Singapore - 2011

Population:
Capital: Singapore
The government ratified the ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Tripartite Consultation Convention in October. Migrant workers’ rights at work are still not fully regulated and foreign domestic workers remain particularly open to abuse. Trade union activities are strictly regulated, and the authorities have broad powers to intervene.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) (denounced) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)

reported violations - 2011

Murders: none reported
Attempted Murders: none reported
Threats: none reported
Injuries: none reported
Arrests: none reported
Imprisonments: none reported
Dismissals: none reported
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in power since 1959, and occupies 82 of the 84 parliamentary seats that have full voting rights. Current Singaporean laws and policies on freedom of expression, assembly and association sharply limit peaceful criticism of the government. Of particular concern is the 2009 Public Order Act. With the exception of five unions, the rest of the country’s 60 unions are affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), which has close ties with the PAP. The NTUC Secretary General currently serves on the PAP Central Executive Committee and holds a seat in the Cabinet as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. The NTUC-PAP relationship, which dates back to the founding of the NTUC in 1961, is described as “symbiotic” and was formally endorsed in 1980 at the NTUC Ordinary Delegates Conference. Currently, there are 18 PAP MPs with direct or former ties to the NTUC while another 48 PAP MPs serve as appointed NTUC advisors. In October, Singapore ratified ILO International Labour Organization A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.

See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards international labour standards Principles and norms related to labour matters, primarily codified in the Conventions and the Recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Include core labour rights such as freedom of association and the right to organise, the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike, which are all covered by ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

See ITUC Guide to international trade union rights ) Convention, 1976 (No. 144).
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) (denounced) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Singapore

reported violations- 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

Although basic trade union rights are recognised, they are subject to restrictions. The Constitution guarantees the right to join and form trade unions, however Parliament may impose limitations on formation on grounds of security, public order or morality. The Registrar also has vast powers to refuse to register a union or cancel registration, and may decide whether to approve a new union’s rules or changes to an existing union’s rules. While government employees are prohibited from joining trade unions, the President has the right to make exceptions to this provision. Exceptions have been made and all government officers and employees, except members of the Singapore Police Force, the Civil Defence Force, the Singapore Armed Forces, the Prisons Services and the Narcotics Services, can join trade unions. Foreign nationals’ access to union official posts is subject to permission by the Minister of Manpower. Furthermore, unions may not freely determine how to use their funds.

While the right to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
is recognised, all collective agreements must be certified by the tripartite Industrial Arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation Court. The court can refuse certification on grounds of public interest, although it has never done so. Union democracy is limited by the fact that union members no longer have the power to accept or reject collective agreements negotiated on their behalf.

In addition, in limited situations, the law provides for compulsory arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation by the request of only one of the parties to an industrial dispute industrial dispute A conflict between workers and employers concerning conditions of work or terms of employment. May result in industrial action. . To call a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , 50% plus one of all the trade union’s members must vote in favour, and there is no specific legal protection for striking workers.

Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) (denounced) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Singapore

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Migrant workers’ rights still restricted:

While restrictions on migrant workers’ rights to serve as an officer, trustee or staff member of a union (without prior written approval by the Minister) are still in place, all migrant workers, including foreign domestic workers, are allowed to join unions. A government-mandated standard contract for migrant workers provides some protection to foreign domestic workers.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) advocates for the rights of foreign domestic workers and other migrant workers through its Migrant Workers’ Forum. It has also set up the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) together with the Singapore National Employers’ Federation in April 2009 to champion fair employment practices and the well-being of migrant workers in Singapore. The MWC provides employment-related advice, advocacy services and representation to migrant workers.

Need to update labour laws: The government’s tight rein on industrial action industrial action Any form of action taken by a group of workers, a union or an employer during an industrial dispute to gain concessions from the other party, e.g. a strike, go-slow or an overtime ban, or a lockout on the part of the employer. , the tradition of non-confrontational industrial relations industrial relations The individual and collective relations and dealings between workers and employers at the workplace, as well as the institutional interaction between unions, employers and also the government.

See social dialogue and the adequate dispute resolution mechanisms have meant that there have been only two officially recorded days of strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action since 1978. There were no strikes in 2010. However, practice suggests that many of Singapore’s labour laws are outdated, as in reality many of the potential restrictions on trade union rights are not applied. The unions have called for these outdated restrictions to be removed from the country’s legislation.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) (denounced) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Singapore

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
© ITUC-CSI-IGB 2010 | www.ituc-csi.org | Contact Design by Pixeleyes.be