Tripartite partners release advisory on rest areas for outsourced workers

1. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) have jointly developed a Tripartite Advisory on Provision of Rest Areas for Outsourced Workers to help service buyers and service providers in providing rest areas for outsourced workers.
2. The Advisory sets out good practices for service buyers and service providers to ensure that outsourced workers, such as cleaners, security officers and landscape maintenance workers, have access to proper and reasonable rest areas. Recommendations include providing outsourced workers with facilities to safekeep their belongings, access to drinking water, and ensuring adequate ventilation at the rest areas. The Advisory is part of the Workcare initiative, launched by Minister of State for Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad (扎吉哈，人力部政务部长) in April 2019, to improve the work environment of and promote public appreciation for low-wage workers.
3. At a company visit to IKEA Alexandra to launch the Advisory today, Mr Zaqy Mohamad said, “The Tripartite Advisory is a first step in encouraging companies to provide proper and reasonable rest areas for our low-wage outsourced workers. We urge companies to adopt these recommendations, so that collectively we can uplift the working conditions of our low-wage workers.”
   
   Extensive Consultation to Ensure Practicality of Recommendations
4. The tripartite partners have consulted extensively with over 600 stakeholders, including property owners, service buyers, service providers and low-wage outsourced workers, to ensure that the recommendations are meaningful and practical. Since April, MOM has also conducted more than 200 visits to various work premises of outsourced cleaners, such as food courts, shopping malls and office buildings. The key findings from tripartite partners’ stakeholder engagements are enclosed in Annex A.
5. Feedback from the consultations have been taken into consideration in developing the Advisory, which has been endorsed by members of the Security Tripartite Cluster (STC), Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC), Tripartite Cluster for Landscape Industry (TCL) and Tripartite Facilities Management Implementation Committee (FMIC). Details of members are enclosed in Annex B.
   
   Stakeholders Welcome Advisory
6. Mr Zainal Bin Sapari, Assistant Secretary-General, NTUC (再纳沙伯里, 职总助理秘书长) and Chairman of STC, TCC and TCL said, “The Tripartite Advisory acknowledges the important role our outsourced workers like cleaners, security officers and landscape maintenance employees play in keeping our environments safe and clean. All workers deserve to have a proper place to rest with dignity, including our outsourced workers. They should not be resting in makeshift or unconducive areas. When building owners and service buyers take the welfare of their outsourced workers to heart, they benefit from a happier and more productive workforce.”
7. Mr Felix Loh, Council Member, SNEF (罗志威, 新加坡全国雇主联合会成员), who co-chairs TCL, added, “Outsourced workers in the cleaning, landscape and security sectors keep our public spaces and workplaces clean, green and secure for everyone. We are pleased to have worked with MOM and NTUC to develop the Tripartite Advisory, which provides practical guidelines for key stakeholders in ensuring proper rest areas for workers.”