Ever since CapitaLand became a branch of the Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union (SISEU) 17 years ago, the relationship has been strong.
“The relationship did not happen overnight. It was built over some years. The union representatives have also been working with the company for quite some time now. There is a sense of familiarity between us.
“We don’t make contact with the union only when there is an issue to solve. Even when there are no issues, the management and union will touch base with each other to talk about things happening in the company, or even just to have a cup of coffee. This is to continue building our friendship. That is how we have always worked,” said CapitaLand Limited Group Human Resource Head Ho Seng Chee.
He added that the management must have the right mindset and not be suspicious of the union as good relations can be beneficial for both company and workers.
PME Representation
One positive outcome of good LMR was the representation of professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
It is because of the trust that CapitaLand has with SISEU that it agreed to have junior PMEs from all three branches of the company to be collectively represented by the union in 2015. The Industrial Relations Act was amended in the same year to allow PMEs be collectively represented by rank-and-file unions.
“We don’t want to distinguish those in the PME and non-PME grade. We also see the value in engaging the union on PME issues because these employees form a large part of the organisation.
“It comes back to the point of trust. I don’t think that if we put PMEs in the same bucket as the union, all of a sudden all the PMEs would turn on the company. It wouldn’t happen that way,” said Mr Ho.
