PM Lee Hsien Loong’s reply to the letter from NTUC

Ms Mary Liew
President
National Trades Union Congress

Dear Sister Mary,

Thank you for your letter dated 16 April 2018. You have asked me to release Minister Ng Chee Meng to serve in the Labour Movement, as I intend to ask Minister Chan Chun Sing to return to the Government. I support the NTUC Central Committee's choice, and agree to release Chee Meng to serve in the Labour Movement on a part-time basis from 23 April 2018 and full-time from 1 May 2018 onwards.

In response to your further request, I will ask Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon to serve in the Labour Movement from 23 April 2018, on a part-time basis, while concurrently retaining relevant Ministry appointments. Poh Koon will be an additional interface between the Labour Movement and Government agencies. 

I fully agree with you that the symbiotic relationship between the NTUC and the PAP has served us well since Singapore's founding, and that we should continue to strengthen both the leadership of the Labour Movement and this relationship. I also agree that strengthening the training and skills of working people, and expanding the Labour Movement's outreach to new groups of workers, are key priorities for the next phase of our development. I am confident that Chee Meng, Chee How and Poh Koon will as a team contribute much to NTUC's efforts in all these areas.

I look forward to the Labour Movement's continued support and contributions as we work together to improve the lives of Singaporeans.

Yours sincerely,

Lee Hsien Loong