- Joined
- Jul 10, 2008
- Messages
- 65,620
- Points
- 113
http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/The-Big-Story-4/Story/STIStory_802530.html
By Philip Lee
Critics who say the tripartite relationship among the government, employers and unions in Singapore has rendered trade unions toothless, should read what Ms Cham Hui Fong has to say.
Ms Cham, 43, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its director of Industrial Relations, told The Straits Times Online that most labour disputes are settled away from the glare of publicity.
'We do not want labour disputes to appear in the media, in order not to spoil the relationship between the labour unions and the employers, especially if these companies are still operating in Singapore,' she explained.
She added that most of the senior executives of both local companies and multi-national corporations here are not anti-union in attitude and treat their workers well.
But there are some employers, aware that the government supports pro-investment, who may try to use it to their advantage and expect workers to do their bidding all the time.
Ms Cham joined NTUC in 1991 as an industrial relations officer soon after she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore.
She continued: 'These employers think we will not dare do anything - we will not wear protest armbands. If the situation calls for it, we can go on strike. This can happen if more than 50 per cent of a unionised workforce in a company indicate this in a secret ballot.
'On a few occasions, we have told management, 'we can always go on strike'. Don't assume that we can't.'
Ms Cham said: 'A lot of foreign delegates on seminars here, as well as some employers, think our laws do not allow us to go on strike. This is a misperception. So, if there are one or two strong cases for such action, we would want to test this out.'
Last resort
She added that a strike would be the last resort after mediation fails. 'Under the Industrial Relations Act, the union can charge a company for being anti-union. There was this case when one of the supervisors put up an anti-union notice on the workplace bulletin board. We took this notice to the management and told them that we could either charge the company for being anti-union or they had to take action against that supervisor.'
'They sacked him. Subsequently, we enjoyed excellent relations with this company.'
Urging more workers to join the union today, she said: 'The core mission of the labour union is workplace protection and workplace representation. If we are not able to protect members in the workplace and to take care of them, then I don't think workers will have peace of mind.
'The least we can give our members is to ensure that they get fair wages, enjoy a conducive work environment and that they are not exploited by the company.'
Ms Cham cited the case of a worker who rose through the ranks over 24 years to become a senior process engineer, earning a monthly salary of $4,200. In August 2011, the company sacked him, giving him a month's salary in lieu of notice. His appeal for an ex-gratia payment for his long service was rejected by the company.
As this man had joined the union three years earlier, he approached the NTUC for help. Appeals by NTUC were also rejected. The union then took this case for mediation during which the company said the man was sacked for having 'poor work attitude'. But the company could not prove that it had counselled or disciplined the employee when it noticed his alleged lapses.
In the end, it agreed to give the man $11,000 as ex-gratia payment and to record his leaving the company as 'resignation'.
Ms Cham added: 'So, if you join a union, we can't say that we can do everything for you but there is at least a third party to come in and speak for you.'
Defending professionals' rights
Asked why NTUC has been urging PMEs (professionals, managers and executives) to be union members, she explained: 'PMEs are generally called executives but if you examine their job scope, this might turn out not to be the case.
'Some may be sales assistants but they have designations as sales executives. Others are managers but it depends on what kind of managers they are. In banks, they are called relationship managers but they are really not people managers. Same for creative directors.
'Even professionals can be quite vulnerable as they can be exploited too. For example, tourist guides are professionals but they can be exploited. So recently, we organised them as a union chapter.'
'All these people really need union protection.'
On other benefits of being a union member, Ms Cham mentions the setting up of e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) in 2007 to place workers in relevant courses so that they earn skills certificates.
'Many people who have worked for years are very skilled in their trades but they have no paper qualifications to show for it. With the skills certificates, they can expect to enjoy relatively decent wages,' said Ms Cham.
She said that initially, it was not easy to convince both employers and workers. Employers said they couldn't spare their workers and the workers felt that attending such courses meant forgoing overtime work as well as sacrificing free time outside of work.
'But there has been a gradual change of mindset on both sides,' she added.
NTUC, she said, has long paid special attention to its low-income union members. 'These low-wage workers are actually the best-protected people. We try to talk to their employers to raise their wages but it helps if these workers have skills certificates.'
NTUC has been helping them in various ways, including distributing NTUC FairPrice vouchers for grocery purchases, back-to-school vouchers for text books and other school necessities.
There have also been cash grants in recessionary times, like in 2008 and 2009, when workers had to make do with shorter work weeks which meant lower wages. Other projects it is undertaking include getting women as well as senior citizens, back into the workforce.
Ms Cham said: 'It is good that we have tightened the influx of foreign workers.
'We have heard negative stories about older workers who cannot get jobs,' she noted, before adding that the situation will change for the better over time.
Older workers with life experience can do certain kinds of jobs like student counsellor or hotel concierge. Women might prefer part-time jobs, she said.
'We have approached the better companies which offer better terms of service and asked them to explore this.'
