In the first six months since the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) was set up, some 4,600 employees and employers have registered salary claims. This number includes 800 professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say gave this update on TADM’s progress on 20 October 2017 at a tripartite event at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability.
Minister Lim also launched the Tripartite Standard on Grievance Handling on the same day. The standard was the third to be rolled out since July this year.
TADM Report
Through mediation, TADM has helped 90 per cent of employees recover their salaries in full. In total, the amount recovered was about $5 million.
Meanwhile, about 3,800 workers have benefited from TADM’s advisory services on employment and contractual issues. Some 200 of these workers received additional help through legal clinics for disputes not covered under employment laws.
Tripartite Standard
According to tripartite partners, the new standard requires employers to put in place procedures to manage “workplace grievances and build an inclusive and harmonious workplace”.
MOM, NTUC, the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) will be working with employers to adopt the new standard.
To date, over 220 companies employing some 245,000 workers have adopted the standard.
NTUC President Mary Liew said: “With TADM and the Tripartite Standard on Grievance Handling, workers now have additional avenues to help them resolve grievances and disputes. In particular, PMEs can now resolve their employment disputes amicably, without resorting to costly civil suits.”
She added that the Labour Movement will continue to work closely with its tripartite partners to safeguard the interest of all workers.
SNEF President Robert Yap noted that although grievances and disputes are not desirable at workplaces, employers still need to put in place effective handling procedures. He also called on employers to work with tripartite partners to “minimise the impact of any grievances and disputes.”
Key Features of Tripartite Standard on Grievance Handling:
1. Employers must commit to providing a channel for employees to raise grievances. They must also conduct proper investigations and respond to the affected employees.
2. Employers must commit to communicating and documenting grievance handling processes. This may take the form of a collective agreement with the union representing the workers, a company circular or memo.
3. Employers must state the appropriate authority to hear a grievance case and take action in a reasonable timeframe. Employees must be given the right to bring the matter to the next level. This includes requesting assistance from the union should the employee be a union member in a unionised company.
4. Employers must also train their supervisors and relevant employees to manage feedback and grievances, and work with the union if the company is unionised.
