No celebrations, but May Day remains especially important: DPM Heng

May Day became a public holiday in Singapore some 60 years ago to commemorate the strength and solidarity of workers.

The usual gatherings and celebrations are not possible this year amid the coronavirus pandemic but the day remains especially important, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in a Facebook post yesterday.

"Sixty years on, we are headed into a major storm - an unprecedented global pandemic and a looming global economic downturn, which is likely to be severe," he said.

"These are challenging times for all of us - workers, employers and the Government. But the strength of our tripartite partnership will enable us to get through this rough storm, just as we had done before. All of us will need to be resilient and adapt to the changes as they come."

He noted that this brand of tripartism, in which workers and unions work with the Government and employers to shape the future, was forged during the 1960s.

"Over the years, tripartism thrived and grew stronger. With that, the lives of our workers improved year by year," he said.

He applauded all workers, including the dedication of front-line teams, the tenacity of migrant workers and the resilience of those whose livelihoods have been affected. "While we may not be able to save every job, we will take care of every worker," he said.

This year, the May Day Rally will not be held. Instead, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's May Day message was streamed online and broadcast on TV last night.

The Istana Open House, for President Halimah Yacob to meet workers and families, has been cancelled.

She said in a Facebook post yesterday: "This year's Labour Day celebrations will be very different from previous years. It will be a solemn and quiet celebration due to Covid-19 and the social distancing measures."

For the first time, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Ministry of Manpower and Singapore National Employers Federation issued a joint May Day message. It has been a tradition for each of the tripartite partners to separately issue a May Day Message every year.

NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said on Facebook: "The challenges we face today because of Covid-19 will put tripartism to the test. But we will not let it weaken it. Unity will bring us strength so that we can work together to help our workers and companies through the days ahead... If we work together, we will emerge stronger."

NTUC has also done a stitch-together photograph of the labour movement and tripartite partners over Zoom, including about 120 members.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Migrant Workers' Centre, said: "For May Day celebration, we... want to reassure the migrant workers that we will look after all (of them)... because every worker matters. We have planned a series of videos with songs and dances that we will roll out."