The NTUC helms May Day celebrations and organises an annual rally in support of workers' solidarity and commitment to a tripartite partnership.

[1][2] The NTUC was first established in 1961 when the Singapore Trades Union Congress (STUC), which had backed the People's Action Party (PAP) in its successful drive for self-government back in 1959, split into the pro-PAP NTUC and the non-affiliated and more leftist Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU).

The SATU collapsed in 1963, following the now PAP-led government's crackdown and detention of its leaders during Operation Coldstore and its subsequent official deregistration on 13 November 1963, leaving the NTUC as the sole trade union centre.

[7] In 2018, Ng Chee Meng took over as Secretary-General from Chan Chun Sing, who left NTUC to become Minister of Trade and Industry.

[9] In 2024, the NTUC was designated as a "politically significant person" (PSP) under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 (FICA) by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore) (MHA) due to its "close nexus and symbiotic relationship" with the PAP.