Mdm Deputy Speaker,
Introduction
Thank you for allowing me to join the debate.
This year’s budget arrives amid significant uncertainty for both the businesses and workers. On the union ground, we see a mixed picture: on one hand some companies are hiring, while others are restructuring and laying off employees. For example, in the aerospace industry, while seeing a robust recovery since Covid-19, are also grappling with some of the increase in operational cost and difficulty in hiring. The unions in the services sector have reported a more cautious outlook in the domestic F&B and retail sector, citing increasing operational costs as well as competition with our neighbouring countries. Manufacturing companies in some unions are taking a wait-and-see approach depending on how international trade tension and tariffs pan out.
On the workers’ front, while two-thirds of the workers that we surveyed expressed satisfaction with their wages, welfare and work prospects, one in three workers fear job losses within the next three months. Cost of living remains a top concern, with food, healthcare, groceries and utilities ranking as the top four worries in our survey.
It is therefore reassuring to see a responsive budget this year that empathises with what our people and businesses are going through on the ground and tackles them head on. More importantly, I feel that this is a responsible budget, because it presents long-term strategies for our businesses and economy, ensuring they remain competitive and our workers’ skills remain up-to-date and relevant.
Part 1: Tripartism and Role of Unions
PM in his speech mentioned that to achieve 2-3% annual growth will require us to continue to uphold several fundamentals, and one of them is “to deepen our tripartite partnership as a cornerstone of economic stability.”
As Singapore approaches SG60, it’s a fitting time to reflect on the NTUC’s pivotal role plays in fostering industrial peace, economic stability, and in promoting workers’ welfare. Born in the turbulent 1960s, NTUC emerged as a unifying force amidst chaos, rallying unions to prioritise long-term interests and stability over short-term disruptions and gains. Despite being outnumbered by pro-communist unions, NTUC, under leaders like Devan Nair and Ho See Beng, focused on workers’ welfare, eventually winning over unions and laying the groundwork for industrial harmony.
Post-independence, NTUC played a critical role in navigating crisis like the British military withdrawal, persuading workers to accept difficult but necessary changes, such as the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, which prioritised stability and investment for the long-term good of Singapore. The 1969 Modernization Seminar marked an important turning point, redefining unions as partners in progress and establishing Singapore’s unique tripartite model.
Continuous Efforts in Championing Worker’s Interests
Though the COVID-19 crisis seems like a distant memory, it was a severe test of tripartism. Both our workers’ lives and livelihoods were in great danger. NTUC was at the forefront, securing job stability, wage support, and training opportunities for thousands, particularly in the distressed sectors such as aerospace, aviation and retail, and self-employed persons.
In a recent media article titled “Do Singapore Unions have a PR problem?”, my unionists and I acknowledged the image issue that NTUC might have, and the scepticism shared among some members of the public towards the labour movement in view of a spate of high profile lay-offs in 2024. In that very same article, CNA Digital reported about 2000 dispute cases handled by unions in 2022 and 2023 as well as about 3000 by TADM in that same period. While some of these cases were addressed publicly, the majority in reality, were negotiated behind the scenes. After spending nearly three years in NTUC and working alongside many union leaders and staff, I am really in full admiration of the relentless, often behind the scenes, but effective work by our Union leaders and NTUC staff. Unheralded but vigilant bargaining and consensus building to secure the best outcomes for workers of all collars, ages or nationalities, while ensuring our business and economic pies continue to grow and expand.
Part 2: Progression Through Support for Worker’s Upskilling
Navigating Uncertainty: Adapting for a Resilient Future
Going forward, geoeconomic divisions, volatility, demographic shifts, and technological and sustainability advancements will reshape the global labour market, driving changes in job creation, skills demand, and work patterns.
In this rapidly changing landscape, one thing is clear: the skillsets that brought us success yesterday may not be sufficient to secure our future. To remain competitive, both as individuals and as a nation, we must embrace a culture of continuous innovation, learning and upskilling.
The latest Future of Jobs report indicates that 39% of our current skills will either evolve or become obsolete within the next five years, which is lower than 44% in 2023 and 57% in 2020, possibly due to more workers having completed training, reskilling or upskilling measures.
These findings reflect the growing recognition of the value of upskilling and reskilling among workers. I believe our advocacy for greater training opportunities and the support of the Government in this front has yielded positive results, and I urge more employers to prioritise training initiatives for your employees. Employers should not be afraid to lose an employee because the employee is better trained. It is essential to look beyond the short-term disruptions or losses and invest in the long-term growth and development of all our workers and employees, which ultimately will benefit the entire industry and economy as a whole.
