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Singapore Industrial Relations and Labor Unions
Industrial relations in Singapore reflected the
symbiotic
relationship between the labor movement and the dominant
political
party, the People's Action Party (PAP), a relationship
rooted in a
political history of confrontation that evolved into
consensus
building. Trade unions were a principal instrument in the
anticolonial struggle used by both the democratic
socialist PAP and
the communists with whom they cooperated uneasily. In 1961
the
Singapore Trade Union Congress split into the left-wing
Singapore
Association of Trade Unions (SATU) and the noncommunist
National
Trades Union Congress (NTUC). The NTUC quickly became the
leading
trade union organization, largely because of its
effectiveness and
government support. Moreover, in 1963, when SATU led a
general
strike against the government, the pro-communist trade
organization
was banned and many of its leaders were arrested.
Strong personal ties between leaders of the PAP and the
NTUC
formed the background of the symbiotic relationship, which
was
institutionalized by formal links. In 1980 NTUC Secretary
General
Ong Teng Cheong was made a minister-without-portfolio, and
a NTUCPAP Liaison Committee comprising top leaders of both
organizations
was established. As the "second generation" political
leaders
assumed more government leadership following the 1984
election, Ong
was named second deputy prime minister. Following the
September
1988 general elections, the NTUC reaffirmed its close
relationship
with the PAP by expelling officers of NTUC-affiliated
unions who
had run for Parliament on opposition tickets. The NTUC and
the PAP
shared the same ideology, according to NTUC officials, so
that
active support of the opposition was inconsistent with
membership
in NTUC-related institutions. Workers who did not support
the PAP
were advised to form their own unions.
The legal-institutional framework also exerted control
over
labor conditions. In mid-1968, in an attempt to woo
private foreign
investment, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew successfully
pushed through
Parliament a new employment bill and amendments to the
1960
Industrial Relations Act. In order to make factors such as
working
hours, conditions of service, and fringe benefits
predictable, and
thus make businesses sufficiently attractive for
investors, trade
unions were barred from negotiating such matters as
promotion,
transfer, employment, dismissal, retrenchment, and
reinstatement,
issues that accounted for most earlier labor disputes. To
spread
work and help alleviate the effects of unemployment,
overtime was
limited and the compulsory retirement age was set at
fifty-five.
Lee's actions, which the militant unions opposed but could
do
little about, were part of the government's efforts to
create in
Singapore the conditions and laissez-faire atmosphere that
had
enabled Hong Kong to prosper. Such measures, in the
government's
view, were necessary to draw business to the port. Lee
stressed
survival, saying: "No one owes Singapore a living."
Rapid economic growth in the late 1960s and early 1970s
reduced
unemployment and resulted in the amendment of these laws.
A
National Wages Council was formed in 1972 and many of its
recommendations adopted
(see Wage Policies
, this ch.). By
1984 a
twelve-hour shift was permitted. In order to enlarge the
limited
labor pool, in 1988 changes were introduced in Central
Provident
Fund policies reducing payment rates for those over
fifty-five,
thereby encouraging employers to raise the retirement age
to sixty.
The discipline imposed on, and expected of, the labor
force was
accompanied by provisions for workers' welfare. The
Industrial
Arbitration Court existed to settle disputes through
conciliation
and arbitration. The court, established in 1960, played a
major
role in settling labor-management disputes through binding
decisions based on formal hearings and through mediating
voluntary
agreements. Adjudication of disputes between employers and
nonunion
workers came under the separate jurisdiction of the Labour
Court.
To help job seekers, the government maintained a free
employment
service serving both job seekers and employers. A
comprehensive
code governed the safety and health of workers and
provided a
system of workers' compensation. Under the Ministry of
Labour, the
Factory Inspectorate enforced these provisions in
factories, where
more than 35 percent of Singapore's workers were employed
in 1988.
The trade unions' role and structure also had been
modified. In
the 1970s, the NTUC began establishing cooperatives in
order to
promote the welfare of its members. In the 1980s, omnibus
unions
were split along industry lines and further split into
house unions
to facilitate better labor-management relations and
promote company
loyalty. In the 1982 Amendment to the Trade Union Act, the
role of
trade unions was defined as promoting good industrial
relations
between workers and employers; improving working
conditions; and
improving productivity for the mutual benefit of workers,
employers, and the country.
Union membership declined steadily beginning in the
late 1970s.
In 1988 there were some 83 registered unions, with about
1,000
branch locals, representing one-quarter of the organizable
work
force. This number was down from ninety unions in 1977.
Increasing
emphasis on developing white-collar, capital-intensive,
and
service-oriented industries was partly responsible for the
union
membership decline. The unions were countering the decline
by
offering attractive packages to bring in new members.
Data as of December 1989
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