Speaking as guest-of-honour at ‘SHRI (Singapore Human Resources Institute) Outlook 2016: Gearing for the Region’ conference on 24 February 2016 at the Concorde Hotel, ASG Tay underscored two upcoming developments in the second half of 2016 that will better protect Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) working in Singapore.
Faster Salary Claims
The first development will see the formation of the Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT). ASG Tay described it as a likely avenue for statutory and contractual employment claims to be heard.
“As the Small Claims Tribunal does not hear employment claims, the Employment Claims Tribunal will plug the gap, to avail all workers, particularly PMEs. PMEs have given us feedback that they have no economical and easy recourse whenever they face employment issues,” elaborated ASG Tay.
Doing More for PMEs
The second development involves the expansion of the Tripartite Mediation Framework (TMF) to complement the ECT beyond the ambit and jurisdiction of salary-related claims.
ASG Tay said that the Tripartite Mediation Framework was set up to make accessible to PMEs who are union members, even in non-unionised companies, some form of mediation to resolve their claims, particularly in contract, paid salaries and retrenchment benefits.
Improving HR Services
The conference also marked the signing of a partnership agreement between SHRI and professional services company Willis Towers Watson to support the professionalisation of the human resources industry and support SMEs in upskilling and improving HR services.
In light of the challenging economic and employment landscape this year, ASG Tay urged transparency, good sharing of information, professionalism and conduct in the timing of retrenchment exercises, should the need arise.
“Note the amount of retrenchment benefits as it is your prerogative as HR representatives and business owners. It will be good to look at benchmarks and industry practices when it comes to retrenchment packages.
“A month’s notice will help in the negotiation of the retrenchment package for workers in an amicable way and to provide some leeway to match and place those workers likely to be displaced. We want this one month period to do all this work and help mitigate the pains,” said ASG Tay.
Ahead of attending the conference, ASG Patrick Tay shared his thoughts on a blog in light of the current economic outlook and market conditions. Read the full post, ‘PMEs Labour in Vain? The Protection and Prerogative of PMEs' on www.labourbeat.org.
Feedback on ECT
On 25 February 2016, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued a press release inviting members of the public to give feedback on the Employment Claims Tribunal and its proposed role of taking over the work of the Labour court in adjudicating salary-related claims for all employees.
Details can be found online in the public consultation document on the REACH website at www.reach.gov.sg from now until 23 March.
Feedback on the proposal for the Employment Claims Tribunal can be sent to:
Employment Claims Tribunal Public Consultation
Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
18 Havelock Road, #06-02
Singapore 059764
Email: mom_consultations@mom.gov.sg
Source: NTUC This Week
