- Ms K Thanaletchimi appointed as new President -
A new 21-member National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Central Committee (CC) has been elected by union delegates today to lead NTUC in unity and with purpose to champion workers’ interests and rights. The election was held at the quadrennial NTUC National Delegates’ Conference (NDC) 2023, which took place from 22 to 23 November 2023 (refer to Annex A for more information on the NDC).
Following the election, the newly elected CC members elected among themselves, Ms K Thanaletchimi as President, Mr Ng Chee Meng as Secretary-General, and Mr Arasu Duraisamy as Secretary for Financial Affairs. Mr Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab, Mr Andy Lim Tze Khong and Mr Lim Teck Chuan were elected as Vice-Presidents; Ms Cham Hui Fong and Mr Desmond Tan as Deputy Secretaries-General. All 16 incumbent CC members who ran for the election were re-elected.
In addition, they also appointed Mr Heng Chee How as Deputy Secretary-General in the Central Committee, bringing the total number of members to 22.
The new CC comprise union leaders from different NTUC-affiliated unions representing workers from various sectors and industries such as Aerospace & Aviation; Built Environment; Education; Electronics, Marine & Engineering; Energy; Financial & Professional Services; Healthcare; Hospitality and Services; Infocomm & Media and Public Service.
Close to 450 delegates from NTUC’s 58 affiliated unions elected, by secret ballot, the new CC for the four-year term of 2023 to 2027. The list of the newly-elected CC members and office bearers is provided in Annex B.
New President for NTUC
Ms K Thanaletchimi, the new President of the NTUC CC, was elected as the President of the National University Hospital Employees’ Union (NUHEU) in 1998. She was the driving force behind the merger of NUHEU and the Health Corporation of Singapore Staff Union which led to the successful formation of HSEU in 2006 and served as HSEU President from 2011 onwards.
Ms K Thanaletchimi said, “Earlier this year, we had renewed our workers’ compact, and it will be my duty as President to continue to champion the interest of our workers with the new Central Committee, working on initiatives targeted at bettering their wages, welfare and work prospects. They can be assured that we will continue to walk alongside them in our Renewed Workers’ Compact.” More information about Ms K Thanaletchimi can be found in Annex C.
Ms K Thanaletchimi took over as President from Ms Mary Liew who has served in the same capacity for two terms since 2015. See former President Mary’s statement in support of the new CC in Annex D.
Strong Leadership Important in Achieving Vision
Speaking at a media conference on 23 November 2023, NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng stressed the importance of good leadership in carrying NTUC’s vision forward. He said, “As leaders of the Labour Movement, it is important that we work together to achieve a blend of dynamism and wisdom that will enable us to chart the way forward, building on the foundations of the past four years. Only then can we forge strong partnerships to take action and anchor the future of the Labour Movement, and bring about better outcomes for our workers. I believe the new NTUC Central Committee has the collective wisdom, tenacity and care, like the previous CC, to take actions, no matter how challenging, that would benefit our workers. We will charge ahead and continue to innovate so that we can remain relevant to the workers.”
This follows from a speech he delivered a day earlier, where he emphasised the need for NTUC to:
a. Scale our work to champion workers’ interests and make a greater, broader positive impact;
b. Set in place an innovation culture that will perpetually keep NTUC an agile, adaptive, and relevant organisation; and critically,
c. Focus on leadership development and refresh in order for us to thrive in a changed world.
With this in mind, the new CC will continue to ensure that NTUC remains relevant to and representative of our members and workers. The CC will work together with tripartite partners towards implementing our Renewed Workers’ Compact – taking action for workers, with workers.
Read more about our new CC members here.
