OVERTIME WORK IN FACTORIES

Mr Cheo Chai Chen asked the Minister for Labour whether he is aware that some manufacturing companies are making their workers work twelve hours a day and thus affecting the workers health, and, if so, what are his Ministry's plans for stopping such practice.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: The Employment Act stipulates that an employee shall not work more than 12 hours in any one day. This is to protect the health and safety of workers. However, the Employment Act does allow for two exceptions. Firstly, if there is an emergency situation such as when an accident has occurred or is threatening to occur and secondly, if the employer has been granted exemption by the Minister. Employers who are seeking exemption must however provide valid grounds to support their applications. I would like to point out that exemptions are granted only under exceptional circumstances. We will scrutinise such applications carefully and take into consideration both the operational needs of the employer as well as whether the extended working hours are likely to affect the health and safety of the employees. Other than the two exceptions above, my Ministry also recognises that given our tight labour market, there are certain situations, from time to time, whereby employees may be requested to cover the duties of their colleagues who have fallen sick, and hence may have to work more than 12 hours. Such arrangements, however, will require the consent of the employees and are usually restricted to jobs involving shift work where the continuity of operations is needed. In such situations, to ensure that the smooth operations of the companies are not affected, my Ministry would take a more flexible approach and not apply the law rigidly, so long as the health and safety of workers are not compromised. I must however point out that this is an exception rather than the rule. Under normal circumstances, a company is prohibited from requiring its employees to work for more than 12 hours a day. The Ministry hardly receives any complaints of this nature. If it is brought to our attention that companies have violated the law, appropriate action will be taken against them.