Unions to play an even more crucial role in the future

Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew started his political journey by representing the postal workers' union in a postmen's strike in 1952, around the time Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was born.

- Sue-Ann Tan

"And so, when my father visited my mother and me in KKH (KK Women's and Children's Hospital)... instead of admiring his new baby, he was telling my mother all about the postmen's union and his plans," PM Lee said.

PM Lee told this story on May 1 during his May Day Rally speech, as he recounted how unions played a key role in his life and in Singapore's success.

"As a young boy, I met many union activists. They would visit our home... for meetings, especially during election campaigns," he said. "I knew that my father was the legal adviser to many trade unions. I wasn't quite sure what being a legal adviser meant, but I took great pride in this." He added: "In future, the unions will play an even more crucial role, as we deal with geopolitical and economic uncertainty." PM Lee noted that "it is not only during crises that tripartism proves its worth. Singapore's dramatic progress would have been impossible without tripartism", referring to the three-way relationship between employers, unions and the Government.

He added that the PAP has worked hard, creating prosperity and progress, and ensuring every Singaporean benefits from the fruits of growth.

"Through the symbiotic relationship with the PAP, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has done right by workers, and helped them and their families to enjoy a better life," he said.