{"id":48991,"date":"2026-05-01T20:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=48991"},"modified":"2026-05-01T20:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:31:35","slug":"spore-govt-will-protect-every-worker-amid-ai-shift-pm-wong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=48991","title":{"rendered":"S&#8217;pore Govt will protect every worker amid AI shift: PM Wong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> As artificial intelligence disrupts entire industries, the Government may not be able to protect every job \u2013 but it will protect every worker, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">To aid the AI transition, Singapore plans to scale up company training committees (CTCs) across various sectors and companies, he said at the annual May Day Rally on May 1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">An NTUC initiative first mooted in February 2019, these committees bring together a company\u2019s management and union representatives to figure out what skills employees need as businesses evolve, and to plan the training and job changes that follow. More than 3,800 have been formed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">CTCs can apply for funding through grants that support up to 70 per cent of the qualifying cost related to business transformation or training, and these grants have supported more than 900 projects as at 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Because the CTC model has worked and delivered concrete results, the Government can take it further, said PM Wong. He noted that with AI, there is no one-size-fits-all solution as every sector is unique and companies face different constraints.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"[FULL] &#039;No Singaporean will be left behind&#039;: PM Wong&#039;s May Day Rally speech\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dn1syFajWw0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cBut together, unions and employers can drive AI adoption for stronger growth and better jobs for our workers,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">That is also why the Government, the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/new-tripartite-council-to-maximise-job-security-help-firms-amid-ai-disruption?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">set up the Tripartite Jobs Council<\/span><\/a>, PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Announced the day before the rally, the council is meant to bring together resources, coordinate efforts and guide the AI transition. It will also ensure that the national push for AI \u201cwill always benefit workers\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Describing AI as the \u201cdefining technology of our time\u201d, PM Wong said its impact on workplaces will be much greater than previous waves of technological transformation. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Jobs will change, some will disappear, and the pace of change will be faster than anything Singapore has seen before, he told more than 1,600 union leaders and attendees at the rally in Downtown East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI cannot promise that there will be no disruption,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this I can promise you: As our economy transforms, we will create new and better jobs. We may not be able to protect every job, but we will protect every worker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">PM Wong said the Government will provide the tools, pathways and support for workers to use AI. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cBut we also need Singaporeans to step forward. Do not let anxiety or uncertainty hold you back from learning and using AI,\u201d he said, urging people to master the technology. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"PM Wong: Don\u2019t let anxiety hold you back from mastering AI\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/__G51AWP-cg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Companies that embrace AI will stay competitive, and workers who build AI skills will have better opportunities and prospects, he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore will take deliberate steps to ensure the benefits of AI are shared by all, said PM Wong as he outlined several moves to strengthen support for workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">One of them is combining two government agencies overseeing skills upgrading into a new agency known as the Skills and Workforce Development Agency, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Government is also strengthening the SkillsFuture movement, and has implemented a support scheme for those who are involuntarily unemployed, he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">PM Wong said many Singaporeans have told him they want to do more with AI, but they just do not know where to start. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">That is why the Government is providing additional support, he added. \u201cThat is our commitment to Singaporeans. You make the effort, and we will be there for you \u2013 every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/ntuc-to-commit-37-million-to-help-workers-in-2026?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">labour chief Ng Chee Meng will set out NTUC\u2019s plans<\/span><\/a> to help workers when Parliament sits next week, and the Government \u201cwill support this important work\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">AI has become a part of people\u2019s daily lives and is already transforming how work is done at the frontier, PM Wong noted. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He cited the example of Google, where two years ago, 25 per cent of the search giant\u2019s new code was written by AI. Today, the figure is 75 per cent. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Beyond chatbots, there are now AI agents which do not just answer questions but can plan and execute complex tasks. Companies are already using these agents to manage social media, draft reports and handle administrative work, he said. \u201cThese are workflows that used to require entire teams. Now a single person with AI agents can do all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The technology will not just impact productivity, but also disrupt and reshape entire industries, PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/budget-2026-pm-wong-to-chair-new-national-ai-council-national-ai-missions-will-launch-to-drive?