NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and Labour Member of Parliament Zainal Sapari made this call in a blog post ‘All workers are equal, but some are more equal than others!’ on 24 July 2017 on LabourBeat.
ASG Zainal acknowledged that while term contract employees provide employers with the flexibility to be cost effective in their business operations, this loophole has been abused by employers to “reset” employees’ benefits every time the contract is renewed.
He explained: “The employer ‘gains’ because the statutory benefits of the employees will be kept to the bare minimum upon contract renewal. They also absolve themselves from any obligations to pay retrenchment benefits (if there is a retrenchment exercise for their permanent employees) or being accused of unlawful termination.”
Retrenchment benefits are only applicable for employees who have served the company for at least two years. If the employees’ contracts are renewed every two years, they will not be able to benefit from retrenchment benefits.
More to Be Done
ASG Zainal reiterated that the Tripartite Guidelines on the Employment of Term Contract Employees, which was announced in 2016, was an important first step to change behaviours of employers towards progressive employment practices. However, he felt that the guidelines alone might not be enough.
He added: “Without a doubt, fixed term contract employees need better protection. Employers should not treat workers on fixed term contract employment less favourably than their permanent employees performing the same tasks and assignments.”
He suggested that the tripartite guidelines take the form of tripartite standards, where employers who follow them can be incentivised.
He said: “Our labour landscape is evolving. Term contract employment is becoming increasingly common and it can, given its nature, threaten job security. While having guidelines and advisories may be good initial steps, their effectiveness must be closely monitored and the option of legislating them cannot be ruled out.
“After all, term contract employees, in terms of the tasks they perform, are no different from permanent employees. Let’s progress towards a society where all workers are equal – whether permanent or term contract employees. No worker deserves anything less.”
