PART 1 | 1. This Act is the Trade Unions Act 1940. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “combined federation” means a federation comprising 2 or more trade unions and one or more platform work associations; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
“delegate” means —| (a) | in relation to a trade union which is not a federation, a person who is elected or appointed in accordance with the rules of the trade union to attend and vote at a meeting of the trade union on behalf of any number of members of the trade union; or | | (b) | in relation to a federation, a person elected or appointed in accordance with the rules of the federation to attend and vote at a meeting of the federation on behalf of any of the constituent trade unions or, in the case of a combined federation, any constituent trade union or constituent platform work association of the federation; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
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| “employer” includes the Government in respect of such employees or of such categories, classes or descriptions of such employees as from time to time are declared by the President by notification in the Gazette to be deemed to be workmen for the purposes of this Act; |
| “executive” means the body, by whatever name called, to which the management of the affairs of a trade union or of any branch thereof is entrusted; |
| “executive employee”, in relation to an employer, means an employee who is employed in a managerial or an executive position by the employer; |
| “federation” means a federation of 2 or more trade unions, and includes a combined federation; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
| “lockout” means the closing of a place of employment or the suspension of work, or the refusal by an employer to continue to employ any number of persons employed by him in consequence of a dispute, done with a view to compelling those persons, or to aid another employer in compelling persons employed by him, to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment; |
| “non‑executive employee”, in relation to an employer, means an employee other than an executive employee; |
| “officer”, in relation to a trade union, includes any member of the executive thereof and any member of any committee, provision for which is made in the rules of the trade union, but does not include an auditor; |
| “platform service” has the meaning given by section 3 of the Platform Workers Act 2024; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
| “platform work association” has the meaning given by section 19 of the Platform Workers Act 2024; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
| “platform worker” has the meaning given by section 5(1) of the Platform Workers Act 2024; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
| “register” means the register of trade unions maintained by the Registrar under section 7; |
| “registered office” means the office of a trade union which is registered under this Act as the head office of the trade union; |
| “registered platform work association” means a platform work association registered under the Platform Workers Act 2024; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
| “registered trade union” means a trade union registered under this Act; |
| “Registrar” means the person for the time being appointed by the Minister under section 3 by name or by office to be or to act as Registrar of Trade Unions, and includes any person appointed by the Minister under section 4 to be or to act as an Assistant Registrar of Trade Unions; |
“requisite consent” —| (a) | in relation to a trade union which is not a federation, means the consent, obtained by secret ballot, of —| (i) | the majority of the members of the trade union voting on their own behalf on the matter for which consent is sought; or | | (ii) | where the rules of the trade union allow or require a decision on that matter to be taken by means of voting by delegates and the decision is taken using that means, two-thirds of the total number of delegates representing the members; or |
| | (b) | in relation to a federation, means the consent, obtained by secret ballot, of two-thirds of the total number of delegates representing the constituent trade unions and, in the case of a combined federation, also the constituent platform work associations of the federation; [Act 30 of 2024 wef 01/01/2025] |
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| “strike” means the cessation of work by a body of workmen employed in any trade, industry or calling acting in combination, or a concerted refusal, or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of workmen who are or have been so employed to continue to work or to accept employment; |
| “trade dispute” means any dispute between employers and workmen or between workmen and workmen, or between employers and employers which is connected with the employment or non-employment, or the terms of employment or the conditions of work, of any person; |
“trade union” means any association or combination of workmen or employers, whether temporary or permanent, whose principal object is to regulate relations between workmen and employers for all or any of the following purposes:| (a) | to promote good industrial relations between workmen and employers; | | (b) | to improve the working conditions of workmen or enhance their economic and social status; | | (c) | to achieve the raising of productivity for the benefit of workmen, employers and the economy of Singapore, |
| and includes any federation; |
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| “workman” means any person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer, whether the contract is for manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, is express or implied, oral or in writing. [1/2015] |
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