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Singapore’s recent job survey on discrimination for local workers, missing crucial question on “nationality”

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2 years ago

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The Straits Times (ST) published news about a job survey saying that 1 in 2 people in Singapore has experienced workplace discrimination (‘1 in 2 people experienced discrimination at work: Aware-Milieu survey‘, 21 Sep 2022).

The Singapore media outlet reported that “cases involving race are the most common, followed by those involving age and gender,”. “People with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and women experienced more workplace discrimination than others.”

The survey was conducted by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), Singapore’s leading women’s rights and gender equality advocacy group, and consumer research company Milieu Insight last month (Aug 2022).

A sample of 1,000 respondents were said to have been polled asking them on their experiences of direct and indirect discrimination at their workplace.

ST quoted a trainer saying that the trainer felt “attacked” as the only Malay-Muslim in her former department who wore a hijab to work. It also reported that a transgender woman was told to use the male toilet and was asked intrusive questions by interviewers and colleagues such as whether she would wear a wig when her hair was still short and if she had undergone a sex reassignment operation.

The survey said that 54 per cent of those who thought they were being discriminated against at their workplace chose to remain silent about the matter. They did not trust the authorities to do anything for them. Many ended up quitting their jobs.

TAFFEP’s Complaints On Discrimination Are Based On Nationality

The survey, however, does not mention discrimination based on nationality, despite it being the main complaint to the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) in all these years. TAFEP is a quasi-government organization under the Singapore Manpower Ministry (MOM) set up to address discrimination at the workplace.

According to a MOM’s reply in parliament last September, between 2014 and the first half of 2021, the TAFEP received an average of 379 workplace discrimination complaints each year:

As can be seen, the bulk of the complaints stemmed from discrimination by nationality. Discrimination by age and gender is in fact, much less.

In response to queries by TOC on why “nationality” has not been included in the survey, AWARE responded: “We have not included nationality in the categories as we wanted to focus on the local resident workforce. The respondents are either citizens or permanent residents.”

Missing Element Of “Nationality” In Survey For Discrimination Puzzling

During the National Day Rally 2021, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that a set of guidelines on workplace discrimination will be enshrined into law to give the authorities more teeth and expand the range of actions they can take against errant companies.

PM Lee said that these laws will better protect workers against discrimination based on nationality, age, race, gender and disability.

He shared that he had decided to talk about concerns over work pass holders despite it being a delicate subject for a National Day Rally. “We have to acknowledge the problem, so we can address Singaporeans’ legitimate concerns, and defuse resentments over foreigners. Only thus can Singapore remain open and continue to grow and progress.”

Corinna Lim, executive director of AWARE said in its press release for the survey, “Our goal with this survey was for the results to contribute to the drafting of Singapore’s upcoming anti-discrimination legislation—the government’s best opportunity to make far-reaching change in this arena,”

Given what was said by PM Lee and Ms Lim about the proposed legislation and the purpose of the survey. It is therefore puzzling why “nationality” has been excluded from the categories of discrimination in questions poised to the respondents, especially how TAFEP’s records highlights the trend of perceived discrimination based on nationality over the past couple of years.

Multinationals Discriminating Against Singaporeans?

Perceptions that companies, particularly the multinationals, discriminating against Singaporeans in Singapore have increased in recent times.

Financial Times (FT) reported this year (“‘Singaporeans must benefit’: expats fleeing Hong Kong meet rising resentment“, 6 Apr 2022), “Over the past decade, perceptions that international employers have discriminated against locals have placed increasing pressure on the government to clamp down on immigration.”

FT even quoted Mr Chia Ser Lin, a Singaporean entrepreneur, telling foreign expats to “go somewhere else”. Chia told FT that competition with foreigners for jobs had actually forced him to launch his own business five years ago. He thinks that corporations have a responsibility to create employment for locals.

“If companies want to set up their operation in Singapore to take advantage of the safety, the political environment, they have to hire Singaporeans,” he said. “[Expats in Hong Kong] have to make do with their circumstances. If they cannot, they have to go back to where they came from.”

Certainly, Chia is not alone in holding this view. FT also quoted a former HSBC employee saying that companies relocating teams to Singapore should consider replacing expat staff with Singaporeans within two years.

“We go into the workplace and find we are a minority,” he said. “The indigenous Singaporeans, the core Singaporeans, must benefit because this is their country. We must look after the core group.”
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Labour

19 workplace fatalities in first half of 2024, MOM reports

Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health report, issued on 9 October, revealed 19 workplace fatalities in the first half of 2024, up from 14 in 2023. Vehicular incidents were the leading cause, followed by falls from heights and equipment breakdowns. With five more deaths reported by September, the total fatalities for 2024 have reached at least 24. In comparison, 36 deaths were recorded in 2023.

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2 days ago

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9 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: Nineteen workers died from workplace injuries in the first half of 2024, an increase from 14 fatalities during the same period in 2023, according to Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) performance report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (9 October).

Vehicular incidents were the leading cause of death, followed by falls from a height and the collapse or breakdown of structures and equipment.

These causes accounted for 11 of the fatalities – 58 per cent of the total deaths.

The construction, marine, transportation and storage, and manufacturing industries were responsible for 63 per cent of the 19 fatalities.

In the construction sector alone, five workers lost their lives, down from seven fatalities in the first half of 2023 and 11 in the second half of that year.

The marine industry saw four deaths in the first six months of 2024, despite no fatalities being recorded in 2023.

The transportation and storage sector had two fatalities, down from five in the same period last year. One fatality occurred in the manufacturing sector, mirroring the number from the first half of 2023.

In the water supply, sewerage, and waste management sector, three workers died, including two who inhaled poisonous fumes while cleaning tanks at PUB’s Choa Chu Kang Waterworks. There were no fatalities in this sector in 2023.

