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Proposed Amendments to the Employment Act
Posted on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 08:00 PM

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM would like to invite feedback from members of the public on the proposed amendments to the Employment Act (EA).

Background

2. The EA (Annex A) currently covers about 1.4 million workers and provides them with basic employment benefits such as salary protection, minimum employment terms and dispute resolution. However, managers, executives and confidential staff as well as special categories of employees are excluded from the Act.

3. Since the last substantive amendment to the EA in 1995, the labour market has changed significantly. Firstly, the share of employment in services has grown at the expense of manufacturing and construction. Secondly, the proportion of Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) has increased. Thirdly, the growth of outsourcing has led to shorter employment tenures and the rise of contract workers. Median wages have also gone up by 49% since then. The EA needs to be updated to take into account these changes.

4. In updating the EA, it is necessary to take a balanced approach between employment protection for workers and the need to maintain Singapore's labour market flexibility and competitiveness. Accordingly, four areas of amendments are proposed:

a. Revising the coverage of the EA to keep pace with changes in the workforce profile;

b. Reviewing employment standards and benefits, especially for vulnerable workers;

c. Enhancing penalties and enforcement powers, and streamlining administrative processes to facilitate compliance with employment standards; and

d. Rationalising existing provisions, and repealing outdated provisions to keep the EA up-to-date.

5. The proposed list of amendments, which have been discussed with the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers' Federation, is in Annex B.

Period of Consultation

6. The period of public consultation is from 2 to 22 September 2008. All comments received through the consultation exercise will be reviewed by the Ministry of Manpower and, if accepted, will be incorporated into the amendment Bill for debate in Parliament.

Guidelines

7. To ensure that the consultation exercise is productive and successful, please follow these guidelines:
a. Identify yourself as well as the organization you represent (if any) so that we may follow-up to clarify any issues, if necessary;
b. Give clear and concise comments;
c. Use the prescribed template provided to help us understand your feedback better; and
d. Explain your points with illustrations, examples, data or alternative formulations of the amendments as far as possible.

Feedback Channel

8. Stakeholders are invited to give their feedback and express their views on the policy positions taken and the proposed amendments to the Act (in Annex B) using the prescribed template (in Annex C), via any of the following methods:
a. email: MOM_WPSD_EA@mom.gov.sg (Subject Heading: Public Consultation on Employment Act)
b. fax: 65440559
c. post: Ministry of Manpower
Workplace Policy and Strategy Division
18 Havelock Road
Singapore 059764

9. We strongly encourage that you provide your views through email for speed and ease of consideration.

Summary of Response

10. We will publish on this website a summary of the key feedback received together with our responses. The summary will not disclose the identity of respondents, and may not separately address or acknowledge every comment received.

Documents to Download

11. For your convenience, the relevant documents relating to this public consultation exercise can be downloaded (from www.mom.gov.sg) for further reference:

Annex A - The Employment Act (Cap.91). An e-guide to the Employment Act can be found here.

Annex B -Proposed amendments to the Employment Act.

Annex C - Response template

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