Affected by the continued downturn in the global economic environment and the impact of inflation, layoffs have occurred in various countries, and Singapore is no exception.
Tech giant Google, Southeast Asian e-commerce Lazada, local property platform PropertyGuru, Sony Singapore have also laid off employees, and food processing and packaging company Tetra Pak has simply closed its entire factory in Singapore!
Source: Singapore MOM
According to the latest report released by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in March this year, the total number of layoffs in 2023 (14,590) is more than double the all-time low in 2022 (6,440), but close to the pre-pandemic level (average from 2015 to 2019: 14,180). The primary reason for layoffs is still business restructuring or restructuring.
According to an annual economic outlook survey released by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in February this year, as many as 40% of Singaporean employees surveyed out of nearly 2,000 employees are worried about losing their jobs in the next three months, up from 25% in 2023.
Source: NTUC Secretary General Wong Chee Meng's Facebook
NTUC expects the number of redundancies to rise this year.
Trade unions protect blue-collar people, so white-collar workers cannot be represented?
In Singapore, PME white-collar workers make up 60% of the workforce. This part of the population is most worried about unemployment, followed by vocational skills training.
In particular, PMEs between the ages of 40 and 60 are the most vulnerable in a recession, and this sandwich group, both old and young, has more family care responsibilities and debts.
We often say "union union", and many people may think that it is to protect the interests of blue-collar workers, but white-collar workers can also be protected by unions.
Currently, one out of every five PMEs in Singapore is unionized. NTUC hopes to increase this rate to 25% in the future, which means that one in four PMEs will join the union.
The question is, what to do and who can I turn to for help when the sudden layoffs in Singapore interrupt my financial resources?
Lazada laid off employees without warning, and employees received better severance benefits
On January 3 this year, Lazada, an e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group, suddenly announced the layoffs of employees at different levels in several departments, mainly including white-collar employees including professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). Retrenched employees were informed that their severance benefits were basic and that they would receive two weeks' pay for each year of service.
However, in Singapore, severance benefits offered by unionized companies are generally based on one month's salary for each year of service for retrenched employees.
While the laid-off employees are stunned and frustrated, they also think about how to fight for their legitimate rights and interests.
Lazada is a unionized company, but it has been criticized by the union for not first working with the Food & Beverage and Workers' Union (FDAWU). Fortunately, upon learning of this, the union immediately intervened with the Ministry of Manpower and negotiated with Lazada on behalf of the eligible affected employees for additional benefits to ensure that the layoffs were carried out in a fair manner.
The negotiations went well. Lazada recognized the mistakes made in the redundancy process and pledged to work with unions and government departments to put the interests of employees at the heart of the discussion and properly address the welfare and placement of the laid-off employees.
Eventually, after weeks of negotiations, FDAWU and Lazada reached an amicable settlement in which the dismissed FDAWU members received additional benefits.
Anyone and any profession needs to be protected and protected. If you encounter unfair treatment, the union can be a channel for help~
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