Born a day apart: Singapore’s oldest unions turn 80

October 1946. Singapore is barely a year out of the Japanese Occupation. Food is scarce, prices are soaring and pay hasn’t caught up.

On 18 October, the Singapore Harbour Board Staff Association (SHBSA) becomes the first union officially registered under the 1940 Trade Unions Ordinance. The very next day, more than 300 teachers pack a five-hour meeting at 331 North Bridge Road and found the Singapore Teachers’ Union (STU).

One union was born on the waterfront. The other in the classroom. 80 years later, both are still standing. Today we know the first as the Singapore Port Workers Union (SPWU). The second is still STU, now the country’s largest teachers’ organisation.

Their journeys mirror Singapore’s own, running from post-war hardship and picket lines to partnership, productivity and now, automation and AI. Here’s how far they’ve come, and how they’re getting workers ready for what’s next.

SPWU: From clerks’ club to port powerhouse

It started as a social club. The SHBSA began as a recreational club for junior clerical staff at the Singapore Harbour Board. Registering as a union gave them a voice on bread-and-butter issues.

Bread, literally. In the lean post-war years, members struggled to collect their rations. So the union arranged for bread to be delivered straight to their workplaces.

The 1955 strike. After repeated rejections of their pay requests, about 1,300 members, led by Jamit Singh, walked out on 30 April 1955. The strike lasted 66 days and ended on 6 July with better wages and terms. A young lawyer named Lee Kuan Yew was the union’s legal adviser at the time.

One union for all port workers. Membership was first limited to clerks. In 1957 the union opened its doors to non-clerical workers. By 1960 it was recognised as the sole union for all daily- and monthly-rated harbour workers.

Down, then up again. Politics split the labour movement in 1961, and the union was deregistered in July 1963. It was re-registered in January 1964 under a new constitution and went on to affiliate with NTUC.

A new name, a new deal. In 1968, the union was renamed the Singapore Port Workers Union. After a rocky patch, it was rebuilt from 1972 under V Jayakody, who was seconded from the Ministry of Education to NTUC. Membership, which had dwindled to about 400, climbed back to 3,000 by September 1972.

Port workers’ representatives gather for SPWU’s Council of Representatives conference, 1974 (Source: Perjuangan NTUC, April 1974)

Strength in numbers, help on the ground. In 1974, Jayakody wrote to every port worker calling for solidarity: “A union with strength and enjoying the confidence of its membership provides a guarantee necessary to maintain the worker’s welfare,” he said.

The union backed his words with action. Under a joint SPWU-PSA Welfare Fund, management matched every dollar the union put in, funding bursaries and scholarships for members’ children. The union also planned its own catering centre to send cheap meals to workers on the wharf.

The box that changed everything. In 1972, Singapore’s first container terminal opened. It was the biggest shake-up port work had ever seen. Ten years later, the Government reported that not one port worker had been retrenched because of containerisation, and that pay and conditions had improved.

An SPWU Executive Secretary works through the numbers with union representatives, 1973 (Source: Perjuangan NTUC, July 1973)

Partners, not opponents. Working hand in hand with the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), SPWU set up co-operatives, supermarkets, canteens and a counselling centre for workers, and, in 1985, secured a single collective agreement covering daily- and monthly-rated staff.

Standing by workers in tough times. When PSA Corp cut 800 jobs in 2003 to stay competitive, SPWU negotiated a fair package and helped members into new jobs.

“The way we work has changed, but our purpose remains the same. Whether through containerisation or automation, progress must translate into better jobs, safer workplaces and better lives for workers and their families,” said SPWU General Secretary Rashidin Ismail Bharoocha.

STU: Teachers find their voice

It began with equal pay. In 1946, local teachers earned less than their British counterparts, and women less than men. The Singapore Teachers’ Association had no legal standing to bargain. On 28 September, about 200 teachers backed a motion to form a union of their own. Three weeks later, STU was born, with H N Balhatchet as its first president.

