The Protection from Harassment Bill was introduced in March 2014 to provide a range of self-help measures, civil remedies and criminal sanctions to better protect people from harassment and related anti-social behaviour. It aims to strengthen existing laws and covers workplace harassment as well.
Today, more than 40 companies, including hotels, recreation clubs, retail companies and food and beverage businesses, pledged their commitment to create harassment-free work environments at a pledging ceremony. Over 30,600 workers, ranging from frontline to office staff are expected to benefit from the measures implemented by their companies to ensure they are protected at their workplaces.
Initiated by NTUC's Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster (HCBC), the pledging ceremony brought together companies from the Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union (AREU); Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU); The Singapore Manual & Mercantile Workers’ Union (SMMWU); and partners to share the vision of a Singapore where companies are committed to maintain a work environment that is free of harassment for their employees, customers, visitors and business associates – a workplace where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
As part of the pledge, companies are strongly encouraged to put in place internal policies to serve as a guide on appropriate and acceptable behaviour at workplaces. This serves to complement the law and supplement the current grievance handling procedures at the workplace.
For companies who do not have such policies in place, the cluster hopes to share with them some pointers which could be used as a reference when drawing up these policies. For example, a specific policy could be to have clear guidelines on appropriate and acceptable conduct at the workplace and to set up open and effective feedback channels for employees to highlight behaviour or actions that they feel may constitute harassment.
For companies who already have anti-harassment policies in place, the cluster, via its respective unions, intends to encourage them to take the opportunity to strengthen existing grievance handling procedures and communicate with their staff their commitment to ensure the workplace remains free of harassment.
Mr Tan Hock Soon, Chairman of NTUC’s Hospitality and Consumer Business Cluster, said, “In view of the Bill’s introduction, the cluster hopes to create greater awareness about workplace harassment and what the Bill entails. This is especially relevant to us as many of the workers represented by the cluster’s unions are frontline staff, who may be more at risk. It is therefore encouraging to know that companies, evident by today’s pledging ceremony, are taking it a step further to commit to ensure there are policies in place to protect their workers.”
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