Industrial relation_Changes to Employment Legislation in Singapore Essay

Industrial relation_Changes to Employment Legislation in Singapore - Essay Example The trade unions are lawful and they help to resolve the conflicts between the employees and employers (Clegg, 1975, 14-25). The Singapore system is a cooperative Tripartism, wherein the union, government and the management participate. The Industrial and Employment Laws are amended as per the perspectives of the Tripartite. These laws are amended based on certain changes in the Singapore market, work forces, Labour relations and several other essential factors. 2. Reasons for the changing make up of the workforce in Singapore since the start of the 21st century The Singapore Tripartism Forum or the STF), created by NTUC (National Trades Union Congress), Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM), was launched on the 24th of January 2007 by Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong. It is a forum which is designed to enhance the strength of tripartism; the tripartners being the Union, Government and the employers. The forum provides an effective framework which can help to overcome the economic challenges which are being encountered by Singapore. The economic competitiveness and ‘labour-management relation harmony’ would be benefitted by the inclusion of this framework. Objectives as per. Chuan-Jin (17 April 2012) are: Job re-creation Enhancing skills Raising retirement age, Upgrading of the workforce, Flexible wage system Promotion of the fair employment practices as per John Benson, Ying Zhu, PH. 2011. The tripartite partners are as follows: The Ministry of Manpower: As per the Ministry of Manpower (2012), this organisation aspires to develop globally competitive labour /workforce. It also aims at developing a better workplace and achieving a cohesive society. In addition, the aim is to achieve a secure and stable economic future. The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC): It is a national level confederation of trade unions in public sectors and industrial domains representing 500,000 workers. It comprises of 62 union s and 6 taxi associations, which are all affiliated. The objective of this organisation is to make the workers employable for their lifetime and to enhance the social status of these workers. As per NTUC (2010), it aims at enhancing the competitive environment and also for enhancing the health conditions of the employees. These laws apply to all ages and nationality. The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) This federation was set up in 1980. It is a trade union of employees, which is meant to preserve industrial harmony. It is dedicated to help the employees to achieve excellence. As per the Annual Report SNEF (2009), SNEF has over 2000 members employing 54000 workers. It plays a key role in facilitating tripartite partnership. As expressed by Clegg (1975, p. 309-316), tripartism â€Å"theme is that men associate together to further their common interests and desires; their associations exert pressure on each other and on the government; the concessions which follow help to bind society together; thereafter stability is maintained by further concessions and adjustments as new associations emerge and power shifts from one group to another.† As per the publication, Changes to Employment Act (2009), Ministry of Manpower, the following factors are the base reasons for the amendment in the Employment Act: