CASE OF THE DISMISSED TYPIST

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Acting Minister for Labour (a) if he will say what compensation he ordered the employer to pay to the typist who was dismissed, the story of whose dismissal he related at the dinner of the Singapore Manufacturers Association; (b) whether he considers the compensation provided for under the Employment Act is adequate for unfair dismissals; and (c) will he say why he did not order the employer to reinstate the typist in this particular case.

Prof. S. Jayakumar: It is undesirable to divulge the quantum of compensation as the person involved may wish to have this information kept confidential. In deciding on the quantum of compensation, the circumstances of each case are considered carefully and the factors taken into account by the Ministry of Labour include the length of employment, the work attitude of the employee, prospects of finding alternate employment with similar salary and service condition, apportionment of blame for the dismissal and gravity of the employee's misconduct, if any.

The amount of compensation awarded to the dismissed employee in the case mentioned by the MP for Anson did take into account the abovementioned factors. The quantum of compensation is deemed adequate.

The Employment Act does not prescribe the quantum of compensation which the Minister can order. Section 14(4) of the Employment Act allows the Minister either to order compensation for the unfairly dismissed employee or the employer to reinstate him.

In this particular case, my Ministry did not consider reinstatement as an appropriate remedy. This is because relationship between the employer and employee had already been soured to such an extent that reinstatement could only lead to suspicion, further friction and potential for yet another dispute. results - NATIONAL RESULTS FOR ALL SUBJECTS FROM 1980-1982 (ENGLISH STREAM) (Cols. 267 - 272)