The official launch of Labour Movement’s Tour Guide Chapter (TGC), which comes under the wings of Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union (AREU), will champion to set right several key practices in the tourism industry for the betterment of the tour guides.
“Tourist guides are ambassadors of Singapore and we need them to give accurate information to the tourists… who will know our Singapore’s history better than us?”
That was one of the sentiments echoed by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General and AREU Executive Secretary Cham Hui Fong at the launch.
With the influx of many unlicensed tour guides in Singapore, she stressed that “the priority should be given to Singaporean tourist guides… If we can work together, we should ring-fence this industry. Only when we have a need for exotic languages, then we should allow foreign guides.”
ASG Cham also highlighted the need for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the only authority that issues tourist guide licenses, to have a tighter grip on foul play in the industry.
“When errant employers go scot free, how would this act as a deterrent to others?” questioned ASG Cham, and urged STB to make enforcements to regulate proper practices.
TGC will also make a call on fine-tuning the contracts of tourist guides to better protect the workers so that there will be symmetrical compensation.
ASG Cham made her stand for these tour guides: “If I were to cancel the contract and have to pay a fee, then similarly when the contract is being cancelled at the last minute without compensation and I am going to lose the earnings for the day, I should be duly compensated.”
Tourist guides are not covered by the Employment Act but only through contract law as it is said in the industry that there is no employer-employee relationship. They are also termed as independent contractors.
“These guides do not control their own time, their itinerary is fixed by the travel agencies. They don’t even wear their own clothes, they wear the uniforms provided by the agencies and they have to make use of the equipment provided by the agency.
“We do not see the control factor, and therefore they are not totally independent contractors,” ASG Cham said.
TGC is seeking clarity under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board Act for these guides.
Tour guides, unlike tourists whom they ferry around in the tour buses, do not receive any protection when mishaps happen on their jobs. TGC is also working with the Ministry of Manpower to fine-tune the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA) to see if it can be extended to protect tour guides to better protect them at work.
TGC members have expressed interest in getting equipped with product updates and information constantly to provide up-to-date details to tourists.
Hence, TGC is urging STB to provide more familiarisation tours for new and existing tour guides. For starters, STB will conduct both classroom and field tours for professional development courses.
