Singapore’s tripartite model of labour relations has underpinned three decades of success, but it must now contend with destabilising forces in the modern globalised economy. #1
The new political norm, the recent labour disputes
and the large number of foreign workers has posted a life and death challenge to
the tripartite partnership of union, employers and government. Will this
partnership end like the Apartheid in South Africa in years to come?
The Apartheid can hold on for so long all because of
the strong and authoritarian National Party of South Africa. Indirectly, it
also received supports from the West in the beginning. However, the Apartheid
cannot sustain when more and more people understand the reality, the true.
Apartheid (pronounced [ɐpɑːrtɦɛit]; lit. "aparthood") is an Afrikaans[1] word for a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation by the National Party governments, who were the ruling party from 1948 to 1994, of South Africa, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained. Literally defined, it means 'the status of being apart'. #2
There is a time limit for ‘being apart’. Just like the PAP, Just like the tripartite partnership. The tripartite partnership is a success model
in the past and this is what the PAP government wants it to be. However, the
government itself is not as solid as before (not as intelligent and total control
as before). Can it still hold on the
same position like the past? Can the tripartite partnership function as
effectively as the past?
NTUC and SNEF
We all know who can become the chief of NTUC and perhaps
same for SNEF.
The tripartite partnership is supposed to be an
equal relationship. However, the NTUC and
SNEF are over representing employees and employers in many ways. But with the government
support, they are given equal partnership status but ‘the status of being apart’.
“Of the 1.16 million foreign workers here, only 11 per cent or 125,000 are unionised. In contrast, about 27 per cent or 560,000 of 2.08 million local workers are union members.” #3
The best NTUC can only claim that they are representing
minority workforce in Singapore. Even Singapore workers, NTUC is only representing
less than 30% of the workers. If you
understand why 60% of the votes can translate into more than 90% of the parliament
seats, you will understand this logic of representation better.
Comparatively, SNEF scores higher and it claims to
cover 63% of workforce. But not to forget, SNEF is for the employers not for
workers.
The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) has released its advisory on employee grievance handling. This follows the illegal strike by a group of bus drivers from China, employed by transport operator SMRT. In a statement, the federation said it has emailed the advisory to nearly 20,000 employers. Together, they cover nearly 2 million employees or 63 per cent of the Singapore workforce. #4
Control and Command of ‘being apart’
To maintain the Apartheid, the National Party needs
the rules and regulations. Of course, a sustainable tripartite partnership also
needs rules and regulations. One of them is the control on strike, for example
the recent illegal strike of Chinese drivers at SMRT.
However, rules and regulations must be seen as fair
and equal to all. The Apartheid has its
legality and so it can be used to detain or even torture people. But it has its
limitation, especially when more and more people do not agree with it.
Total control and power are tools that can be used to
create ‘status of being apart’. This is
why when Egypt’s 5-month old new President Morsi intends to give more power to
himself, immediately there is a protest.
This is because more and more people are aware of ‘being apart’ and the
consequence.
Mr. Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first elected president, portrayed his decree as an attempt to fulfill popular demands for justice and protect the transition to a constitutional democracy. But the unexpected breadth of the powers he seized raised immediate fears that he might become a new strongman. Seldom in history has a postrevolutionary leader amassed so much personal power only to relinquish it swiftly. #5
In the article ‘The Future of Tripartism in
Singapore: Concertation or Dissonance?’, Soh Tze Min of Civil College Singapore
points out the following possibilities:
In spite of its widely recognised benefits, the centralised tripartite model is fast becoming a rarity. Countries such as Australia, Ireland and the UK have turned from a centralised tripartite model to enterprise-based collective bargaining, characterised by growing numbers of disparate trade unions each competing for members, and contending with employers for employment benefits according to the particularistic interests of their members.#1
The article also highlights “The Challenges of
Tripartism”:
Around the world, tripartism is waning: union membership is declining across Europe, Ireland, Netherlands and South Korea.13 Globalisation has skewed bargaining power in favour of businesses by expanding labour supply and increasing factor mobility, heightening conflicts between business and worker interests. With an open economy, Singapore is hardly immune to the destabilising forces of globalisation. Furthermore, changes in the social, economic and political environment are raising questions about the sustainability of tripartism in Singapore. #1
Soh also provides 3 scenarios: Tripartism
Endangered, Tripartism Rejuvenated, and From Tripartite to Multipartite Relationship.
The best hope for the PAP is a Rejuvenated
Tripartism. But this scenario will require the government ‘to play a greater
role in balancing the interest between business and workers.’
To play a greater role for the government when more
and more people are aware of the present working of tripartite partnership? Does it
look like President Morsi giving more power to himself?
#1
http://www.cscollege.gov.sg/Knowledge/Ethos/Issue%2011%20August%202012/Pages/The%20Future%20of%20Tripartism%20in%20Singapore%20Concertation%20or%20Dissonance.aspx
#2
#3
http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/labour-chief-sbs-good-model-labour-relations
#4
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1241219/1/.html
#5
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/world/middleeast/egypts-president-morsi-gives-himself-new-powers.html?_r=0
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