Significant progress has been made in implementing flexible work arrangements (FWA) over the past 30 years, a milestone hailed by NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Yeo Wan Ling as a testament to the Labour Movement’s persistent advocacy.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a visit to Chye Thiam Maintenance on 26 November 2024, where tripartite partners observed the company’s preparations for the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement Requests (TG-FWAR).
The guidelines will take effect on 1 December 2024.
“This is something that is not new to the unions. In fact, we’ve been fighting for this for the last 30 years or so, and I’m very happy to see that actually there have been a lot of moves in this direction towards the right way.
“For many young workers, many return-to-work moms, many senior workers, this is something that is top of mind when they are thinking about whether to stay in the job, or whether or not they are thinking about coming back to the workforce,” said Ms Yeo.
Chye Thiam Maintenance, which implemented the guidelines three months ahead of schedule in September, has emerged as an early success story.
According to Chye Thiam Maintenance Human Resource and Administration Director Frankie Yung, about 20 per cent of their 3,000-strong workforce has benefited from various flexible work arrangements, including flexi-place, flexi-time, and flexi-load options.
“We want to be in the forefront because we are competing for talent. One of our missions is to be drivers in changing tomorrow. We want to be the movers and shakers and not wait for things to happen,” Mr Yung said.
The new FWA guidelines establish formal processes for flexibility requests that employers must consider.
The TG-FWAR sets out how employees should request FWAs and how employers should properly assess such requests.
Under the guidelines, employers must have proper processes in place to handle formal FWA requests. While employers retain the prerogative to reject requests based on valid business grounds, such as significant cost increases or impact on productivity, they cannot dismiss applications based on personal bias against FWAs.
If a request is rejected, employers must provide written explanations based on business considerations.
The TG-FWAR replaces both the 2014 Tripartite Advisory on FWAs and the 2017 Tripartite Standard on FWAs, marking a significant step forward in workplace policy.
Manpower Minister of State Gan Siow Huang, who joined the visit, shared encouraging adoption rates. She said: “Seven in 10 employers here already offer some form of flexible work arrangement to the employees, and we also know that about eight in 10 employees in Singapore also have access to at least one type of flexible work arrangement.”
The ministry will also take an educational approach to implementation, prioritising understanding over enforcement.
“We think it’s more important for both employers as well as employees to understand the guidelines well ... and be able to use these guidelines as a useful tool,” Ms Gan explained.
NTUC will support this effort through its network of more than one million union members, said Ms Yeo.
“It’s important that we balance this out with the needs of companies. We’re actually very excited about what this means when it comes to creating more job opportunities for women, more job opportunities for caregivers, also at the same time, to ensure that there are good retention policies, and eventually good progression policies within organisations with flexible-work management,” she added.
Become an NTUC member today and be part of a movement that champions flexible work arrangements for better work-life harmony.
