With SATU and NTUC each aligned with rival political groups, the scene was set for more confrontational politics. More strikes were staged in opposition to the Greater Malaysia merger plan and between August and December 1961, 77 strikes, involving almost 40,000 workers were staged. Most of these were called by SATU, which focused its efforts at agitation and political mobilisation. The NTUC, focused instead on worker welfare.

In May 1961, the Government identified a piece of land at the end of Shenton Way as the site on which the new Trade Union House would be built. An architectural competition for the design of the building was held and was won by the team from Malayan Architects Co-Partnership, led by Lim Chong Keat. MS Munusamy, a school night watchman and ‘unknown trade unionist’ was selected by ballot to lay the foundation stone of the building. The S$4.5 million building was declared open by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in October 1965.

In November 1962, a delegation from NTUC, led by its Secretary-General, CV Devan Nair, called on Acting Labour Minister, Ong Pang Boon to urge the Government to establish a centralised labour research unit. The Government accepted the NTUC’s proposal and announced in December 1962 that a Labour Research Unit would be established, and that Hsu Tse Kwang of the Property Tax Department would be seconded as its first Director and Chairman of its governing Board. Four full-time staff were seconded from other parts of the civil service to the Unit, and Professor TH Elliott acted as consultant. It was incorporated into the NTUC in October 1965 as the NTUC Research Unit.

In February 1963, more than 120 key left-wing political and trade union leaders were arrested under the Internal Security Act as part of Operation Coldstore, one of the largest security operations in Singapore’s history. This included most of the top level leaders of SATU. In November that year, SATU was refused registration on grounds that it had been used for ‘unlawful purposes’ and ‘purposes inconsistent with its objects and rules.’ The Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers Union, an affiliate of NTUC, successfully recruited 674 branches of former SATU unions to join them.

However, it was still necessary to consolidate its power and organisation. Although it had applied for registration in 1961, alongside SATU, the Government did not register either body. Ultimately, SATU was refused registration in November 1963. In January 1964, the NTUC was formally registered. At this time, it had 48 affiliated unions with a membership of some 85,000.

It further consolidated its hold on the labour movement after Singapore became independent from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

By this time, it had managed to win over many of the unions previously affiliated with SATU, as well as new unions, such as the Singapore Bus Employees Union (which had replaced the de-registered Singapore Bus Workers Union). By 1965, it had 55 affiliates with a membership of 102,000 workers, representing 65 per cent of Singapore’s workforce. The following year, NTUC had 78 per cent of all unionised workers affiliated with it.

The NTUC was active not only on the home front but on the international stage as well. Its annual Delegates Conference – held in October 1965 at the newly-opened Singapore Conference Hall – was attended by 11 AfroAsian trade union organisations and two international trade union bodies. Fraternal ties were also extended beyond the traditional Commonwealth countries, and in June 1965, when Singapore was admitted as a member of the International Labour Organisation, a five-member delegation from NTUC represented the state in Geneva.

Singapore’s exit from the Federation of Malaysia had the most profound economic implications for its people. To survive, Singapore would need to attract foreign investments and create jobs for its people. At that time, this was considered unusual to what countries in the region, which were fresh out from colonisation, were doing – looking inwards and encouraging local enterprises. This required the creation of a new framework of industrial relations. The first major change was an amendment to the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act in 1967 which made it unlawful for workers to go on strike and for employers to lock workers out in essential services such as water, gas and electricity. Furthermore, no strike or lockout in the essential services could take place unless at least 14 days’ notice was given. That year, amendments were also made to the Trade Unions Act to restrict statutory board employees’ union membership to those catering strictly for that particular statutory board in which they worked. This amendment was seen as an attempt to limit the power of the large and influential Amalgamated Union of Public Employees (AUPE).

In 1967, the British announced that they were pulling their troops out of Singapore. Initially, this was to have been done by the mid-1970s, but was brought forward to 1971. This meant a potential loss of jobs for about 21,000 workers and a loss of about 14 per cent of its gross domestic product. One of the first things the PAP Government did was to introduce the Employment Act to link wages to efficiency and productivity. It also amended the Industrial Relations Act to clarify and emphasise the distinction between management functions and trade union functions. Among other things, certain functions such as recruitment, transfer, promotion, dismissal or retrenchment of staff were specified as strictly management functions and no longer constituted the basis for a labour dispute.

These legislative changes substantially reduced the power of the trade unions and correspondingly, that of the NTUC. Henceforth, unions could only ‘concern themselves with wages and other benefits and with some aspects of conditions of work and employment’. Many trade unionists were unhappy with these amendments but these ‘survival’ measures were by and large supported by the NTUC.