Seminar 10

Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Singapore

Historical Background

• Why don’t you see strikes commonly in Singapore?• Need to look at history.• First union registered in 1946.• Initially unions were very militant

and in some ways that served an useful purpose at that time.

Historical Background

• Upon independence, there was huge unemployment and there was a need to attract foreign investment.

• Thus industrial relations had to be made harmonious in order to attract foreign investment.

• This was done through various legislative changes.

What were some legislative changes introduced to facilitate this?

• Law changed to state: cannot negotiate in relation to certain issues (eg: who to hire).

• Entrenchment of mediation process and introduction of compulsory mediation.

• Introduction of the possibility of compulsory arbitration at the Industrial Arbitration Court.

How there is a good relationship between the government and the union:

• Many founding members of the PAP were from the unions.• Amongst the unions there was also some which were

sympathetic to the communist cause and others which were not. But they all nonetheless came under the umbrella of STUC – and both the factions cooperated.

• But in 1961 there was a the split within the PAP. This eventually resulted STUC itself splitting into – PAP linked NTUC (non-communist) and SATU (communist). There was a bitter struggle and eventually SATU was deregistered. This left NTUC as the dominant player.

• Subsequently: high ranking officers of NTUC have become PAP members.

• Subsequently: members of NTUC affiliated unions are discouraged from joining opposition parties because of clash in ideologies.

NTUC

• NTUC is the umbrella body representing most trade unions in Singapore.

• After the decline of confrontational industrial relations, the NTUC focused on more constructive issues to benefit workers: for instance: Welcome Supermarket; Training initiatives.

IR based on Tripartism

• IR in Singapore is based on tripartism.• Tripartism is reflected in many ways: eg:

NWC.• Tripartism is based on being fair to all the

stakeholders concerned.• Tripartism and harmonious relations is

the hallmark of IR in Singapore.

Collective Bargaining• Where there is an union and it negotiates with

the employer, that is known as collective bargaining.

• Starting point of collective bargaining : recognition of trade union by employer.

• If employer does not want to grant recognition, Commissioner of Labour may call for the holding of a secret ballot and if the secret ballot shows majority of employees support it, then employer has to grant recognition.

Collective Bargaining• After that, employer/union can start the

collective bargaining process. • But note: trade union cannot propose to

negotiate on some matters such as:promotion of any employeetaking in of any new employeetermination due to or criteria for

redundancy/retrenchment• Successful negotiations result in a collective

agreement. • If a collective agreement cannot be reached:

mediation/arbitration could set in.

Collective Agreement• Length of Collective Agreement: Min: 2;

Max: 3 years.• Collective Agreement legally binding

agreement between union and employer.• Disputes relating the collective

agreement (eg: interpretation problems) must be referred to

referee at MOM.

Arbitration at the IAC• There is tripartite representation at IAC.• Decisions made based on not only interests of the persons

concerned but also the community as a whole and without regard to legal technicalities.

• Reference can/must be made to the IAC in certain situations, including the following:

- both parties submit a trade dispute to IAC.- trade union or employer submits a trade dispute to IAC in certain

situations (such as disputes relating to NWC guidelines).- Minister of Labour orders so or.- President of Singapore order so.

• In practice, most disputes are successfully resolved by mediation and not referred to IAC.

Trade Unions• Can be an association of workmen or employers and

can be general or company specific. -• There can be more than one union in a company to

represent different sets of workers.• There cannot be more than one union to represent

the same set of workers.• A union must be registered.• Who can’t form unions?• Can govt/stat board employees form unions?• Cannot be discriminated for setting up an union or

doing union related work.

Industrial Action• The term industrial action is defined widely and includes things such as

“go slow” or “work to rule”.• In relation to industrial action, among other things, note the following: cannot take IA unless majority of members of the union have agreed to it

by means of a secret ballot (Trade Unions Act); in any case cannot take IA in relation to 3 essential services, namely:

water, gas and electricity (Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act); other essential services – must give 14 days notice before taking IA

(Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act); cannot take IA where court has cognizance of the trade dispute (Trade

Disputes Act); cannot take IA in respect of work unrelated issues (Trade Disputes Act); cannot use violence/intimidation during IA (Trade Disputes Act).

Source: www.asiaone.com.sg

(a)Is this a strike?

(b)If so, is it illegal?

(c) Note: the workers do not belong to any union.

Summary• A trade union may be made up of employees or employers.• Typically, a trade union of employees and the employer

concerned would negotiate and this will result in a collective agreement.

• A collective agreement will contain many terms and conditions regarding service and it will be binding on the employer and union concerned.

• If there are disputes, employee trade unions may wish to take industrial action. However, in certain sectors industrial action cannot be taken at all and in others, they can be taken only if certain conditions are satisfied. Breach of these provisions is an offence.

• But whenever there are disputes, there is a system of mediation offered by the Ministry of Manpower and failing which redress may also be had at the Industrial Arbitration Court. This among other things, has resulted in industrial relations in Singapore being harmonious.

Readings

• Basic Text: (8.1-8.14, 8.16, 8.18, 8.25-8.30, 8.33-8.34, 8.36-8.41, 8.52-8.61, 4.215-4.218).

• Collective Agreement referred to in Tutorial 9.