In a sombre May Day message, he said the battle to manage the fallout from the economic downturn 'is far from over'.

He also said that the rebound, when it comes, is not expected to be strong: 'This means we will not only see negative growth during the downturn, but also slower growth when the recovery comes.

'Thus, the retrenchment we saw in the first quarter this year would not be the only wave, but just the first wave.

'It is not a question of whether we will see a second wave of retrenchment, but a question of when it will reach the peak, how high the peak will be, how long it will last, and how many more workers will lose their jobs in this next wave.'

Official estimates on the employment situation in the first three months of the year are set for release this week - and analysts expect the data to be grim, with retrenchments likely to exceed 10,000.

If they do, the figure would be the worst ever, surpassing the quarterly peak of 8,590 in the last quarter of 2001 after the dot.com bust and the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

But Mr Lim, secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), tempered the gloom with optimism.

'We must be prepared, but we need not be disheartened,' he said.

'No matter how rough the journey ahead of us may get, it can never stop the tripartite partners from staying united and pressing forward with our efforts to tackle the downturn.'

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times