Up the ranks: Leadership movements at NTUC and NTUC LearningHub, June 2022

These moves will see Desmond Tan joining NTUC, Lim Swee Say leading NTUC LearningHub, and Chee Hong Tat relinquishing his role as NTUC Deputy Secretary-General.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its learning arm, NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB), have announced movements within the leadership teams, which will be taking place in June 2022. In brief:

• Desmond Tan will relinquish his roles as Minister of State (MOS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, and join the Labour Movement from 13 June 2022 (Monday).
• Former labour chief Lim Swee Say will now lead NTUC LHUB’s ongoing initiatives in upskilling and uplifting the Singapore workforce, as Chairman, NTUC LHUB.
• Chee Hong Tat will relinquish his role as NTUC Deputy Secretary-General and return to the Government as Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance from 13 June.

Desmond Tan to join Labour Movement

From 13 June, Desmond Tan will be appointed Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, relinquishing his appointments in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment.

Additionally, at the request of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, MOS Tan will be joining the NTUC Labour Movement effective the same date, NTUC said in a press release on Monday (6 June).

MOS Tan is currently Advisor to the Supply Chain Employees' Union. In his capacity as MOS for Home Affairs, he had partnered with the Union of Security Employees in furthering the progressive wage model for the security sector. When he was the Chief Executive Director at the Peoples’ Association (PA), he supported the collaboration between PA and NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Limited to create the "Good Start Bundle", a key component of PA’s Embracing Parenthood Movement.

Lim Swee Say appointed Chairman of NTUC LHUB

NTUC LHUB had on 3 June (Friday) announced the appointment of former labour chief Lim Swee Say as Chairman, to lead NTUC LHUB’s ongoing initiatives in upskilling and uplifting the Singapore workforce, succeeding Eugene Wong.

Chairman Lim is currently a trustee and Advisor of the NTUC and Chairman of the NTUC-Administration & Research Unit Board of Trustees. He continues to be an Advisor to NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Ltd and the Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Labour Foundation.

"As a strong advocate for workers’ training and skills upgrading, Mr Lim through the years as an active tripartite leader has always applied his mind wholeheartedly in search of ways to help workers stay employable. His past work at NTUC includes initiating the Skills Redevelopment Programme in 1996 to equip workers with transferable and certifiable skills to help them transit into new jobs and sectors, as well as the establishment of the Employment and Employable Institute (e2i) in 2008 to help workers upgrade their skills and secure jobs amid the Global Financial Crisis," NTUC LHUB shared.

He also drove the NTUC-initiated progressive wage model in 2012, to help low-wage workers progress up the skills, career, productivity, and wage ladder in a mutually reinforcing manner. In addition, during his appointment as Minister for Manpower, the leader oversaw the expansion of the Professional Conversion Programme, to help mid-career professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) to re-skill and move into sectors with better career prospects. He stepped down from the Cabinet in 2018 and retired from politics as a Member of Parliament in 2020.

Chee Hong Tat to re-assume Government responsibilities, step down from NTUC

NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Chee Hong Tat will be moving on from the Union from 13 June, to return to the Government in the role of Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance. He will maintain his position as Senior Minister of State for Transport.

DSG Chee joined the Labour Movement on 15 May 2021 and, since then, "has shown himself to be an avid supporter of training and transformation," NTUC shared on Monday.

In his maiden speech as DSG, he called on the Government to explore differential treatment between companies with good HR practices and strong union relationships against those that do not develop their local workforce.

He was also responsible for initiatives such as the Operation & Technology Roadmaps to help companies transform, and actively pushed for wage improvements when he was a member of the Tripartite Workgroup on Lower-Wage Workers.

Images: From L-R:

- Desmond Tan, outgoing Minister of State of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment; incoming member of the Labour Movement & Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office from 13 June [Source: Desmond Tan's Facebook]
- Lim Swee Say, Chairman, NTUC LearningHub [Source: NTUC LearningHub]
- Chee Hong Tat, current NTUC Deputy Secretary-General; incoming Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance from 13 June [Source: Chee Hong Tat's Facebook]