Proportion of Registered Trade Unions not Initiating Collective Agreement Negotiations with Employers

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what proportion of registered trade unions have agreed with employers not to initiate collective agreement negotiations; and (b) how has this proportion changed over the past five years.

Mrs Josephine Teo: There are about 1,700 unionised companies in Singapore, of which about two-thirds have registered Collective Agreements (CAs) with the Industrial Arbitration Court.

A CA is a formal and enforceable agreement between the union and the employer on the affected employees' terms and conditions of employment. Whether or not a CA should be put in place is a matter for the union and employer to decide on mutually. In lieu of a CA, it is not uncommon to have less formal arrangements like a memorandum of understanding on areas of cooperation. This could be a more practical approach for some companies, for example, those with a small workforce.