VZCZCXRO0068
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHGP #0117/01 0280750
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280750Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7751
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SINGAPORE 000117 
 
STATE PASS USTR FOR CROMERO 
LABOR FOR TWEDDING 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD SN
 
SUBJECT:  LABOR MONITORING AND ENGAGEMENT WITH SINGAPORE 
 
REF: 09 STATE 129631 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Singapore has relatively few labor problems and 
violations of internationally-recognized labor rights are virtually 
non-existent.  Workers have the right to organize, and approximately 
18 percent of the workforce is unionized.  A tripartite arrangement 
between the government, employers, and labor unions has created a 
harmonious labor-management relationship.  There have been no 
strikes since 1986.  The arrangement gives unions a voice in 
government, but also helps ensure the government will receive union 
support of its policies.  Despite the relative lack of labor 
difficulties, Singapore is interested in working with the United 
States to enhance labor market conditions in the republic, including 
improving mediation and conciliation services and promoting 
work/life balance for Singaporeans.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Singapore has a highly developed and successful free-market 
economy with a GDP per capita that puts it squarely in the developed 
world.  In part due to steadily rising wages and standards of living 
over recent decades there are relatively few labor problems. 
Singapore's workforce is 2.94 million strong, one million of which 
are foreign workers.  The manufacturing sector employs about 17 
percent of the resident labor force with another 76 percent employed 
in the services industry.  Within the services industry, the 
financial and commerce sector is a major employer, employing 25.6 
percent of the total services industry workforce. The government 
believes that a relatively laissez-faire approach to formal labor 
protections maximizes employment.  Local labor laws are flexible, 
allowing for relatively free hiring and firing practices.  There is 
no minimum wage. 
 
Core Labor Standards 
-------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Singapore is a member of the International Labor 
Organization (ILO).  To date, Singapore has ratified 20 ILO 
Conventions, including the five core conventions that cover the four 
key areas of employment standards: collective bargaining, forced 
labor, discrimination, and child labor.  Violations of these core 
labor standards are virtually non-existent. 
 
Collective Bargaining 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Singapore Constitution provides all citizens with the 
right to form associations, including trade unions.  However, the 
Parliament may impose restrictions based on grounds of security, 
public order, or morality, as well as friendly relations with other 
countries.  The right of association is delimited by the Societies 
Act and by labor and education laws and regulations.  Under these 
laws, any group consisting of ten or more persons forming an 
association is required to register with the government. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Approximately 18 percent of Singapore's workforce is 
unionized as of 2008.  Most of Singapore's unions are affiliated 
with the umbrella National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) which has 
adopted a cooperative rather than confrontational approach with 
employers.  The NTUC sees itself as a partner with management in 
improving quality and productivity, and works in a tripartite 
relationship with the government and the Singapore National 
Employers Federation.  The NTUC is closely connected to the 
government and to the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), whose 
founding members had been trade unionists.  The current NTUC 
Secretary General is a full minister in the government, and several 
ruling party members of parliament are also senior NTUC officials. 
This arrangement provides labor officials with direct access to 
government leaders; however, it also provides the ruling party 
assurance that the unions will support and explain its policies, 
even if unpopular. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Workers, other than those in the essential services, have 
the legal right to strike but rarely do so.  There have been no 
strikes since 1986.  Most disagreements are resolved through 
informal consultations with the Ministry of Manpower which 
investigates complaints made by workers and attempts to arbitrate 
disputes.  If conciliation fails, the disputing parties typically 
submit their case to the Industrial Arbitration Court, which 
includes representatives from labor, management, and the government. 
 In some cases, senior government officials have stepped in to 
mediate disputes, especially in industries that have significant 
impact on the Singapore economy, such as transportation. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Collective bargaining agreements between management and 
labor are renewed every two to three years, although wage increases 
are negotiated annually.  The government follows a policy of 
allowing market forces to determine wage levels.  The National Wages 
Council (NWC), a tripartite body including representatives from the 
 
SINGAPORE 00000117  002 OF 003 
 
 
government, labor and employers, serves as an advisory body to the 
GOS on wage and wage-related issues. Its stated objective is to 
provide for orderly wage adjustments in line with Singapore's long 
term economic and social development.  NWC's recommendations apply 
to both domestic and foreign firms as well as the public sector, but 
are not mandatory. Companies with unionized employees tend to adopt 
NWC recommendations more readily than do companies without. 
Government-linked corporations tend to adopt the recommendations 
more readily than small and medium sized enterprises. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Besides these labor dispute mechanisms and the close 
working relationship and shared views among labor, management, and 
the government, the maintenance of labor peace has been a product of 
high economic growth rates, regular wage increases, and a high 
degree of job mobility in what has typically been a full-employment 
economy.  In addition, the widely held view that labor conflict 
would undermine the country's economic competitiveness and 
attractiveness to investors, and a reluctance to risk possible 
confrontation with the government, help to maintain a harmonious 
labor situation. 
 
