Model ID: 190e2472-2f48-4aac-b856-7aba95440170
Sitecore Context Id: 190e2472-2f48-4aac-b856-7aba95440170;
NTUC and unions halted retrenchment exercise at Eagle Services Asia Private Limited immediately as company did not follow due process
On 22 July 2020,in spite of ongoing negotiations since early July with the AirTransport Executive Staff Union (AESU), SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union (SEEU), and Singapore Airlines Staff Union (SIASU), the management of Eagle Services Asia Pte Ltd (ESA) proceeded to release specific employees, before finalising the namelist with the union.
When the unions were alerted that ESA management had gone ahead to start informing employees that they may be retrenched,the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the unions took decisive action and stepped in to stop any further action by the company until an agreement could be reached.
The lack of transparency and disregard for negotiations with the unions is not acceptable and is not how a retrenchment exercise should be conducted.
As the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the unions continued negotiations with ESA, the unions also engaged their members concurrently. With the authorisation from NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng, the unions conducted a secret ballot to sanction legal industrial action to rectify any shortcomings and improve the retrenchment process, if and where necessary.Members gave unions overwhelming support.
Through conversations with NTUC and union leaders, the management of ESA, which is a unionised company under these three unions representing different groups of employees –administrative officers, engineers and technicians, conceded that the retrenchment process could have been better managed.
In the interests of the employees and company, ESA management took advice from NTUC and the unions, corrected the retrenchment process and accorded due respect to the rights of employees and to the union leaders.
As a result of negotiations with ESA management, NTUC and the unions managed to secure better outcomes for the affected employees:
1) Unions and ESA management jointly reviewed the selection criteria and names of employees to be retrenched to ensure that as far as possible, the Singaporean Core is safeguarded, whilst giving due considerations to foreign workers.
2) Whilst the compensation package offered to the affected employees by the company was fair, the unions further negotiated for an additional training grant for all affected union members.
3) NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) were on-site to provide support and help match affected employees to job placement opportunities.
4) Union leaders were on-site to assist affected employees and to provide support during this difficult time.
NTUC would like to reiterate that while retrenchments may be inevitable, companies must exhaust all other options before making the call to retrench employees. In the event of retrenchment, companies must ensure openness, transparency and consultation with unions and workers, and observe the guiding principles outlined in NTUC’s Fair Retrenchment Framework and the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.
Ravichandran P
General Secretary, Air Transport Executive Staff Union
Ong Hwee Liang
General Secretary, SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union
Md Jamanludin Onn
General Secretary, Singapore Airlines Staff Union
Cham Hui Fong
Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC
Executive Secretary, SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union
Adviser, Air Transport Executive Staff Union
Adviser, Singapore Airlines Staff Union
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