OVERSEA-CHINESE BANK (Terms of settlement of strike)

Mr David Marshall asked the Minister for Labour whether he will indicate the broad terms of settlement of the strike of the employees of the Oversea-Chinese Bank in January this year.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour (Mr Wee Toon Boon) (for the Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, the strike arose as a result of an allegation by the Singapore Bank Employees that the management had admitted to subverting its members by offering and making payments to some clerical employees of the Bank in accordance with the Bank's own interpretation of the recent award of the Industrial Arbitration Court, although the Bank knew that the Union had challenged the correctness of the Bank's interpretation and had declined to accept such payments pending a conclusive interpretation of the award by the Industrial Arbitration Court.

Negotiations for the settlement of the strike did not take place in the Ministry of Labour or in the presence of Ministry officials. A Press report indicated that there had been an expression of regret by the management of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation for the payments made to some union members against the Union's stand. My Ministry also understand that the Union successfully contended that, as the strike was a justified one, the management of the Bank should compensate the members for their loss of pay during the strike and that the Managing Director of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Mr Tan Chin Tuan, make a confidential payment of, a sizable sum of money to the Union for distribution to its employees in settlement of the Union's claim.