SINGAPORE: The National Trades Union Congress will have to evolve and even reinvent itself to remain relevant in a changing landscape, especially as the country refreshes its social compact, said Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Saturday .
“If the NTUC is to continue organising and mobilising the bulk of our workforce, it will have to adapt to changing trends,” he added. Rapid technological disruptions are also increasing, putting older and more vulnerable workers at greater risk and hastening the need to upskill workers and redesign jobs, he added.
Mr Wong, who is also Singapore's Finance Minister, last month launched a year-long exercise to review and refresh Singapore's social compact., a report will be published in mid-2023 after its conclusion, setting out policy recommendations to underpin the country's refreshed social compact and highlight how different segments of society can be more involved in contributing towards its shared goals.
During his speech on Sunday, Mr Wong spoke of how Singapore has consciously and deliberately set out to make the labour movement a key partner in governing the country. While some countries are seeing a resurgence of unionisation efforts – for example in the US, where workers from companies such as Starbucks and Amazon are starting unions to fight for their rights – this is “an uphill battle”, said Mr Wong.