Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Singapore (Ratification: 1965)

1. With reference to its earlier comments, the Committee notes with interest that the Employment (Amendment) Act of 1988 removes the prohibition on the negotiation of annual wage supplements, introduced by the Employment Act of 1968 and its amendments of 1972, 1975 and 1980, and provides that wage increases may be negotiated freely according to a system based on trading results, productivity or any other criteria agreed upon by the parties concerned (section 48(1) (2) of the 1988 Act). Under this new system, the Minister responsible may make recommendations for wage adjustments, to serve as a basis for negotiations (section 49 of the 1988 Act).

However, the Committee notes that, where an employer has never paid any annual wage supplement, the parties to the negotiations may not negotiate an annual wage supplement exceeding the equivalent of one month's wages, under penalty of sanctions (section 48(3) of the 1988 Act).

The Committee recalls in this connection that, rather than imposing restrictions on collective bargaining, the Government should take steps to persuade the parties to collective bargaining to have regard voluntarily in their negotiations to major economic and social policy considerations of general interest invoked by the Government, and that it should prefer persuasion to constraint.

2. The Committee further recalls that it addressed the following points in its earlier comments:

- exclusion from collective bargaining of issues concerning promotion, transfer, appointment, dismissal without notice and the assignment of duties (section 17 of the Industrial Relations Act) even if, according to the Government, these matters have been the subject of consultation with the unions;

- power of the Industrial Arbitration Court to refuse to register the collective agreement of newly-established enterprises, when the conditions of employment that they afford are more favourable than those set forth in Part IV of the Employment Act (section 25 of the Industrial Relations Act) even if, according to the Government, the Industrial Arbitration Court has never refused to register a collective agreement.

In the absence of any new information on these points, the Committee again requests the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken or contemplated to remove all restrictions in the area of collective bargaining contained in the legislation (section 17 of the Industrial Relations Act), since workers' organisations must be able to negotiate freely with employers and their organisations, and not merely be consulted on all aspects of conditions of employment. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to remove the restrictions on free collective bargaining laid down by section 25 of the Act and to promote, in newly-established enterprises, the development and utilisation of voluntary collective bargaining procedures with a view to regulating conditions of employment.