Forced and Child Labor 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Singapore prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including 
forced and bonded labor by children, and generally enforces this 
provision effectively.  Under the law, any indigent person may be 
required to reside in a welfare home and engage in suitable work. 
The ILO has criticized the coercive terms of this Act, which 
includes penal sanctions, as not in compliance with ILO Convention 
29 on Forced Labor (to which Singapore is a party).  The government 
maintains that the Act is social legislation that provides for the 
shelter, care, and protection of destitute persons, and that work 
programs are designed to reintegrate individuals into society. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Singapore maintains a variety of child labor laws.  The 
government strictly prohibits the employment of children under the 
age of 13.  Restrictions on the employment of children between the 
ages of 13 and 16 are rigorous and enforced fully.  Children under 
the age of 13 are prohibited from employment in any industrial 
undertakings except family enterprises.  The incidence of children 
taking up permanent employment is low, and abuses are almost 
nonexistent. Ministry of Manpower regulations prohibit night 
employment of children and restrict industrial work for children 
between the ages of 14 and 16 to no more than 7 hours per day, 
including the hours spent in school.  The Minister of Manpower 
effectively enforces these laws and regulations. In 2003, the 
government made six years of primary education compulsory for 
children from seven years of age.  Virtually all Singapore children 
are enrolled through grade 6, and the dropout rate for secondary 
school is very low. 
 
Discrimination 
-------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Women constitute 44.2 percent of the resident labor force 
and are well represented in many professions. For those employed in 
the managerial, professional, and technical jobs, 63 percent are 
male as compared to 37 percent female as of June 2008.  The average 
salary for women is 75 percent of men's wages.  Officials note that 
the wage differential is smaller in professional jobs.  They 
primarily attribute the wage disparity to women's lower educational 
qualifications on average and to fewer years of work experience due 
to family commitments, rather than to discrimination. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The Ministry of Manpower, NTUC and Singapore National 
Employers Federation (SNEF) issued "Guidelines on Non-discriminatory 
Job Advertisements" in January 2007 and "Guidelines on Fair 
Employment Practices" in May 2007 to remove barriers such as race, 
age and gender, and ensure that jobs are allocated based on 
qualifications and skills. 
 
Foreign Labor An Increasing Share of Workforce 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Singapore's economy is highly dependent on foreign labor, 
which the government began encouraging in earnest in the 1990s. Of 
Singapore's total labor force of 2.94 million, 1.01 million are 
foreign. Of these, about eighty percent are unskilled and 
semi-skilled workers, the bulk being employed in construction, 
domestic or services industries.  Singapore's non-resident 
population jumped 58% between 2003 and 2008.  The arrival of these 
foreign workers has kept local blue-collar wages lower than they 
would be otherwise, exacerbating Singapore's gap between rich and 
poor. Singapore's Gini coefficient index for households surged 3.7 
points between 2000 (44.4) to 2008 (48.1).  Economists point to the 
influx of low-wage foreign labor as a cause of diminished labor 
 
SINGAPORE 00000117  003 OF 003 
 
 
productivity, off 7.8 percent in 2008 after a 0.8 percent decline in 
¶2007.  The GOS and NTUC have made raising the nation's productivity 
rate a top priority for the economy, and have signaled an upcoming 
slowing in Singapore's rate of immigration. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The Government amended the Employment of Foreign Manpower 
Act (1990) in 2007 to improve the employment conditions of foreign 
low wage workers. Previously, most foreign construction workers 
lived on the work site. However, the Ministry of Manpower issued 
regulations in 2004 requiring construction firms to provide approved 
housing for foreign laborers before it issues the work permits. 
Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, an employer or a 
foreign employee who breaks the law, such as employers hiring 
foreign workers without a proper work permit, or otherwise than in 
accordance with the conditions of a work pass, are subject to a fine 
or imprisonment, or both, on conviction.  The seriousness of the 
offense determines the type of punishment, which can involve an 
individual being fined an amount not exceeding S$15,000 (US$11,000) 
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. For 
corporations who violate the law, a fine not exceeding S$30,000 
(US$21,400) will be imposed. The government enforces the regulation 
strictly, and there have been many cases where a company or its 
directors have been punished in the form of a fine or awarded jail 
sentences. 
 
Labor Cooperation 
----------------- 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Singapore is a developed country with relatively few 
labor problems. However, the Ministry of Manpower has expressed 
interest in U.S. labor practices.  The Ministry is interested in 
discussing bilateral initiatives regarding re-employment of older 
workers in view of Singapore's aging population, promoting work life 
balance through flexible work arrangements, using labor statistics 
for human capital development, and enhancing re-employment of 
retrenched middle-age professionals.  The Ministry would also like 
to share best practices in mediation and conciliation services. 
SHIELDS