Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 25/1968

Read the first time on 10th July 1968.

An Act to amend the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1960 (No. 20 of 1960).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act, 1968.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1960 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the Ordinance”) is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the definition of “Commissioner” appearing therein and substituting therefor the following: —

“ “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Labour appointed under section 3 of the Employment Act, 1968 (Act of 1968), and includes a Deputy Commissioner for Labour, a Principal Assistant Commissioner for Labour and an Assistant Commissioner for Labour under that Act;”;

(b)

by inserting immediately after the word “Ordinance” appearing at the end of the definition of “employee” therein, the words “but does not include any person or class of persons whom the Minister may from time to time by notification in the Gazette declare not to be employees for the purposes of this Ordinance”;

(c)

by deleting the definition of “employer” appearing therein and substituting therefor the following: —

“ “employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes —

(i)	the Government in respect of such categories, classes or descriptions of officers or servants of the Government as from time to time are declared by the President of Singapore to be employees for the purposes of this Ordinance;
(ii)	a statutory authority;
(iii)	a duly authorised agent or manager of an employer;
(iv)	a person who owns, or is carrying on, or for the time being responsible for the management or control of a profession, business, trade or work in which an employee is engaged;”; and

(d)

by deleting the expression “Labour Ordinance, 1955” appearing at the end of the definition of “Inspecting Officer” therein and substituting therefor the expression “Employment Act, 1968”.

Amendment of section 8

3. Section 8 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “member” appearing in the first line of the proviso thereto the words “who resigns or”.

Amendment of section 16

4. Section 16 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by inserting immediately after subsection (2) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(3) No trade union of employees the majority of whose membership consists of employees in non-managerial or non-executive positions may seek recognition in respect of employees in managerial or executive positions or serve a notice under section 17 of this Ordinance in respect of such employees.”;

(b)

by deleting the expression “(3)” appearing in subsection (4) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “(4)”; and

(c)

by renumbering the existing subsections (3) and (4) thereof as subsections (4) and (5), respectively.

Amendment of section 17

5. Section 17 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1); and

(b)

by inserting immediately after subsection (1) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, no trade union of employees may include in a notice setting out proposals for a collective agreement a proposal in relation to any of the following matters, that is to say: —

(a)	the promotion by an employer of any employee from a lower grade or category to a higher grade or category;
(b)	the transfer by an employer of an employee within the organisation of an employer’s profession, business, trade or work, provided that such transfer does not entail a change to the detriment of an employee in regard to his terms of employment;
(c)	the employment by an employer of any person that he may appoint in the event of a vacancy arising in his establishment;
(d)	the termination by an employer of the services of an employee by reason of redundancy or by reason of the reorganisation of an employer’s profession, business, trade or work or the criteria for such termination;
(e)	the dismissal and reinstatement of an employee by an employer in circumstances in which subsection (2) of section 34 of this Ordinance applies; or
(f)	the assignment or allocation by an employer of duties or specific tasks to an employee that are consistent or compatible with the terms of his employment.”.

Amendment of section 24

6. Section 24 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)	by inserting immediately after the word “delivered” appearing in the fourth line of subsection (1) thereof the words “within one week thereof”;
(b)	by inserting immediately after the word “section” appearing at the end of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) thereof the expression “or section 24A of this Ordinance”;
(c)	by deleting the words “eighteen months or more than three years” appearing in the third line of subsection (3) thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years or more than five years”; and
(d)	by deleting the words “eighteen months or more than three years” appearing in the second and third lines of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years or more than five years”.

New section 24A

7. The Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 24 thereof the following new section: —

“Restrictions on collective agreements in certain new undertakings

24A.—(1) No collective agreement to which this section applies shall contain provisions with regard to terms and conditions of service that are more favourable to employees than those contained in Part IV of the Employment Act, 1968 (Act ............ of 1968), unless such provisions are approved by the Minister after considering any representations in that regard made by an employer and a trade union representing his employees:

Provided that the Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, by writing under his hand request the Court to inquire and report to him whether it is desirable that any such representations should be allowed and, if so, whether with or without modification.

(2) This section applies to collective agreements made between an employer and a trade union representing his employees in respect of, or in relation to —

(a)	an industrial undertaking that has commenced or commences operation in Singapore on or after the 1st day of January 1968;
(b)	such other undertaking that has commenced or commences operation in Singapore on or after the 1st day of January 1968, as the Minister may approve for the purposes of this section.

(3) In this section “industrial undertaking” means —

(a)	an undertaking in which articles are manufactured, assembled, altered, cleaned, repaired, ornamented, finished, adapted for sale, broken up or demolished or in which materials are transformed, including undertakings engaged in shipbuilding or in the generation, transformation or transmission of electricity or motive power of any kind;
(b)	an undertaking engaged in the transport of passengers or goods by road, rail, sea, inland waterways or air, including the handling of goods at docks, quays, wharves, warehouses or airports;
(c)	a hotel or catering business or a tourist enterprise, as defined in the Tourist Promotion Board Ordinance, 1963 (Ord. 35 of 1963); and
(d)	a pioneer enterprise, as defined under section 3 of the Economic Expansion Incentives (Relief from Income Tax) Act, 1967 (Act 36 of 1967).

(4) The provisions of this section shall apply to undertakings specified in subsection (2) of this section for a period of five years from the date such undertakings commence, or have commenced, operation in Singapore:

Provided that the Minister may from time to time by notification in the Gazette extend such period for such further period or periods as the Minister may decide.”.

