THE labour movement went on the offensive yesterday against the Workers' Party (WP), challenging the latter to match its words with deeds.

Mr Seng Han Thong, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, threw down this gauntlet to the opposition party: Ensure that Hougang Town Council, helmed by WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang, hires only Singaporeans.

In its May Day message on Wednesday, the WP had questioned whether Singaporeans 'truly benefited' from the surge in job creation last year.

It noted that of the 236,600 new jobs, 144,500 went to foreigners.

'Singaporeans will be none the better off, even if more jobs are created, when more than 60 per cent of the jobs created go to foreigners,' it said.

Rebutting the WP, Mr Seng said at the side-lines of the May Day Rally: 'We should take a pragmatic approach on this foreign worker issue.

'The best thing is for the Workers' Party to start with Hougang Town Council by ensuring that all workers, all employees, are Singaporeans only - no foreign workers, no workers from China, no workers from any other countries.'

Mr Low could not be reached for comment last night.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 2, 2008.