(Image Courtesy of PAP Singapore)
Former Labour Minister Jek Yeun Thong passed away on 3 June 2018 at the age of 87.
Here are the key contributions that the late Mr Jek made during his tenure from 1963 to 1968.
Support for NTUC
In his condolence letter to the family, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong said the late Mr Jek was made Labour Minister in 1963 after the General Election that year.
“He was instrumental in building trust with the Chinese-speaking unions and helping the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) wrest control of them from the Communist United Front,” said PM Lee.
Passing Employment Laws
In the letter, PM Lee said Mr Jek introduced the policy of Malaysians having to apply for work permits to work in Singapore. This was done through the passing of the Regulation of Employment Bill in Parliament on 22 December 1965.
Amendments to the Employment Act were passed in Parliament in 1968 after Mr Jek drafted and won support for it. PM Lee called this another significant contribution by the late Mr Jek during this period.
“This was a key milestone in building harmonious labour relations in Singapore, without which we could not have attracted investments and industrialised rapidly in the 1970s,” recalled PM Lee.
Among the provisions under the Act, public holidays were cut back and working hours for "white collar" workers were increased to align with those of "blue collar" workers.
In his speech to Parliament during the debate in the Legislative Assembly on the Employment Act in 1968, Mr Jek had said: "We are a pro-labour government and we want to make everything easy for the workers, but on the other hand, we must also protect the interests of the employers so that they are not unduly persecuted and do not start running away”.
Strengthening Industrial Relations
The late Mr Jek also introduced the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on 30 December 1965 for the preservation of industrial peace. The Act sought to clearly define the management rights of employers over employees with the ultimate aim of creating a conducive environment to attract investments into Singapore.
Meanwhile, amendments to the Trade Union Act, which were tabled by Mr Jek, were passed on 17 August 1966.
With the amendments, non-Singaporeans and those with criminal records were debarred from holding office in the trade unions. The law also provided for the compulsory registration of branch officers, and required that trade unions obtain the consent of the majority of members by secret ballot before calling a strike or taking any form of industrial action.
According to reports in NTUC’s Perjuangan, during the debate on the Trade Union Act, trade union Members of Parliament (MPs) spoke up vehemently against the amendments stating that they were unnecessarily restrictive and that the situation in Singapore did not warrant the legislation.
Mr Jek assured the trade union MPs that there was nothing in the provisions that would hamper a workers’ fundamental right to strike.
Tackling Unemployment in the 1960s
The first time a May Day Rally was held in Singapore was on 1 May 1966 at the National Theatre, a year after the nation became independent. The event was graced by Mr Jek.
In his speech, he spoke of the urgent need for Singapore to tackle some of the serious problems facing a newly-independent nation, and one of them was unemployment.
“What happens when our unemployment problem gets out of hand and when you find thousands of workers queueing up at the Employment Exchange counters or turning up at the social welfare department for relief? If that situation happens, the first casualties will be the democratic trade union movement,” cautioned Mr Jek in 1966.
He cited the dangers of declining membership and a loss in bargaining power that trade unions could face as a result of an unemployment problem. He then called on the trade union movement to take constructive action to help create stable labour conditions.
