More lower income families will now get the chance to attend free carnivals at Downtown East organised by the National Trade Union Congress' (NTUC) recreation arm, NTUC Club. The organisation has raised the income ceiling for union members to qualify for these free carnivals, therefore benefitting more.

Now, households with a total monthly income of up to $3,500, or $875 for each family member can go to these carnivals where they get free food, free entry into a water park and unlimited play at game stalls, among other things.

Previously, only those in households with a monthly income of up to $3,000, or $750 for each member could qualify for the scheme.

"With the revised income criteria, we hope that more members and their families will now be able to enjoy this meaningful programme," said Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC Mr Heng Chee How, who made the announcement at the year's first carnival on Sunday.

NTUC Club, the recreation arm of the labour movement, organised six of these carnivals last year. Based on data collected, they found that there was room for more low-income union members and their families. Thus, they raised the income ceiling for more to join, a spokesperson said.

Six carnivals will be organised this year, the first of which happened Sunday. Sponsorship for these six carnivals, which costs around $1.5 million, comes from the NTUC U Care fund, which was started in 2009 to help low-income union members.

The U Care fund aims to raise $10.5 million this year from NTUC-affiliated unions, associations and social enterprises. It raised the same amount last year.

The U Care fund will be disbursed through assistance programmes such as discount vouchers for groceries, back to school vouchers and funding support for bursaries and scholarships, NTUC Club said.

Five more runs of NTUC Club's Family Recreation and Fun Carnival will be held in June, September, November and December respectively.