National Trades Union Congress

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 61 affiliated trade unions and 1 affiliated taxi association. 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.

History
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 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 PAP and NTUC are very close, and have often resulted in members holding office in both organizations 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, the previous secretary general, is also a Member of Parliament, and the Chairman of the People's Action Party. As of January 5, 2007, Lim Swee Say, the deputy Secretary General, has replaced Lim Boon Heng. 

Trade Unions in Singapore
Trade unions in Singapore are run along democratic lines, and membership is voluntary. Major decisions on industrial actions are taken only with majority support expressed through secret ballot.

There are three tiers of union leadership, all elected via secret ballot. Workers in a company elect their branch leaders. The next layer is the executive committee of a union. Officials from the executive committee are drawn from the branches. At the national level, there is the Central Committee of the NTUC. The 21-member Central Committee is elected every four years.

Union leaders and employers serve on key institutions such as the National Wages Council, the Economic Development Board, the Central Provident Fund and the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board. Government and employer representatives also serve on the boards of the cooperatives, business ventures and other organizations controlled by NTUC.

NTUC Executive Committee
At union headquarters level, key branch officials represent their branches at Union Headquarters as delegates. They have a right to vote or stand as candidates in elections to the Union Executive Committee which is responsible for the effective operation of the union.

Affiliated unions are represented at the NTUC Delegates Conference, the supreme authority of the labour movement. The Delegates Conference is held once in two years. During this conference, delegates review the work of the NTUC and map out future directions for the labour movement.

The NTUC Central Committee
At the national level, once in four years, the union delegates elect a 21-member NTUC Central Committee to oversee the work of the labour movement. The Central Committee members elect among themselves the Secretary-General, the President, the Secretary for Financial Affairs (Treasurer) and Vice Presidents. The Central Committee appoints other principal office bearers.

Union leadership includes Members of Parliament. These Members of Parliament are subject to elections, just as the other grassroots unionists are. Many other Members of Parliament, including Cabinet Ministers, serve as union advisors.

NTUC Social Enterprises
The objectives of NTUC Social Enterprises are:
 * to help stabilise prices of basic commodities and services
 * to strengthen and protect the purchasing power of workers
 * to allow union leaders to gain management experience, and to understand the problems faced by management, thus helping to promote better labour-management relations

The list of 12 Social Enterprises include:
 * NTUC Choice Homes
 * NTUC Club
 * NTUC Eldercare
 * NTUC FairPrice
 * NTUC First Campus
 * NTUC Foodfare
 * NTUC Healthcare
 * NTUC Income
 * NTUC LearningHub
 * NTUC Link
 * NTUC Media
 * NTUC Thrift & Loan

Related Organisations
The list of Related Organisations include:
 * Singapore Labour Foundation (SLF)
 * Ong Teng Cheong Labour Leadership Institute (OTC Institute)
 * e2i (Employment & Employability Institute)
 * Consumers' Association of Singapore (CASE)

Additionally, the NTUC has an Administration and Research Unit (ARU) to carry out work related to and supporting Industrial Relations. Within the ARU, the Secretary-General functions as the Director-General. The Director-General is assisted by Divisional Directors, each of whom is in charge of a cluster of departments.

Union Membership
In May 2010, the total Union Membership figure in Singapore was 555,000. There are two main groups of members: Ordinary Branch (OB) members are directly represented by the unions/affiliates and enjoy direct collective bargaining rights, while General Branch (GB) members, who work in non-unionised companies, cannot be represented directly but are given workplace advice and whose employment issues are still handled professionally. NTUC also works with social enterprises like NTUC FairPrice and NTUC Link, as well as partners like NTUC Club and NTUC Healthcare to provide a range of core and lifestyle benefits for all of its members.

Since 2002, executives are also permitted to join the NTUC membership base, which was traditionally composed of rank-and-file employees. Apart from lifestyle benefits, they also enjoy some representation (if they are employed in unionised companies).

Young NTUC
Established in 2005, Young NTUC is the youth wing of Singapore's National Trades Union Congress. Aimed at attracting younger workers into unions, Young NTUC is part of the organisation's efforts to project a more vibrant, modern and youthful image and, at the same time, remain relevant and representative of the workforce.

With a base of about 150,000 young members, Young NTUC is, by far, the largest youth movement in Singapore, as compared to Young PAP and the People's Association's Youth Movement. It enables younger members and unionists to participate and be actively involved in the various levels and activities of the labour movement, sharing ideas, views and concerns with their peers, as well as senior leaders of NTUC and affiliated unions.

The movement's signature events include RUN350, a green movement aimed at reducing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

List of Leaders of NTUC
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