SINGAPORE intends to designate the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) as a “politically significant person” under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, or Fica. This will require NTUC to make certain declarations, but will not affect its activities.
Under Fica, politically significant persons are defined as including political parties, political office holders and Members of Parliament, among others. Other individuals and organisations can also be designated as such.
NTUC was served notice of the intended designation on Thursday (Jul 11), and has 14 days to submit representations to the Registrar of Foreign and Political Disclosures.
The intended designation is a “pre-emptive measure” to mitigate potential risks in the future, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
“It is not because NTUC has been compromised by a foreign actor, or has committed any wrongdoing nor anything of concern,” the ministry said.
It added that the Registrar intends to designate the trade union federation only at the federation level; other NTUC-linked entities “have much less or no nexus to Singapore politics, and there is no public interest to designate them”.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
If designated under Fica, NTUC will have to make annual disclosures on political donations of S$10,000 or more that it receives and accepts. It will also have to disclose its foreign affiliations.
MHA said: “The Registrar has assessed that, given NTUC’s close nexus and symbiotic relationship with the People’s Action Party, it is in the public interest for countermeasures under Fica to be applied to NTUC.
“These transparency requirements will mitigate NTUC’s risk of being a target of foreign interference,” the ministry added.
If NTUC is designated, it can appeal against the decision to the minister for home affairs.
On Thursday, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said: “We are aligned with national safeguards to prevent foreign interference, and we will continue to ensure that our operations remain free from foreign influence.”
He added: “We will review MHA’s requirements for the designation process and would like to assure our members, partners and stakeholders that NTUC’s core work to better workers’ lives and livelihoods will continue unabated.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Manpower said that NTUC’s designation under Fica “does not result in any prohibition” on the labour movement’s ongoing activities.
Its activities have been in compliance with the Trade Unions Act, and the ministry will continue to work with NTUC as a key tripartite partner, the spokesperson added.
Since Fica’s provisions related to politically significant persons came into force on Dec 29, 2023, three such persons have been designated: non-governmental organisations Think Centre and Maruah, as well as businessman Philip Chan.
Chan, a naturalised Singaporean born in Hong Kong, was designated under Fica in February 2024, after being assessed by MHA to have shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors, and a willingness to advance their interests.
