‘Failing does not equate to failure': Labour chief Ng Chee Meng on bouncing back after GE2020 loss
[SINGAPORE] Even as there is much for Singapore to celebrate on May Day, there continues to be 'dark clouds overhead', said labour chief Ng Chee Meng on Thursday (May 1).
The US is entering a potential recession, and the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in April have caused much anxiety and volatility. The rules-based world order – both in trade and in security – is fraying, he said at the May Day Rally.
'Our economy will be impacted. Our 2025 growth forecast has already been revised downwards to 0 to 2 per cent. Trade volumes will likely drop. Our businesses and jobs will be hit,' the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary-general said at the event held at Downtown East in Pasir Ris.
Describing these as 'not a distant reality', Ng pointed out that unemployment rates here have already crept up in the first quarter of 2025, with some companies already planning to freeze hiring and wages.
On what this means for Singapore's workforce, Ng said it means that youths are concerned about the availability of jobs when they graduate.
Many people, including the PME (professionals, managers and executives) group, are concerned about their job security, and more are likely to experience potential job transitions, he said.
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The labour movement will do its best to support the efforts of the new Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, he said.
Ng is also part of this taskforce, as co-leader of a work stream tasked to identify the pain points and immediate challenges faced by workers and businesses.
'We will work closely with tripartite partners to advance our workers' interests and enable them to seize new opportunities in a changed world,' said the labour chief.
In his nearly 30-minute speech, Ng said that NTUC will 'innovate and strengthen' its Jobs Security Council (JSC), which was set up in early 2020 and has helped to place over 110,000 people into jobs.
'We want to refresh the JSC – to create a version 2.0 – as good jobs are the best security for our workers,' he said.
A job security directorate has been set up to coordinate and drive the efforts of JSC 2.0. The NTUC intends to push for more business transformation and workforce training, help more people future-proof their careers, and match more workers with good jobs.
A busy campaign
Earlier in his address, Ng – one of the People's Action Party's 97 candidates at this Saturday's general election – said this May Day period has been 'a little bit different' for him.
This year's May Day coincides with the ninth and final day of campaigning for the election. Ng shared that he has only been home for dinner twice in the last 45 days or so, shedding 4 kg along the way.
'It has been a very busy period to say the least, but every second has been worth it, because every hour and every day spent is for the larger purpose of serving fellow Singaporeans and workers of all collars,' he said.
Ng, a former Cabinet minister, led the PAP's Sengkang GRC team to a narrow loss against the Workers' Party (WP) at the last election five years ago. This time, he is the ruling party's candidate in the new Jalan Kayu SMC, where he is up against the WP's Andre Low.
Ng said that he felt he had let the entire NTUC down in 2020, and the process of dealing with that setback has been a humbling one.
'But it has also taught me many good lessons. I have learned more deeply that failing does not equate to failure. It is not our losses that define us,' he told the audience.
'It is how we continue to press on and do our utmost that counts. With your support, I have done so.'
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