National Trades Union Congress


The , also known as the Singapore National Trades Union Congress, is the sole national trade union centre in Singapore. NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement which comprises 59 affiliated trade unions, 5 affiliated trade associations, 12 social enterprises, 6 related organisations as well as a growing ecosystem of U Associates and enterprise partners. Together, it helms May Day celebrations and organises an annual rally in support of workers' solidarity and commitment to tripartite partnership.

History

The NTUC was created in 1961 when the Singapore Trades Union Congress, which had backed the People's Action Party in its successful drive for self-government, split into the pro-PAP NTUC and the leftist Singapore Association of Trade Unions. 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. 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 Act of 1968, which severely limited workers' rights to strike. From 1969, the NTUC adopted, in its own words, "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 late founder, Devan Nair, was a PAP stalwart and later served as President of Singapore. Ong Teng Cheong, the first directly elected late President of Singapore, was both the NTUC Secretary-General, and the Deputy Prime Minister, 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. As of 22 May 2018, Ng Chee Meng took over as Secretary-General from Chan Chun Sing, who left NTUC to become Minister of Trade and Industry.

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 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 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 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.

Union membership

In April 2016, the total Union Membership figure in Singapore was 900,000. There are two main groups of members: Ordinary Branch members are directly represented by the unions/affiliates and enjoy direct collective bargaining rights, while General Branch 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.

NTUC Affiliated Unions and Associations

59 Trade Unions and 3 Trade Associations are affiliated to the National Trades Union Congress. The affiliated unions can be broadly categorised under Industrial Sector, Service Sector, Public Sector Unions and Omnibus Unions.

Industrial Sector Unions

  1. Building Construction And Timber Industries Employees' Union
  2. Chemical Industries Employees' Union
  3. ExxonMobil Singapore Employees Union
  4. Keppel Employees Union
  5. Keppel FELS Employees' Union
  6. Metal Industries Workers' Union
  7. NatSteel Employees' Union
  8. Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Employees' Union
  9. Singapore Refining Company Employees' Union
  10. Sembawang Shipyard Employees' Union
  11. Singapore Shell Employees' Union
  12. United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries
  13. United Workers of Petroleum Industry

    Service Sector Unions

  14. Air Transport Executive Staff Union
  15. Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union
  16. Creative Media and Publishing Union
  17. DBS Staff Union
  18. Dnata Singapore Staff Union
  19. Education Services Union
  20. Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union
  21. Healthcare Services Employees' Union
  22. National Transport Workers' Union
  23. Port Officers' Union
  24. Reuters Local Employees' Union, Singapore
  25. Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union
  26. Singapore Bank Employees' Union
  27. Singapore Bank Officers' Association
  28. Scoot Tigerair Staff Union
  29. SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union
  30. Singapore Airlines Staff Union
  31. Singapore Insurance Employees' Union
  32. Singapore Maritime Officers' Union
  33. Singapore Organisation of Seamen
  34. Singapore Port Workers Union
  35. Singapore Stevedores Union
  36. Singapore Technologies Electronics Employees' Union
  37. Singapore Union of Broadcasting Employees
  38. Staff Union of NTUC-ARU
  39. Times Publishing Group Employees' Union
  40. Union of Power and Gas Employees
  41. Union of Security Employees
  42. Union of Tripartite Alliance
  43. Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore

    Public Sector Unions

  44. Amalgamated Union of Public Daily Rated Workers
  45. Amalgamated Union of Public Employees
  46. Amalgamated Union of Statutory Board Employees
  47. Housing and Development Board Staff Union
  48. Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore Staff Union
  49. Ngee Ann Polytechnic Academic Staff Union
  50. Public Utilities Board Employees' Union
  51. Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union
  52. Singapore Interpreters' and Translators' Union
  53. Singapore Malay Teachers' Union
  54. SPRING Singapore Staff Union
  55. Singapore Tamil Teachers' Union
  56. Singapore Teachers' Union
  57. Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority Workers' Union
  58. Union of ITE Training Staff

    Omnibus Unions

  59. Singapore Industrial & Services Employees' Union
  60. The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers' Union

    Associations

  61. National Taxi Association
  62. National Private Hire Vehicles Association
  63. National Instructors and Coaches Association
  64. Singapore FinTech Association
  65. Tech Talent Assembly

    NTUC Social Enterprises

The objectives of NTUC Social Enterprises are:
NTUC Enterprise is the holding entity and single largest shareholder of the NTUC social enterprises.
The list of social enterprises includes:
Additionally, the NTUC has an Administration and Research Unit 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.

Professional Guilds

32 professional guilds in 22 sectors are partners of the National Trades Union Congress and are classified as U Associates. These U Associates have more than 200,000 members.
  1. CPA Australia
  2. Singapore Association of Administrative Professionals
  3. Singapore Institute of Building Limited
  4. Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects
  5. LASALLE College of the Arts
  6. Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore
  7. Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
  8. The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
  9. Action Community for Entrepreneurship
  10. Financial Planning Association of Singapore
  11. Singapore Insurance Employees’ Union – Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore
  12. Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors
  13. Singapore Human Resource Institute
  14. Human Capital Singapore
  15. Singapore Computer Society
  16. Information Systems Audit and Control Association
  17. Singapore Corporate Counsel Association
  18. Direct Marketing Association of Singapore
  19. Institute of Advertising Singapore
  20. Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group
  21. Financial IT Academy @ SMU
  22. Project Management Institute, Singapore Chapter
  23. Industrial & Services Employees’ Union - Institute of Estate Agents, Singapore
  24. PropertyGuru Pte Ltd
  25. Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union - Singapore Estate Agents Association
  26. Singapore Institution of Safety Officers
  27. Singapore Sales Professional Association
  28. Singapore’s Cybersports & Online Gaming Association
  29. Singapore Professional Golfers’ Association
  30. Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore
  31. The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply
  32. Supply Chain Asia

    SME Partners

U SME, a department within NTUC ARU, has signed 42 Memoranda of Understanding, covering 3,099 SMEs and 70,640 workers. The MOUs help SMEs establish good employment practices and allow them to leverage on NTUC services to learn more about business developments.
U SME conducts workshops to educate SME bosses on topics like the Employment Act, Employment of Foreign Manpower Act and Workplace Safety and Health Act.

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.