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">Singapore has formed the National AI Council<\/span><\/a> to coordinate the national effort so that the country is ready to succeed in this new environment, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, had in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/budget-2026-lays-groundwork-to-refresh-singapores-strategies-for-a-more-uncertain-world-pm-wong?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">February 2026 Budget<\/span><\/a> announced this council \u2013 which he chairs \u2013 as well as other moves to incentivise Singaporeans to pick up AI-related skills through SkillsFuture courses and other tools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore\u2019s goal is clear: to build deep AI capabilities, drive adoption across the economy and make the country a hub for AI innovation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This is ultimately to ensure that AI benefits every worker \u2013 with better jobs and better opportunities, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Progress has been good, and leading global companies are strengthening their AI activities here, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He again cited Google \u2013 which has been in Singapore since 2007. In 2025, the company established Google DeepMind here \u2013 its first AI research laboratory in South-east Asia. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore will continue to attract more investments, not just from global tech leaders but also fast-growing start-ups in this space, PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He highlighted a company named Advanced Machine Intelligence, founded by leading AI scientist Yann LeCun. It uses Singapore as its base in Asia for its work harnessing AI to understand and interact with the real world. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cSo as we attract more of these investments, as we grow our AI ecosystem, we will ensure that opportunities for Singaporeans expand correspondingly,\u201d PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">At the same time, Singapore is helping its own companies transform.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">PM Wong cited DBS Bank, which has embedded AI across its operations after starting to invest in the technology more than a decade ago. Today, the bank is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/business\/dbs-identifies-13000-workers-for-ai-data-skills-training-amid-plans-to-cut-4000-staff-over-3-years?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">training all its employees to use AI tools<\/span><\/a> and many of them have benefited from this transformation, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore can do all this because of its unique advantage: tripartism, PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In many other countries, change leads to division where unions fight employers, businesses look after themselves and workers are left behind, he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">But in Singapore, the Government, unions and employers work together \u2013 not as adversaries but as partners.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/19755478bc5b78f1f16cb2ec467b349ed7b2f81085e952eecff6e9c56c719c36?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/19755478bc5b78f1f16cb2ec467b349ed7b2f81085e952eecff6e9c56c719c36?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/19755478bc5b78f1f16cb2ec467b349ed7b2f81085e952eecff6e9c56c719c36?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/19755478bc5b78f1f16cb2ec467b349ed7b2f81085e952eecff6e9c56c719c36\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/19755478bc5b78f1f16cb2ec467b349ed7b2f81085e952eecff6e9c56c719c36\" alt=\"\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 flex flex-col gap-08 py-16 desktop:pb-24\">\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-secondary\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that in Singapore, the Government, unions and employers work together \u2013 not as adversaries but as partners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-placeholder\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\">ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">For 65 years, the labour movement has walked alongside workers through every major economic shift \u2013 from industrialisation in the 1960s and 1970s to the computerisation wave in the 1980s and globalisation in the 1990s, PM Wong said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It has also done so through crises, he said, citing the Asian financial crisis, SARS, the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. \u201cWe have overcome every wave of disruption. And we will do so again \u2013 together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">PM Wong said the tripartite system works because of trust between different parties, even though they do not always agree. \u201cIn fact, there are hard conversations, even some ongoing now. Sometimes unions push, employers push back. Sometimes the Government may have certain concerns over a few suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">But the conversation does not break down and all parties continue talking and working at it, he added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Singapore does not just blindly copy what others do, he said. \u201cWe develop our own innovative solutions \u2013 practical, effective and suited to our needs&#8230; This is the Singapore way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/govt-cant-protect-every-job-in-ai-shift-but-will-protect-every-worker-pm-wong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 As artificial intelligence disrupts entire industries, the Government may not be able to protect every job \u2013 but it will protect every worker,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}