NTUC need more teeth

The effectiveness of NTUC was being tested in period of finanical crisis. Many people will think that NTUC is only good for its discount at various NTUC Fairprice.


give NTUC teeth

The recent layoffs by DBS may make NTUC look like it is wielding little power
Monday • November 24, 2008

CONRAD RAJ
editor-at-large conrad@mediacorp.com.sg

SACKING staff is never an easy thing for most companies to do, but DBS Bank appears to have made it even more difficult for itself.

It was recently chided publicly by Labour Chief Lim Swee Say for not consulting its union on recent layoffs of some 900 staff in Singapore and Hong Kong. There was neither “prior consultation” with the DBS Staff Union, nor “exploration with the union on other cost-reduction alternatives”, Mr Lim — Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and a cabinet minister — had said.

Yes, the shock retrenchments may have weakened trust between worker and management — a point commonly raised by recent discussions.

But far more damaging to the national labour movement is how some may read DBS’ action as a reflection of NTUC wielding little power when it comes to dealing with management.

Rightly or wrongly, some feel that employers here have the upper hand in hiring and firing, and that the union is nothing more than an operator of, and a discount card provider to, its supermarkets.

Mr Lim must have felt as much, because all that work in rebuilding the image of the NTUC over the last few years must have taken a battering by the bank’s decision to ignore its union.“It is regrettable,” he had said. “Trust takes a long time to build but a short time to destroy.”

In the first place, layoffs should not be the first resort. Last week, Mr Lim had noted that companies should be cutting costs to save jobs rather than cutting jobs to save costs.

But the labour movement is also realistic enough to recognise that retrenchment cannot be avoided in all circumstances. “At times it is better to let go some workers so that the remaining workers can survive and keep their jobs, rather than the business fails and all workers lose their jobs,” Mr Lim had said.

DBS, the country’s premier financial institution, had pointed out it had to restructure and streamline its operations to position itself for the future.

It added that the move to axe staff was not a “rash, cost-cutting initiative of the first resort”, but arrived at after discussion and deliberation over temporary measures, including a tiered pay-cut across the company.

Still, the Singapore bank has yet to explain why it failed to consult the staff union.

As Mr Lim noted, retrenchment appeared to be the first resort for DBS, as seen from the ground: “Ground reaction is critical and highly negative”.

It is therefore refreshing to see the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reviewing its guidelines for employers on how to handle surplus manpower.

Among the measures to be taken: Employers will now have to inform MOM before sending out the pink slips, so that the Workforce Development Agency can try to find alternative employment for the affected workers.

It is also noteworthy that the proposed new guidelines will include more details about flexible wage systems and a shorter work week or temporary layoff schemes that companies can adopt to reduce costs.

Companies are encouraged to work with their unions in bringing down costs before resorting to layoffs or, if the axe cannot be avoided, to conduct the retrenchment exercise in a more responsible manner.

The new guidelines, said Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong, should send a clear message to employers on the need to leverage on the tripartite framework between the Government, employers and workers.

The NTUC needs to ensure that the guidelines are adhered to.

To be able to lead the labour movement and assure the success of the tripartite framework, the NTUC needs some real teeth to deal with errantemployers. Its member unions must also be accorded the respect and given more authority in their negotiations with employers.

Otherwise, what is to prevent the perpetuation of the view that NTUC is a toothless organisation, offering nothing more than club and discount facilities?