This year's May Day Rally speech was delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, who is also the Minister of Finance, at Downtown East in the morning of May 1.

It was also Heng's maiden speech on his first day on the job as DPM.

Before we delve into Heng's speech, however, the bromance between Heng and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng cannot go unnoticed.

And we're not talking about how union folks address each other as 'brother' and 'sister', a tradition to remind one another of the camaraderie unionists share.

Helping Heng with 'homework'

At the rally, Ng talked about how Heng requested to meet the workers before making his speech.

This preparation went all the way back to as early as the first day of Chinese New Year, when Heng visited the Port of Singapore Authority team (PSA).

Ng shared how he 'tekaned' Heng in his request to help him build rapport with the workers in Singapore.

"He told me 'Chee Meng, but only if you arrange visits for me so that I can hear from our brothers and sisters first hand'.

So, we buay paiseh when we arrange visits — first of all, Chinese New Year we get him down to visit the ports. We sent him to NTUC FairPrice, we sent him to MOU signing of CTC. We throw him so many curveballs so that he can interact with our sisters and brothers but he throws me back one. He says that 'nah not good enough, I want to bring you all out for lunch'. But true to brother Swee Keat's style, the lunch was eventually done at MOF."

It was nice that Heng reciprocated with an appreciation lunch, albeit in the Ministry of Finance, to the union leaders and Ng for all the efforts behind these meet-ups.

There were two lunch sessions where Heng spent two to three hours with these union leaders to listen to their feedback, according to Ng.

Ng also endorsed Heng as a capable leader who has a heart for all workers before introducing him on stage to make his May Day Rally speech.

Every worker matters

As one might have known by now, Heng was the one who popularised "Every school, a good school" when he was the Minister of Education.

Perhaps, this year's May Day Rally might have been "Every worker, a good worker", if not for Ng, who Heng credited in coming up with a succinct slogan of "Every worker matters".

Heng also mentioned that Ng took over his portfolio as the Minister of Education in 2016, implicitly suggesting their relationship goes as far back as then.

That short segment showcased a little bit of Heng's humour, which seemed to strike a chord with the crowd of 1,600 union leaders and tripartite partners before Heng delivered his keynote speech.

3 strategies to transform S'pore economy

In his speech proper, Heng introduced three strategies to help Singapore transform its economy in the future.

1) Tripartism

Heng reaffirmed the importance of tripartism in Singapore for employers, the unions and the government to work closely together.

“The unions, in particular, play a critical role ... I am happy that more companies and unions are working together to deploy technology to augment labour to achieve win-win outcomes.”

2) Lifelong learning to stay relevant

The second strategy is lifelong learning to keep our labour force relevant.

“We can’t protect jobs that will be made redundant, but we can and will protect workers – every working man and woman.”

In this year's Budget speech, Heng also announced that the government will devote S$3.6 billion over the next three years to help workers adapt to the economic transformation.

3) Uplift all workers, don't leave anyone behind

Lastly, the third strategy is to ensure the workforce is an inclusive environment, with Heng promising not to leave anyone behind in this economic transformation.

“Every worker matters. The NTUC and the Peoples’ Action Party [PAP] have always been committed to uplifting all our workers. We are committed to do this because we believe we are all in this together … We must leave no one behind.”

Close ties between NTUC and PAP

As one of the PAP leaders leading the charge in the next general election, Heng also stepped up his game to reaffirm the "close symbiotic relationship" between PAP and NTUC.

“Today is the first time I’m speaking to you as leader of the next generation of PAP leaders... I renew today the pledge that Mr Lee (Kuan Yew) made at your Modernisation Seminar 50 years ago, and that every prime minister has since renewed...

NTUC backs the PAP because the PAP is pro-people. It has kept faith with the unions. And the PAP treasures its relationship with the NTUC because the NTUC is pro-worker. It remains committed to the self-respect of every working man and woman and believes that the purpose of economic development is to improve the lives of all in the workforce."

With that, hopefully, Heng will be able to assure his predecessors, PM Lee and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, both watching in the crowd, that he is not too shy to lead the party and nation.

Top photo via Ng Chee Meng's Facebook post