Lee pushes port worker retraining as rivals close gap on Singapore
Why it matters: The warning links AI, green-fuel shifts and tougher regional competition to jobs at PSA and Tuas Port.
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged Singapore’s port unions, PSA management and the government to deepen tripartite cooperation to protect jobs as automation, AI and shifting trade patterns remake port work. Speaking at the Singapore Port Workers Union’s 80th anniversary dinner on Oct. 17, Lee warned rival ports are rapidly improving digital and automated operations and said Singapore risks losing business if it grows complacent. He said workers should be retrained for higher-value roles, as PSA has done through earlier shifts from manual cargo handling to remote cranes and automated guided vehicles. SPWU represents more than 10,000 members.