As of September 2024, five more deaths were reported, bringing the total workplace fatalities for the year to at least 24.

In comparison, 36 deaths were recorded in 2023.

The most recent workplace fatality occurred on 29 September, when a 44-year-old Bangladeshi worker tragically lost his life in an accident at a construction site within Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

The worker was fatally struck by a collapsing steel structure during lifting operations.

Two workers tragically lost their lives on 17 September following a heavy machinery accident at a North-South Corridor construction site along Lentor Avenue.

The incident occurred while a group of workers was assembling a winch drum on two concrete blocks. The winch slipped, causing injuries to four workers.

Singapore’s Workplace Fatality Rate Rises Slightly, Now Fifth Among OECD Countries

The latest WSH report noted that Singapore’s workplace fatality rate from January to June 2024 was one death per 100,000 workers, slightly up from 0.8 in the first half of 2023 and 0.99 in the latter half of that year.

Singapore ranks fifth among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with a three-year average of 1.1 deaths per 100,000 workers.

The Netherlands and United Kingdom lead with 0.4, followed by Sweden at 0.7 and Germany at 0.8.

Major Injuries Decline

There were 293 major injuries in the first half of 2024, down from 316 in the same period of 2023.

These injuries, which include amputations, blindness, and paralysis, predominantly occurred in the construction and manufacturing industries. The main causes were slips, trips and falls; machinery incidents; and falls from a height.

The manufacturing sector saw a significant 35 per cent reduction in fatalities and major injuries, with 60 incidents recorded in the first half of 2024 compared to 92 in the same period last year.

The number of fatal and major injuries from metalworking also fell sharply, from 40 in 2023 to 22 in 2024.

In the construction sector, fatalities and major injuries from smaller-scale works, such as renovations, decreased by 22 per cent, from 59 in 2023 to 46 in 2024.

Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad attributed these improvements to the expanded demerit point system and increased surveillance.

The system, introduced to the manufacturing sector in October 2023 after years of use in construction, penalises companies for safety violations, potentially barring them from hiring foreign workers for up to two years.

Minor Injuries and Occupational Diseases

In the first half of 2024, there were 10,379 minor injuries, a 4.8 per cent reduction from 10,897 in the same period of 2023.

Slips, trips, falls, and machinery incidents were the leading causes. Meanwhile, the number of occupational diseases continued to drop, with 473 cases reported, down from 653 in 2023.

MOM also reported 11 dangerous occurrences in the first half of 2024, fewer than the 12 in the same period last year. These incidents included the collapse of structures and equipment, as well as fires and explosions.

MOM conducted over 3,000 inspections in various industries and took enforcement actions against more than 7,000 breaches, issuing 717 fines totalling more than $1.4 million and 22 stop-work orders.

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Labour

Singapore’s Manpower Ministry engages Dyson over last-minute layoff notice to union

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has engaged with Dyson following the company’s one-day notice to a labour union regarding retrenchments. MOM emphasised the importance of early notification to unions as per the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower. It noted that while Dyson is unionised, the retrenched professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs) are not covered by the union’s collective representation.

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1 week ago

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3 October 2024

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has initiated talks with Dyson after the company gave just one day’s notice to a labour union about a retrenchment exercise.

The United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) had earlier requested a conciliation session to address the issue.

According to MOM’s statement on 3 October, the ministry met with Dyson on 2 October and plans to meet with the UWEEI to facilitate an amicable solution.

The dispute arose after UWEEI’s executive secretary, Patrick Tay, voiced the union’s disappointment that it was notified of the retrenchment just a day before Dyson laid off an unspecified number of workers on 1 October.

Tay expressed concern that the short notice did not allow enough time for discussions to ensure a fair and progressive retrenchment process.

He also highlighted that more time would have enabled better support for the affected employees.

According to MOM, under the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, unionised companies should give unions early notice when informing employees of retrenchments.

However, while Dyson is unionised, the professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs) who were laid off are not covered by the union’s collective representation.

“Hence the period of notice to inform UWEEI is negotiable,” MOM said.

However, MOM acknowledged that insufficient notice was given in this instance and stated its intent to work with both parties to improve communication going forward.

The Ministry also emphasised that the formula for calculating retrenchment benefits for PMEs does not necessarily have to follow the same criteria applied to rank-and-file workers.

The specific terms of such benefits are subject to negotiation between the union and the company, a position that has been agreed upon within Singapore’s tripartite framework.

MOM reaffirmed that it would mediate the issue if needed.

In its 3 October statement, MOM reiterated Singapore’s commitment to supporting businesses like Dyson that choose to invest in the country.

“We will work with these companies, economic agencies and NTUC to ensure that we remain both pro-worker and pro-growth.”

Mr Tay, who is also a Member of Parliament from ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), in an video message posted on UWEEI’s official Facebook page, urged Dyson executives affected by the retrenchment to seek assistance from the union in ensuring that their benefits are fair.

However, he noted that Dyson has not shared crucial details, such as the job levels of those impacted, which complicates the union’s efforts.

Tay explained that some affected workers had been instructed to keep their retrenchment packages confidential or risk losing them, further adding to the union’s concerns.

Although the union believes the package aligns with UWEEI’s standard of one month’s salary per year of service, Tay stated that uncertainty remains over whether the package is capped.

“That is why we are concerned that we have not received more information from Dyson on who the affected workers are or their job levels as Section 30A of the Industrial Relations Act also allows UWEEI to represent executives individually on retrenchment benefits.”

In response to the ongoing situation, UWEEI has established a task force to provide guidance to the retrenched employees, particularly in terms of job searches.

Tay also issued a public call for Dyson employees, especially PMEs, to join UWEEI so the union could better support them during such retrenchment exercises.

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