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May Day Message 2026 by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng

This May Day, we celebrate the people who keep Singapore moving forward – our workers. Across every sector, from those who power our industries to those who keep our essential services running, your dedication and resilience are the hands and hearts that keep our nation going.

The world around us has changed. We are grappling with rising geopolitical tensions and growing business uncertainty. The Middle East conflict has intensified these pressures, driving up energy prices and affecting businesses and consumers.  Rapid technological advancements, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) are transforming the way we work. At home, Singapore will become a super-aged society this year, fundamentally reshaping our workforce dynamics as we live longer and career aspirations become more diverse.

Our Tripartite Journey

In navigating these challenges, Singapore’s not-so-secret weapon – our tripartite partnership – becomes more critical than ever. When unions, employers and the Government pull in the same direction with shared determination, our small nation can travel remarkably far. This spirit of partnership and trust has enabled us to weather many crises, seize new opportunities and ensure that as Singapore progresses, our workers progress with it. To our tripartite partners - NTUC and SNEF – thank you for standing with us through calm waters and stormy seas, always guided by an unwavering commitment to Singapore and Singaporeans.

 Empowering Every Worker, Enabling Every Business

We have continued to improve the lives of our workers. Real incomes for the median worker grew by 1.6% per annum over the past five years, in tandem with productivity. Lower-wage workers have seen faster growth of 2.8% per annum, enabled by tripartite initiatives such as the Progressive Wage Model. In this year’s Budget, the Government has enhanced the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme to support employers’ efforts in uplifting their lower-wage workers, and the Workfare Skills Support scheme to help more lower-wage workers upskill and grow their careers.

We are enhancing support for our workers. For young Singaporeans starting their careers, programmes like the GRaduate Industry Traineeships programme will help you gain real experience and step into the workforce with confidence.  The new statutory board, the Skills and Workforce Development Agency, will empower mid-career workers to navigate the uncertainties of the labour market, keep looking ahead, keep learning, keep adapting. To support senior workers who wish to continue working, we are co-creating more age-friendly work arrangements and workplaces with our tripartite and industry partners, and extending the Senior Employment Credit and the Part-Time Re-employment Grant.

To enhance retirement security, we have strengthened the CPF system and provided targeted support for vulnerable seniors through the Majulah Package, enhancements to the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, Silver Support Scheme and provided CPF Top-Ups for eligible Singaporeans. We have also continued the increases in senior worker CPF contributions that have been committed until 2027, and will extend the CPF Transition Offset to cushion half of the employer contribution increases in 2027.

Empowering workers also means helping our businesses to thrive. When businesses grow and transform, they create good jobs for their workers. Through initiatives like the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package, we are helping companies redesign jobs, invest in their people and build workplaces where workers can thrive.

 Better Workplaces for All

We continue to build workplaces where safety, fairness and inclusion are not just ideals, but lived realities that enable every worker to flourish and drive our nation forward.

Singapore’s workplaces are among the safest in the world, with a record low workplace fatal injury rate of 0.96 per 100,000 workers in 2025. This brings us closer towards our WSH2028 goal of sustaining the workplace fatal injury rate below 1.0.

Ensuring that every worker returns home safely is a shared responsibility. Hence, MOM has formed a Platform Worker Safety Workgroup with NTUC, platform work associations, major platform operators, and key government agencies to enhance the safety of platform workers. Along with our tripartite partners, we will be launching an Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity to drive ground-up solutions to common workplace safety and health risks.

We have also strengthened protections against workplace discrimination so that workers will be assured of fair treatment.  The Workplace Fairness Act passed last year was a significant milestone in our journey towards creating fair and merit-based workplaces.

 

The Challenges Ahead

As we navigate the evolving landscape of work in Singapore, we must be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could drag on, with its effects on energy prices, supply chains, and investor confidence felt in the weeks and months ahead. Against this uncertain near-term backdrop, we must continue preparing ourselves for longer-term shifts. Three areas require our collective attention.

 

  • First, artificial intelligence presents tremendous opportunities for businesses and workers. We will ensure that Singaporeans are equipped to thrive in an AI-enabled economy so that no one is left behind. For more than a decade, we have invested heavily in building a culture of lifelong learning in Singapore, one that supports our people through various stages of their working lives. Today, as AI reshapes the nature of work, that long-term investment is bearing fruit. It will be a deep source of resilience and strength for our workers and businesses. It will be a strong foundation they can stand on to grow, adapt faster and take the next leap with confidence. 

     

    • To support workers and enterprises in a more AI-pervasive economy, MOM will join forces with our tripartite partners under the Tripartite Jobs Council (TJC). Building on existing Government efforts and programmes, the TJC will leverage the collective capabilities of tripartite partners to support and strengthen the AI readiness of our workers and enterprises.

     

  • Second, our employment standards must keep pace with the changing nature of work and evolving aspirations of our workers. We are reviewing the Employment Act and other tripartite instruments to protect those workers who need it most, strengthen our HR capabilities to develop our people while supporting greater flexibility for employers and employees to achieve win-win work arrangements.

     

  • Third, retirement adequacy remains a cornerstone of our social compact. Our aim is to ensure that those who work and contribute consistently to CPF can meet their basic retirement needs. Individuals, employers, community as well as the Government all play a crucial role in achieving this social compact. We will continue reviewing schemes to better support those who face challenges saving enough. With the changing nature of jobs and careers, we will empower Singaporeans to plan ahead and build greater security for life’s key milestones and their retirement.

Hand in Hand, We Move Forward Together

These challenges call for a forward-looking tripartite approach, one that is principled in purpose and pragmatic in action. We have achieved much as a nation, weathering storms before through unity and determination. Our greatest potential lies in what more we can accomplish together.

This May Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to stand united, move forward together, and continue building a Singapore where no worker is left behind and every Singaporean can thrive. Together, we will navigate these times with confidence and hope.

I wish everyone a happy May Day!