Amendment of section 34

8. Section 34 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);

(b)

by deleting the full-stop appearing at the end thereof and substituting therefor a colon;

(c)

by adding thereto the following new proviso: —

“Provided that the Court shall not consider a dispute relating to the dismissal of an employee or make an award relating to the reinstatement of an employee except in circumstances arising out of a contravention of section 79 of this Ordinance.”; and

(d)

by inserting immediately after subsection (1) thereof the following new subsections: —

“(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, where an employee considers that he has been dismissed without just cause or excuse by his employer, in circumstances other than those arising out of a contravention of section 79 of this Ordinance he may, within one month of such dismissal, make, through his trade union, representations in writing to the Minister to be reinstated in his former employment.

(3) The Minister may, before making a decision on any such representations, by writing under his hand request the Commissioner to enquire into the dismissal and report whether in his opinion the dismissal is without just cause or excuse.

(4) The Minister, if he decides to deal with the representations himself, shall before making a decision thereon give an opportunity to the employer to make representations in writing as to the reasons why he considered the dismissal of the employee to be justified.

(5) If, after considering the representations of the trade union and of the employer (if any) and any report made by the Commissioner under subsection (3) of this section, the Minister is satisfied that the employee has been dismissed without just cause or excuse he may, notwithstanding any rule of law or agreement to the contrary, —

(a)	direct the employer to reinstate the employee in his former employment and to pay the employee an amount that is equivalent to the wages that the employee would have earned had he not been dismissed by the employer; or
(b)	direct the employer to pay such amount of wages as compensation as may be determined by the Minister,

and the employer shall comply with the Minister’s direction.

(6) The decision of the Minister on any representations made under this section shall be final and conclusive and shall not be challenged in any court or in a Court established under this Ordinance.

(7) Any direction by the Minister under subsection (5) of this section shall operate as a bar to any action for damages by the employee in any court in respect of the wrongful dismissal.

(8) An employer who fails to comply with the direction of the Minister under subsection (5) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Ordinance and shall be liable on conviction by a District Court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine.

(9) Where an amount to be paid under subsection (5) of this section is not paid in accordance with the Minister’s direction and the employer has been convicted of an offence under subsection (8) of this section, the amount, or so much thereof as remains unpaid, shall be recoverable by the court as if it were a fine and the amount so recovered shall be paid to the employee entitled under the direction.”.

Amendment of section 37

9. Section 37 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “three years” appearing in the third line of subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the words “five years”;
(b)	by deleting the words “eighteen months” appearing in the last line of subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years”;
(c)	by deleting the words “eighteen months or more than three years” appearing in the fifth and sixth lines of subsection (3) thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years or more than five years”;
(d)	by deleting the words “eighteen months or more than three years” appearing in the fifth and sixth lines of subsection (4) thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years or more than five years”; and
(e)	by deleting the words “either party may” appearing in the fourth line of paragraph (b) of subsection (5) thereof and substituting therefor the words “both parties shall”.

Amendment of section 40

10. Section 40 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “including all matters relating to the dismissal of or the reinstatement in employment of any employee or class of employees” appearing in the seventh, eighth and ninth lines of paragraph (a) thereof;

(b)

by deleting the expression “; and” appearing at the end of paragraph (a) thereof and substituting therefor a colon; and

(c)

by adding thereto the following new proviso: —

“Provided that the Court in making an award in respect of employers and employees to whom section 24A of this Ordinance applies shall not include in its award provisions with regard to terms and conditions of service that are more favourable to employees than those contained in Part IV of the Employment Act, 1968 (Act ............. of 1968), unless the Minister has approved those provisions under that section; and”.

Amendment of section 43

11. Subsection (2) of section 43 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the words “eighteen months” appearing in the first line thereof and substituting therefor the words “three years”.

Amendment of section 52

12. Section 52 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)	by deleting the expression “Labour Ordinance, 1955” appearing in the first line of subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “Employment Act, 1968”;
(b)	by deleting the expression “Part XVI of that Ordinance” appearing in the third line of subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “Part XVI of that Act”;
(c)	by deleting the expression “Part XVI of the Labour Ordinance, 1955” appearing in the sixth line of subsection (7) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “Part XVI of the Employment Act, 1968”; and
(d)	by deleting the word “Ordinance” wherever it appears in subsection (7) thereof and substituting therefor in each case the word “Act”.

Amendment of section 57

13. Subsection (1) of section 57 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the expression “sections 24, 41, 54, 55 and 56” appearing in the first and second lines thereof and substituting therefor the expression “sections 24, 24A, 34, 37 (4), 39, 41, 42, 54, 55, 56 and 79”.

Amendment of section 77

14. Section 77 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the proviso thereto and substituting therefor the following: —

“Provided that it shall not be an offence for an employer to require as a condition of the appointment or promotion of a person to a managerial or executive position that that person shall not continue to be an officer or member of a particular trade union, unless that trade union is a trade union whose constitution and rules restrict its membership to persons in managerial or executive positions.”.

New section 78A

15. The Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 78 thereof the following new section: —

“Leave on trade union business

78A.—(1) An employee intending to carry out his duties or to exercise his rights as an officer of a trade union shall apply in writing to his employer for leave of absence stating the duration of and the purposes for which such leave is applied for and the employer shall grant such application for leave if the duration of the leave applied for is for a period that is not longer than what is reasonably required for the purposes stated in the application.

(2) An employee shall not be entitled to leave with pay for the duration of his absence if the purposes for which he is absent from work are not to represent the members of his trade union in relation to industrial matters concerning his employer.”.

Amendment of section 79

16. Section 79 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by inserting immediately after the word “leave” appearing in the fourth line of paragraph (f) of subsection (1) thereof the expression “in accordance with section 78A of this Ordinance”; and

(b)

by inserting immediately after subsection (5) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the Court from inquiring into the dismissal of or the reinstatement of an employee who has been allegedly dismissed in contravention of the provisions of this section before any proceedings have commenced in a District Court.”.

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