IMDA data showed that AI adoption among large enterprises in Singapore rose from 16.7% in 2018 to 44% in 2023, while SMEs increasing only slightly from 3.5% to 4.2%. The SMEs cited reasons such as a lack of need for AI due to the scale of their business and perceived high costs of implementation vis-à-vis the return of investment. This raises an urgency for higher AI adoption among local SMEs to reap the benefits of AI and for Singaporeans to be upskilled.
CTCs to Navigate the Future
The Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative is NTUC’s response in 2019 to navigate these rapidly changing landscapes, supporting our enterprises through enhancing business productivity and upskilling our workers.
General Manager, Chew Zi Xuan, from Chew’s Agriculture, a company unionised under my union, SISEU, said, “The CTC Grant has been a lifeline for us, ensuring that our older employees retained their jobs while receiving training. They have learned to operate new machinery and conduct quality control checks. This support has made our senior employees feel truly valued and empowered.”
I’m always heartened to hear stories of such positive feedback from the employers of how CTCs have not just benefitted their businesses but also their employees. Let me share an example of how the CTC can support enterprises and benefit workers.
STMicroelectronics, a global leader in semiconductors, has been a pillar of Singapore’s manufacturing sector since 1969.
Operators at STMicroelectronics were required to manually load and unload wafer cassettes, each weighing up to 5kg, throughout 12-hour shifts. The physical strain led to fatigue, slower production speeds, and high turnover rates. Recognising the need for change, STMicroelectronics partnered with the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) through the CTC to implement five robotic systems to take over these manual tasks.
The results were phenomenal. The robots now operate 22 different machines, running efficiently 24/7, leading to a productivity gain of no less than 10%. But more importantly, workers were not displaced, they were trained in robotic operations, maintenance, and industry 4.0 technologies, preparing them for future, higher-value roles.
The impact on their career growth has also been significant. Operators are now progressing to become technicians, technicians to assistant engineers, and assistant engineers to full-fledged engineers. This structured Career Development Plan (CDP) ensures that workers experience career progression. The numbers speak for themselves – 111 employees have benefitted from this initiative, with 91 PMETs and 20 rank-and-file workers seeing career progression.
We are thankful for the Government to acknowledge our effort in the CTC and announced a top up of $200 million of CTC Grant in the Budget and also extending CTC Grant 2.0 to support employer-led training that leads to formal qualifications or certifications.
I am happy to update that we had Formed over 3,000 CTCs, Approved more than 480 transformation projects. Helped over 7,000 workers receive an average of 5% wage increment above their annual increment, or benefit from career development plans or skills allowances,
I urge more companies to come onboard, to partner with NTUC, join us on the CTC, and leverage the grants available to accelerate your business transformation and upskill your workers.
The success of CTCs encouraged us to expand our reach and explore how CTCs can benefit more companies, more cluster or even an entire sector. One such example is the formation of the Tripartite Partnership between NTUC, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and ST Engineering. This partnership draws on the synergies between SSG's Queen Bee programme and NTUC's CTC initiative to deliver comprehensive support for ST Engineering Land Systems and its ecosystem of suppliers in business transformation and workers upgrading. This is backed by ST Engineering Staff Union (STESU).
As a first of its kind partnership, the programme seeks to upskill at least 1,000 workers and about 40 SMEs within the Precision Engineering sector of ST Engineering Land Systems’ supplier network while building a robust ecosystem that offers both breadth and depth in technology and engineering capabilities.
This is what the CTC is all about; regardless of supporting a company or a cluster of companies or sector, future-proofing businesses while uplifting our workers.
NTUC NETF Collaborative Fund and UTAP Update
Another initiative NTUC have in place to promote upskilling and reskilling is the NTUC-Education and Training Fund Collaborative Fund (NCF) and Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) through defraying the cost of training. Unionised companies enjoy an annual $50,000 NCF funding support while union members get to utilise up to $250 or $500 of UTAP training subsidy.
From 2022 to 2024, over 75,000 union members have benefitted from training through NCF and UTAP, reflecting a 22% average annual growth in skills development.
One of the workers who benefitted from NCF is Brother Phil, Manufacturing Manager, Operations at Hamilton Sundstrand Pacific Aerospace Pte Ltd.
At 35 years old and with 11 years of experience in the company, Brother Phil has always been committed to operational excellence. However, to take his leadership capabilities to the next level, he needed to strengthen his coaching, conflict resolution, and performance management skills.
