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Singapore Shares Its Tripartite Experiences at the 99th Session of the International Labour Conference

Employment practices
  1. The annual tripartite International Labour Conference (ILC) held from 2 -18 June 2010 was attended by government, worker and employer representatives from 183 member states of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Singapore has been a member of the ILO since 1965.
  2. For the first time, the tripartite partners of Singapore have been invited to participate in a fringe event of the ILC this year to give a presentation on "Tripartite Experiences in Times of Global Crisis" on 11 June 20101 in Geneva, Switzerland. The fringe event was an interactive panel discussion with tripartite representations and held an audience of about 150 people. Together with Singapore, two other countries that participated in the presentation were Barbados (representing Africa) and Belgium (representing Europe). The Singapore tripartite delegation consists of Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, Singapore National Employers Federation President Stephen Lee, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) President John De Payva, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Halimah Yacob.

    Background leading to ILO's invitation

  3. In January 2010, a four-member ILO delegation led by Mdm Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, Director, International Labour Standards visited Singapore to study the role of tripartism and how it helped to overcome the downturn. In its report, it stated that Singapore had managed the crisis well and emerged from the recession early due to "the tripartite partnership pursued by the country". It further noted that Singapore had put in place measures that were aligned to the ILO Global Jobs Pact2 even before it was adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2009. Therefore, it was appropriate for Singapore to share its positive experience in managing the downturn at the ILC platform.
  4. At the presentation, Singapore shared with the audience the measures it took to ride out the downturn and maximise opportunities during the economic upturn. Throughout the crisis, the unity and trust among the unions, the government and management was pivotal in enabling Singapore to preserve capacity (e.g. the Jobs Credit scheme) and upgrade capabilities (e.g. the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience) so as to minimise both the impact on workers and long-term damage to the economy. The tripartite partners also shared the current national thrusts of the Economic Strategies Committee on skills, productivity and innovation.
  5. NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say said, "Many economies cut jobs to save cost and ended up with high unemployment and slower recovery. For Singapore, we chose to cut cost to save jobs instead. We preserved our capacity and upgraded our capabilities during the downturn. As a result, unemployment is low and economic rebound is strong during the upturn. The unity and trust of the tripartite partners has ensured that Singapore's tripartism is strong not only in good times, but also in bad times. This is tripartism at work, the uniquely Singapore way."
  6. Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said, "The strong tradition of tripartism has brought about industrial harmony and synergistic partnership among businesses, workers and the government. This partnership has enabled us to address the many economic and manpower challenges over the years, including the recent economic downturn. Tripartism is Singapore's valuable asset which we will continue to preserve and strengthen."
  7. SNEF President Stephen Lee said, "The speed of trust enabled the tripartite partners to come up with measures to cut costs and save jobs at the very first signs of the downturn. As employers were not only able to hold on to their workers but also upgraded them with better skills, they could quickly ride on the wave of the upturn when the economy rebounded."
  8. While in Geneva attending the International Labour Conference, NTUC President John De Payva and Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong will also be delivering their speeches at the ILC plenary session on 15 June 2010.

About National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions in the industrial, service and public sectors representing 500,000 workers in Singapore. NTUC comprises 60 affiliated unions, six affiliated taxi associations, 12 social enterprises and four related organisations. NTUC's objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and workers remain employable for life; to enhance the social status and well being of workers; and to build a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. NTUC's vision is to be an inclusive labour movement for all collars, all ages and all nationalities.

For more details, please visit the NTUC website.

About Ministry Of Manpower (MOM)

Guided by our Vision of "A Great Workforce A Great Workplace", the Ministry of Manpower works to achieve a globally competitive workforce and great workplace for a cohesive society and a secure economic future for all Singaporeans.

The Ministry seeks to enable Singaporeans to meet the challenges of the global economy in the 21st century, to have the skills and the opportunity to realise their potential, have rewarding careers in quality work environments, and to enjoy economic security. A great workplace goes beyond a safe, healthy and harmonious organisational work environment, to include a strong tripartite framework and relationship between the government, employer organizations and worker organisations.

About Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF)

The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) was established in 1980. SNEF is an association of more than 2,000 corporations dedicated to preserving industrial harmony and helping employers achieve excellence in employment practices, thereby enhancing productivity, competitiveness as well as the quality of their employees' work life. SNEF is an active player in facilitating the tripartite industrial relations partnership among the Government, employers and unions.

Please visit SNEF's website for more information.


 

1 Geneva time is +2:00, which means the presentation by the tripartite partners was delivered early Friday night Singapore time.

2 At the 98th Session of the International Labour Conference (2009), the Conference adopted the "Global Jobs Pact" aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery. It called on tripartite partners to work together to collectively tackle the global jobs crisis through policies in line with the ILO's Decent Work Agenda. The Pact proposes a range of crisis-response measures (e.g. public infrastructure investment, special employment programmes, broadening of social protection and minimum wages) that countries can adapt to their specific needs and situation. It urges measures to retain persons in employment, to sustain enterprises and to accelerate employment creation and jobs recovery combined with social protection systems, in particular for the most vulnerable, integrating gender concerns on all measures.