Teaching beyond the classroom: STU’s Singapore Teachers’ Repertory Company staged plays for schoolchildren in 1947. Seated, from left: G V Santhou, Francis Thomas and John Eber. Standing: P V Sarma, L A Woodford, H Hochstadt and Koh Boon Piang (Photo courtesy of STU)

A future President at the helm. In 1949, C V Devan Nair, who would later become Singapore’s President, became STU’s General Secretary.

A family of teachers’ unions. STU was the first. Malay, Tamil and Chinese teachers’ unions followed in 1947, 1951 and 1953, each serving its own community. In 1960, the Graduate Teachers’ Association voted to dissolve and join STU.

STU leaders outside the union’s former premises at Onan Road (Photo courtesy of STU)

A founder of the modern Labour Movement. In 1961, STU backed the formation of NTUC, and it affiliated the following year. It helped shape the movement, not just join it.

Setting the standard. In 1966, STU adopted Singapore’s first Code of Ethics for Teachers. It set out how teachers should conduct themselves with pupils, parents, colleagues and the community.

Teachers and nation building. In 1971, STU held a Modernisation Seminar on “The Teacher and the Dynamics of Nation Building”. It explored teachers’ changing role in a fast-growing Singapore, and set the union’s course: fighting for teachers’ welfare while raising their professional standards.

Looking ahead: STU’s 1971 Modernisation Seminar weighed teachers’ welfare alongside their professional growth (Photo courtesy of STU)

The estate that started with a clubhouse. In 1967, STU wanted a clubhouse but had no money to build one. Deputy general secretary Yeoh Beng Cheow had an idea: develop a housing estate and keep a plot for the club.

The result was 256 terrace houses at Upper Thomson and Yio Chu Kang Road. When it opened in 1971, about 70 per cent of homes belonged to teachers. Its roads are named after poets and writers, and it is still called Teachers’ Estate today.

Pedal power: the STU “Trishawthon” raised funds to build the Teachers’ Centre (Photo courtesy of STU)

Pedal power. STU still needed money to build its clubhouse, which became the Teachers’ Centre. So it held a “Trishawthon”: a fleet of about 100 trishaws, ridden in relay by teacher volunteers from Toa Payoh to Teachers’ Estate.

Riders found sponsors, and companies bought advertising boards on the trishaws for $250 each. The patron was Minister of State for Labour Sia Kah Hui, a former STU President.

A centre for teachers. The Teachers’ Centre was opened in 1973, with a hall, swimming pool, squash courts, library and canteen. Rare perks for the 1970s, and a hit with members.

A pool for teachers: the Teachers’ Centre, completed in 1973, gave members facilities rare for the time (Photo courtesy of STU)

Staying a union. In 1981, there were calls in Parliament to turn teachers’ unions into professional associations. STU held meetings across the island and sent its case to every MP. It stayed a union.

Lightening the load. In 2004, STU piloted a Teachers’ Assistant Scheme to take some of the load off teachers.

Still speaking up. In 2011, the Ministry of Education (MOE) flagged pay cuts of up to 30 per cent for re-employed older teachers.

STU pushed back, and both sides agreed on the tripartite principle of “same job, same pay”. Today, STU represents more than 14,000 educators.

“They fought for fairness,” said STU General Secretary Mike Thiruman of the union’s founders. “I think they’d be proud that STU turned a struggle for equal treatment into a lasting institution that protects teachers, advances the profession, and ensures teachers are heard.”

STU’s union house, with its logo on the façade (Photo courtesy of STU)

Keeping pace with a changing world

The fights have changed. The mission hasn’t. Both unions now spend as much energy preparing workers for the future as protecting them in the present.

SPWU: People first at the world’s largest automated port

From hand-loading to driverless vehicles. In the 1960s, stevedores loaded and unloaded cargo by hand. Today, driverless vehicles ferry containers around the terminals, and automated cranes do the heavy lifting.

Upskilling before the switch. Long before Tuas Port opened, SPWU and PSA worked together to spot skills gaps and train workers to close them. One crane technician, for example, even took a part-time diploma in power engineering. Operators learned to run equipment through computers instead of by hand.

