issues are still handled professionally. NTUC also works with social enterprises like NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Link, as well as partners like NTUC Club and NTUC Healthcare to provide a range of core and lifestyle benefits for all of its members.

Since 2002, executives are also permitted to join the NTUC membership base, which was traditionally composed of rank-and-file employees. Apart from lifestyle benefits, they also enjoy some representation (if they are employed in unionised companies).

Young NTUC

Established in 2005, Young NTUC is the youth wing of Singapore's National Trades Union Congress. Aimed at attracting younger workers into unions, Young NTUC is part of the organisation's efforts to project a more vibrant, modern and youthful image and, at the same time, remain relevant and representative of the workforce.

With a base of about 150,000 young members, Young NTUC is, by far, the largest youth movement in Singapore, as compared to Young PAP and the People's Association's Youth Movement. It enables younger members and unionists to participate and be actively involved in the various levels and activities of the labour movement, sharing ideas, views and concerns with their peers, as well as senior leaders of NTUC and affiliated unions.

The movement's signature events include RUN350, a green movement aimed at reducing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

List of leaders of NTUC

Secretary-General Term of office President Term of office Chairman Term of office
Devan Nair 1961–1965 Ho See Beng 1962–1964 Mahmud Awang 1961
ST Nagayan 1965–1966 RA White 1966–1967 Ho See Beng 1962–1964
Ho See Beng 1966–1967 Peter Vincent 1967–1970 Phey Yew Kok 1979
Seah Mui Kok 1967–1970 Phey Yew Kok 1970–1979 Yu-Foo Yee Shoon 1980–1985
Devan Nair 1970–1979 Devan Nair 1979–1981 Position abolished
Lim Chee Onn 1979–1983 Peter Vincent 1981–1985
Ong Teng Cheong 1983–1993 George Chua 1985–1986
Lim Boon Heng 1993–2006 Oscar Oliveiro 1986–1997
Lim Swee Say 2007–2015 John de Payva 1997–2011
Chan Chun Sing 2015–present Diana Chia 2011–2015
Mary Liew 2015–present

Source: NTUC[5]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1237_2008-11-30.html
  2. ↑ Anil Verma, Thomas A. Kochan, Russell D. Lansbury. "Employment relations in the growing Asian economies".
  3. ↑ http://www.ntuc.org.sg/ntucunions/abt_ntuc_tripartism.htm
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "Little by Little, Step by Step. Celebrating 50 years of Labour Movement" (pdf). NTUC. May 2011.

External links

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