The decision of public transport operator SBS Transit Ltd to refer a recent wage dispute case filed by five bus drivers against the company to the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC) is a “responsible” and “appropriate” one, said the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). In a statement on Fri (18 Oct), SNEF said that this is because SBS Transit has a …

Public transport operator SBS Transit Ltd will be referring a recent wage dispute case filed by five bus drivers against the company to the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC) for its decision. In a statement on Fri (18 Oct), SBS Transit said that it “has acted in accordance with its obligations in law and under the relevant agreements and practices” towards …

A Singaporean man became the first of the country’s citizens to be jailed for financing terrorism after he was convicted of sending money to a radical Islamist preacher. There have been a steady stream of arrests in Singapore related to support for Islamist extremism, and the affluent city-state’s leaders have warned it is a prime target for an attack. Ahmed …

Approximately 130 employees, or around 5 per cent, of the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Ltd’s workforce in the media group will be laid off by the end of next month. In a statement on Thu (17 Oct), SPH said that the sizing down of staff numbers will be part of the company’s restructuring efforts, following a fall in print revenue …

A controversial law critics say would weaken Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency came into effect Thursday after it sparked nationwide protests that left at least three students dead and scores injured. The new bill was introduced as the Southeast Asian nation is on high alert ahead of President Joko Widodo’s second-term inauguration Sunday, after Islamic State-linked militants tried to assassinate a government …

The controversial Section 377A of the Penal Code, widely believed to be a piece of legislation that criminalises sexual intercourse between two men, was in fact enacted as a means of dealing with rampant male prostitution in the late-1930s, said former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong in a 72-page article in the Singapore Academy of Law Journal published on Mon …

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is looking at establishing a taskforce aimed at securing the future of older workers in Singapore, particularly those in the “pre-retrenchment” phase who are in their 40s or 50s, said secretary-general Ng Chee Meng on Wed (16 Oct). Speaking to reporters at the end of the NTUC Delegates’ Conference yesterday, Ng, who is also …

There is no need for workers to dismantle Singapore’s current labour system, as the symbiotic alliance between the People’s Action Party (PAP) government and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has always been founded on a common desire to improve and secure the the well-being and future of workers in Singapore, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The partnership between …

Financial technology (fintech) companies in Singapore raked in US$735mil (S$1bil) in investments in the first nine months of 2019, according to a report by Accenture released on Tue (16 Oct). The total value of investments marked a 69 per cent jump from the same period the previous year, from US$435mil to US$735 mil. The number of fintech investments made, however, saw …

The South Korean government’s proposal to raise the official age of retirement from 60 to 65 has received considerable criticism, as experts warn against the possibility of further disruption to the labour market and a widened economic gap in society. Bloomberg reported Mon (14 Oct) that South Korea’s poverty rate among the elderly is the worst out of all of …