Investment Immigration to Singapore focuses on Singapore news: According to the Singapore United Morning Post, after a 10-year hiatus, the Singapore National Trade Union Congress awarded the Medal of Honour, the highest honor in the labor movement, again on the evening of the 29th. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for National Security Coordination and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam and Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung received this important award recognizing significant contributions from non-union members.
The last time the Congress awarded the Medal of Honour was in 2004, with the recipient being then-Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also received this honor when he served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999.
This year, the labor movement awarded the most medals in history. A total of 105 individuals and organizations contributing to the labor movement were awarded Labor Day Medals at the Labor Day dinner held at the Orchid Country Club on the evening of the 29th.
The Congress stated in the commendation that as an advisor to the Singapore Labour and Trade Union Council and Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Electrical and Electronics Workers Union, K. Shanmugam has shared his extensive experience with the unions over the years.
K. Shanmugam: Harmonious Labor-Management Relations Benefit Singapore
From 2010 to 2011, during K. Shanmugam's leadership of the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council, he upheld his belief in tripartite collaboration among labor, management, and government, ensuring that the council included union leaders and labor representatives to jointly formulate strategies to enhance productivity and promote cooperation among businesses, workers, unions, and the government.
Regarding this award, K. Shanmugam, who grew up in the 1960s, said that he initially had a poor impression of labor-management relations, thinking that employers exploited workers and that conflicts between unions and employers were common. This impression deepened during his studies in the United Kingdom, where he witnessed strikes by miners and railway workers paralyzing the entire country.
He said: “However, when I returned to Singapore in the mid-1970s and engaged in union projects to help workers learn computer skills, my perspective changed. Singapore developed a different model of labor-management relations, focusing on cooperation rather than confrontation. Harmonious labor-management relations have benefited Singapore and Singaporeans.”
Ong Ye Kung: The Award is an Affirmation of the Government
The Congress also pointed out in the commendation that Ong Ye Kung, who is also the Chairman of the Singapore Labour Fund, “ensured effective funding for the labor movement through prudent investments and asset restructuring.”
Ong Ye Kung is also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees Union. Although he expressed that he felt “very honored” to receive the award, Ong Ye Kung did not forget to emphasize in an interview: “The award is actually an affirmation of the labor movement's contributions to the government; I accept this honor on behalf of the government, it is not a personal honor.”
He said: “What I can do is to support the development of the labor movement through government policies. The recognition I receive from the labor movement is an affirmation of the government's contributions.” He mentioned that as the proportion of Professionals, Managers, and Executives (PME) in the workforce increases, the labor fund will finance training for PME and other experimental projects.
