National Trades Union Congress
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| Full name | National Trades Union Congress |
|---|---|
| Founded | 6 September 1961 |
| Members | 900,000 |
| 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, 2 affiliated trade associations and 32 U Associates. 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.
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. 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. 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 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).Zainal Sapari is the director of NTUC Care and Share while Seah Kian Peng is the Group Chief Executive of NTUC FairPrice.
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