'So, trade unions have teeth. We can choose to bite or give a smile.'
By Philip Lee
Critics who say the tripartite relationship among the government, employers and unions in Singapore has rendered trade unions toothless, should read what Ms Cham Hui Fong has to say.
Ms Cham, 43, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its director of Industrial Relations, told The Straits Times Online that most labour disputes are settled away from the glare of publicity.
'We do not want labour disputes to appear in the media, in order not to spoil the relationship between the labour unions and the employers, especially if these companies are still operating in Singapore,' she explained.
She added that most of the senior executives of both local companies and multi-national corporations here are not anti-union in attitude and treat their workers well.
But there are some employers, aware that the government supports pro-investment, who may try to use it to their advantage and expect workers to do their bidding all the time.
Ms Cham joined NTUC in 1991 as an industrial relations officer soon after she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore.
She continued: 'These employers think we will not dare do anything - we will not wear protest armbands. If the situation calls for it, we can go on strike. This can happen if more than 50 per cent of a unionised workforce in a company indicate this in a secret ballot.
'On a few occasions, we have told management, 'we can always go on strike'. Don't assume that we can't.'
Ms Cham said: 'A lot of foreign delegates on seminars here, as well as some employers, think our laws do not allow us to go on strike. This is a misperception. So, if there are one or two strong cases for such action, we would want to test this out.'
Last resort
She added that a strike would be the last resort after mediation fails. 'Under the Industrial Relations Act, the union can charge a company for being anti-union. There was this case when one of the supervisors put up an anti-union notice on the workplace bulletin board. We took this notice to the management and told them that we could either charge the company for being anti-union or they had to take action against that supervisor.'
'They sacked him. Subsequently, we enjoyed excellent relations with this company.'
Urging more workers to join the union today, she said: 'The core mission of the labour union is workplace protection and workplace representation. If we are not able to protect members in the workplace and to take care of them, then I don't think workers will have peace of mind.
'The least we can give our members is to ensure that they get fair wages, enjoy a conducive work environment and that they are not exploited by the company.'
Ms Cham cited the case of a worker who rose through the ranks over 24 years to become a senior process engineer, earning a monthly salary of $4,200. In August 2011, the company sacked him, giving him a month's salary in lieu of notice. His appeal for an ex-gratia payment for his long service was rejected by the company.
As this man had joined the union three years earlier, he approached the NTUC for help. Appeals by NTUC were also rejected. The union then took this case for mediation during which the company said the man was sacked for having 'poor work attitude'. But the company could not prove that it had counselled or disciplined the employee when it noticed his alleged lapses.
In the end, it agreed to give the man $11,000 as ex-gratia payment and to record his leaving the company as 'resignation'.
Ms Cham added: 'So, if you join a union, we can't say that we can do everything for you but there is at least a third party to come in and speak for you.'
Defending professionals' rights
Asked why NTUC has been urging PMEs (professionals, managers and executives) to be union members, she explained: 'PMEs are generally called executives but if you examine their job scope, this might turn out not to be the case.
'Some may be sales assistants but they have designations as sales executives. Others are managers but it depends on what kind of managers they are. In banks, they are called relationship managers but they are really not people managers. Same for creative directors.
'Even professionals can be quite vulnerable as they can be exploited too. For example, tourist guides are professionals but they can be exploited. So recently, we organised them as a union chapter.'
'All these people really need union protection.'
On other benefits of being a union member, Ms Cham mentions the setting up of e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) in 2007 to place workers in relevant courses so that they earn skills certificates.
'Many people who have worked for years are very skilled in their trades but they have no paper qualifications to show for it. With the skills certificates, they can expect to enjoy relatively decent wages,' said Ms Cham.
She said that initially, it was not easy to convince both employers and workers. Employers said they couldn't spare their workers and the workers felt that attending such courses meant forgoing overtime work as well as sacrificing free time outside of work.
'But there has been a gradual change of mindset on both sides,' she added.
NTUC, she said, has long paid special attention to its low-income union members. 'These low-wage workers are actually the best-protected people. We try to talk to their employers to raise their wages but it helps if these workers have skills certificates.'
NTUC has been helping them in various ways, including distributing NTUC FairPrice vouchers for grocery purchases, back-to-school vouchers for text books and other school necessities.
There have also been cash grants in recessionary times, like in 2008 and 2009, when workers had to make do with shorter work weeks which meant lower wages. Other projects it is undertaking include getting women as well as senior citizens, back into the workforce.
Ms Cham said: 'It is good that we have tightened the influx of foreign workers.
'We have heard negative stories about older workers who cannot get jobs,' she noted, before adding that the situation will change for the better over time.
Older workers with life experience can do certain kinds of jobs like student counsellor or hotel concierge. Women might prefer part-time jobs, she said.
'We have approached the better companies which offer better terms of service and asked them to explore this.'
'So, trade unions have teeth. We can choose to bite or give a smile.'