Through the NCF co-funded training, Brother Phil has acquired new soft skills and enhanced his ability to lead teams, foster a positive work culture, and drive innovation and productivity.
Part 3: Support for Mid-Career Workers
In the past two Budget speeches, I have called for greater support for mid-career workers.
Labour Movement is therefore grateful to hear that individuals can apply for the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance of up to $3,000 per month for selected full-time courses, and it will be extended to selected part-time courses from early 2026. We are hopeful that this initiative will encourage mid-career workers to pursue lifelong training.
I feel for this group of workers, partly because we have quite of them living in Pasir Ris, who are going through mid-career transition and experiencing both job placement as well as skills upgrading challenges. NTUC will continue to push for this group to help them pivot their career and have relevant skillsets to move into a new career.
To support workers’ training and employment facilitation, NTUC has expanded in the national personalised placement landscape from 2 to 27 career and job centres, with around 110,000 jobseekers placed since February 2020. We have also developed and are using stronger AI platforms to guide jobseekers in their career search.
Mid-Career Mother Pursues Career Switch with Guidance from e2i
Ms. Angela Guo, a 31-year-old mother, sought a career switch from F&B to HR for better work-life balance and more time with her child. Despite lacking HR experience, she approached NTUC’s e2i for help. Her career coach, Mr. Wang Xiushen, guided her through an employability programme, providing industry-specific mentorship, resume advice, and encouragement to upskill. Angela is now pursuing a part-time HR degree and successfully transitioned into an HR role, achieving her goals while building skills for her new career path.
Job security is key amid technology and industry changes, as it provides the stability and confidence for our workers to adapt and grow. NTUC will continue to support our workers with initiatives to expand training and upskilling opportunities.
Mdm Deputy Speaker, I will now speak in Mandarin please.
总理公布的2025年 “齐心前进、迈向未来”财政预算案，除了应对眼前的挑战，也提出了长期的增长策略，帮助我们工友的技能面向未来，以确保我国的经济继续保持竞争力。
对于预算案，我们收到工友许多正面的反馈。政府在支持中途转业者、平台员工, 自由业者、提升低薪工友、帮助年轻工友和家庭、帮助中年 工友获得更多退休保障，以及协助国人应对生活开销方面，都提出许多措施和计划。这些措施和计划的实行，都听取了工友的反馈和心声。
今年我国经济面对许多不确定因素的影响，包括国际局势动荡引发的通货膨胀，以及颠覆性科技改变企业的人力需求 等等。在就业方面，企业也发出不同的讯息：一方面公司在分阶段裁员，而另一方面一些公司在热烈 招聘中。
面对这些不确定的因素，除了政府的资助，我们希望工友们也要自动自发，自立自强，把握未来经济的机遇。全国职工总会为大家提供了许许多多提升项目和资助培训的方案，希望大家能善加利用。
职总从2019年开始，便鼓励工友在公司内部成立企业培训委员会（Company Training Committee），简称 CTC，更有针对性的提升雇员技能，进行企业转型。
至今年，职总已经协助成立了3000多个企业培训委员会，资助了480个转型项目。我们很高兴政府今年宣布为企业培训委员会倡议，提供多两亿元的预算。我们希望更多公司都能够发起成立 CTC，进行转型，提升所需的技能，加强应对未来 经济的能力和竞争力。
职总另一项 方案，是职总教育和培训基金合作基金（NCF）和工会培训援助计划（UTAP），加入工会的公司每年可获得多达五万元的 NCF 资金，支持培训计划，而加入工会的员工则可获得250 元或 500 元的UTAP培训补贴。
各位工友，这些计划和补贴，都是为大家而推出的，请大家好好的善用，提升技能。相信大家都听过：三分天注定，七分靠打拼，这个打拼，就包括不断求新求变、不断学习新技能，爱拼爱学才会赢！让我们团结一致，继续努力，提升自我，共同创造更美好的未来！
Closing
As we look ahead, the challenges of the next decade will be unlike those we have faced before. Yet, with the strong foundation of tripartism built by generations of government, employers, and union leaders are well-equipped to navigate the future.
NTUC and the labour movement remains steadfast to support all our workers. Whether you are a delivery rider battling the elements on the streets, a mid-career professional adapting to AI, a senior worker seeking renewed purpose, the Labour Movement fights tireless to uplift your voice, secure your livelihoods and future proof your potential.
Because when workers win, Singapore wins. And on this momentous year of SG60, in solidarity with our tripartite partners, the labour movement will march forward with our workers and for our country, Singapore.
Mdm Deputy Speaker, I support the budget. Thank you.
