Chemical industries employees' union secures 20 companies' firm commitment towards Fair Employment Practices
24 October 2007
Media Release
1 Following months of active engagement with employers, the Chemical Industries Employee’s Union (CIEU) has secured the firm commitment of 20 companies from the chemical industries to implement fair employment practices at their workplaces. As part of an inclusive labour movement, CIEU is an advocate of fair employment practices that present equal opportunities for workers in terms of recruitment, job allocation and career progression; and reward workers for their contributions based on their merits and performances.
2 CIEU believes that fair employment practices are both pro-business and pro-worker, an important point the 20 companies recognise, as a worker who is fairly treated would be motivated to contribute more towards the company, which in turn, would reward the worker more adequately. Additionally, fair employment practices would enable companies to attract other pools of workers, including the women and older workers, to augment their workforce in a tight labour market.
3 Currently, the 20 companies employ a total of about 1,700 employees (including managerial staff), out of which, about 20% or 340 are 50 years old and above. Faced with an ageing workforce, all of these companies are committed to enhancing the re-employability of older workers to meet their future manpower requirements, with a few already putting in place some form of re-employment policies for their maturing workers. By committing to fair employment practices, these companies will further enhance their ability to tap on a larger pool of manpower resources that include older workers and women.
4 Therefore, the 20 companies’ managements have been receptive when CIEU union leaders approached them on the idea of implementing fair employment practices at their workplaces. During the labour-management engagements, CIEU union leaders shared information on the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices [1] and its guidelines with the managements. At the same time, the managements earnestly shared their concerns and discussed ideas on the implementation of fair employment practices with CIEU union leaders, reflecting the strong labour-management relations that CIEU has with these companies. Please see ANNEX A for the list of 20 companies and ANNEX B for a case study on Haw Par Healthcare Limited for its fair employment practices.
5 The active engagement between CIEU and the 20 companies led to the latter’s affirming of their commitment to fair employment practices at the TAFEP Pledge Presentation Ceremony organised by CIEU this afternoon at the NTUC Centre, One Marina Boulevard. The ceremony was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour Mdm Halimah Yacob, Co-Chairperson, TAFEP, and Assistant Secretary-General, National Trades Union Congress; Mr Bob Tan, Co-Chairperson, TAFEP, and Vice-President, Singapore National Employers Federation; management representatives; Ministry of Manpower representatives and CIEU union leaders.
6 Looking forward, CIEU is confident that the 20 committed companies will translate their commitment to fair employment practices into action when it comes to fair hiring and in-employment practices, which will benefit their workers in turn. Additionally, we believe that these companies would set good examples in encouraging more companies to adopt the fair employment guidelines recommended by TAFEP.
Cham Hui Fong (Ms)
Executive Secretary
Chemical Industries Employees’ Union
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[1] The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices was formed in May 2006 following the recommendation of the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers to promote employment practices that are fair and equitable to all workers. TAFEP promotes fair employment practices through promotional and educational initiatives such as workshops, seminars, training programmes and promotional materials on progressive employment practices.
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ANNEX A
List of Chemical Industries Companies Committed to Fair Employment Practices
No. Companies
1 Aventis Pharma Manufacturing Pte Ltd
2 Becton Dickinson Critical Care Systems Pte Ltd
3 Beecham Pharmaceuticals (Pte) Ltd
4 Berger Paints Singapore Pte Ltd
5 Chemitreat Private Limited
6 Croda Singapore Pte Ltd
7 Eastman Chemical Singapore Pte Ltd
8 FujiFilm Hunt Chemicals Singapore Pte Ltd
9 Glaxo Wellcome Manufacturing Pte Ltd
10 Haw Par Healthcare Ltd
11 Kyocera Chemical (S) Pte Ltd
12 NH Techno Glass Singapore Pte Ltd
13 Sumidurez Singapore Pte Ltd
14 Tejin Polycarbonate Singapore Pte Ltd
15 Jotun (Singapore) Pte Ltd
16 Tankstore
17 TOTAL Petrochemicals South East Asia Pte Ltd
18 Mitsuboshi Overseas Hedquarters Pte Ltd
19 Kaneka Singapore Co. (Pte) Ltd
20 Sabic Innovative Plastics S’pore Pte Ltd
ANNEX B
Case Study of a Company that Practises Fair Employment
Haw Par Healthcare Limited
Haw Par Healthcare Limited, which manufactures and produces high-quality healthcare products such as Tiger Brand of balm and medicated plasters, practices non-discriminatory employment practices like having open recruitment policies.
For example, female job seekers, who are housewives having been out of the workforce for a considerable period of time and aged between 40 to the early 50s, would be considered for employment at the company. Currently, there are 21 such female employees in the company. When they first joined the company, they had no relevant working experiences as they were mostly housewives who chose to return to the workforce as their children are now more independent. Nonetheless, the company hired and trained them for the jobs and since then, they have all been confirmed and are happy working at the company.
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