Minister of State Desmond Tan appointed NTUC deputy secretary-general

THE National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on Thursday (Jun 30) named Desmond Tan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, as deputy secretary-general at its meeting.

The appointment follows Tan’s secondment to the labour movement on Jun 13, as part of the latest Cabinet reshuffle. He replaced Chee Hong Tat, who relinquished his role as NTUC’s deputy secretary-general to return to the government full-time.

Tan was also earlier appointed group director of the NTUC Training and Transformation Group, overseeing NTUC’s transformation office and its training and placement ecosystem – which includes the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and the NTUC LearningHub.

In a Thursday statement, Tan said he is grateful for the support of the NTUC Central Committee and members of the labour movement.

“I look forward to meeting and learning from our union leaders and getting to know more of our workers’ concerns and aspirations. I am truly honoured and will do my level best as we champion better wages, welfare and work prospects for all our workers,” he said.

Separately this week, the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union appointed him as an advisor. He will also serve as executive secretary of the union from Jul 6. This will add to his existing role as an advisor to the Supply Chain Employees’ Union, a role he has held since Feb 5, 2021.