Eric Cheong, a former MP and union leader who helped establish Singapore's tripartite labour model, passed away at 96 due to complications from dysphagia.
Eric Cheong, a pioneering union leader and former Member of Parliament for Toa Payoh who dedicated his life to advancing workers' rights and Singapore's tripartite model of labour relations, passed away on July 15 at the age of 96.
His death was due to complications from dysphagia, a condition that impairs swallowing. Cheong represented the Toa Payoh constituency from 1968 to 1988, a period of rapid development for Singapore's housing estates, and served on the central committee of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the highest decision-making body of the labour movement.
He was also the long-time leader of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU), first as secretary-general and later as president, shaping the union into the largest affiliate of NTUC, representing commerce and service workers in the private sector. Cheong's journey into labour activism began early in his career. As a young clerk, he felt a lack of representation and inequality in the workplace, prompting him to join the pre-independence labour movement in Singapore.
He rose through the ranks, leading unions by his early 30s. However, his path was not always aligned with the People's Action Party (PAP) that he would later represent. In the early 1960s, he was the general secretary of the Singapore Business Houses Employees' Union, which was linked to the opposition Barisan Sosialis. During that period, he participated in industrial action and was arrested and held in remand for two days following an islandwide strike in 1963.
In a 2011 interview with The Straits Times, Cheong reflected that this experience taught him that confrontation was not the way to help workers. A year later, he led his branch and others to leave the Singapore Association of Trade Unions, which supported Barisan Sosialis, and join the NTUC, which backed the PAP. This transition marked a pivotal shift in his approach to labour relations, steering toward collaboration rather than conflict.
As an MP in Toa Payoh, a newly developed town with one of Singapore's first Housing Board estates, Cheong focused on employment, housing, and education. In 1973, in response to rising prices, he helped set up the first NTUC Welcome supermarket, following then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's call for an alternative to profiteering retailers. Cheong explained in his oral history interviews that the supermarket bought directly from importers and sold at high volume to keep prices low for residents.
The store was so popular that staff had to periodically close its doors to manage the crowds, and its competitive pricing forced established supermarkets to lower their own rates. Cheong's dedication was evident in his work ethic; his son Peter Cheong recalled that he was the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave, rarely taking vacations except for overseas conferences.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, former Speaker Tan Soo Khoon, and former NTUC secretary-general Lim Boon Heng were among the dignitaries who paid their respects at his wake. Labour chief Ng Chee Meng praised Cheong as a stalwart who led with conviction and sincerity, believing that unions must uphold integrity and achieve progress through constructive partnership, not confrontation.
Daniel Cheong, his younger son, remembered his father's commitment to fairness, emphasizing that a balanced relationship between unions, employers, and government benefits all parties. In a Facebook tribute, SMMWU secretary-general Andy Lim noted that Cheong belonged to a generation that laid the foundations of the union, devoting himself to improving workers' lives while building trust that became a hallmark of Singapore's tripartite model. Eric Cheong leaves behind a legacy of service, integrity, and a steadfast belief in collaborative progress
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