Bringing everyone along. Port work isn’t just limited to PSA staff. In 2023, SPWU, PSA and 11 supplier companies signed an agreement on productivity, technology and training. It covers workers such as lashers and prime-mover drivers, who keep the port moving.

Tuas Port, 2022. When the first three berths opened in September 2022, PSA credited SPWU and the Port Officers’ Union for helping to retrain its workforce for new, higher-value roles. Tuas is currently on track to become the world’s largest fully automated port, with all city terminals moving there by 2040.

Change still brings worries.

“The move to Tuas brings opportunities, but also concerns about job security, learning new skills, changes to work arrangements and travelling time.

“SPWU’s role is to listen, raise these concerns with our management and work towards practical solutions. We want members to have the training, guidance and support they need to move forward with confidence,” said Mr Rashidin.

Recognised for the effort. In 2025, then SPWU General Secretary Tan Teng Hong received the Public Service Medal for helping workers through the move to Tuas, from sorting out transport, meals and facilities to backing job redesign and training.

And the union is already looking ahead.

Mr Rashidin said: “By 2030, I would want SPWU members to see the clear benefits from our port’s transformation, be it in their skills, career opportunities, wages, and well-being.

“I also want to ensure a stronger union that stays close to the ground, develops the next generation of leaders, and remains a trusted voice for every member.”

STU: Looking after the people who look after our children

Teacher wellness. Teaching has grown more complex, and burnout is real. STU launched a teacher wellness programme with counselling and career coaching, runs wellness talks in schools, and offers Care@STU, an online portal where teachers can seek help. It handles about 1,200 workplace cases a year, by its last published count.

Pay, and time to teach. STU has long argued that pay alone won’t fix workload. After it called for a review, teachers received pay rises of 5 to 10 per cent in 2022. In 2026, MOE announced further increases of 2 to 9 per cent for about 33,000 Education Officers from 1 October.

After Labour MPs raised teachers’ concerns in Parliament, MOE also outlined pilots to cut non-teaching duties, bring in extra manpower and use digital tools.

“Workload matters, wellbeing matters, but at the heart of both is agency,” said Mr Thiruman. “STU’s message is simple: trust teachers as professionals and involve them in shaping the decisions that affect them.”

Making AI work for teachers. As MOE rolls out AI tools and a teacher AI literacy roadmap, STU is pressing to make sure the tech lightens teachers’ load, not adds to it. In September 2026, STU adviser and Labour MP Wan Rizal called in Parliament for MOE and unions to jointly review the workload impact of major AI and education technology rollouts.

“We are not fighting for more AI in schools. We are fighting for better outcomes for teachers. AI succeeds only when it gives teachers more time to teach, mentor and build relationships,” said Mr Thiruman.

Leading the regional conversation. In its 80^th year, STU is hosting the 40^th ASEAN Council of Teachers + Korea (ACT+1) Convention from 22 to 25 October 2026. The theme: “Navigating Our Future: Steered by Teachers; Anchored in Relationships; Propelled by AI”.

It’s a full circle: in 1979, STU was secretariat of the ASEAN Council of Teachers and co-organised its very first convention.

Nothing new under the sun. When schools got their first computer masterplan in 1997, teachers’ union members stepped up to help train fellow teachers. Three decades on, the tools are smarter. The union’s instinct is the same.

Eighty years on: The common thread

Both unions started out fighting for the basics: fair pay, decent conditions and a seat at the table. Both lived through turbulent times.

And both found the same answer. Work with management and Government, not against them. For SPWU, that meant partnering PSA on productivity in return for better wages and welfare. For STU, it meant raising professional standards alongside teachers’ pay and conditions.

That partnership is now being tested by automation and AI. Once again, both unions have chosen to get ahead of the change rather than resist it. They are making sure workers gain new skills, keep their jobs and have a say in how the technology is used.

That’s tripartism in action, and it’s why two unions born a day apart in 1946 are still looking after workers in 2026. Eighty years in, they’re not slowing down.