Tripartite guidelines and advisories are formulated by the tripartite partners – National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) – to provide frameworks, benchmarks and recommendations for employers to follow in response to changing trends in the economy and workforce or to crises that hit Singapore.
For example, tripartite guidelines and advisories have been issued for best employment practices like national wage guidelines, fair employment, flexible work arrangements, re-employment of older workers, best sourcing, managing workplace harassment, expanding scope of limited representation for executives, extending scope of union representation for executives, haze-related workplace measures and measures to tackle Influenza A (H1N1), MERS-CoV, and COVID-19. In times of crises, such as during the economic recession of 2008/9, the tripartite partners issued tripartite guidelines on managing excess manpower so that businesses could continue to operate while workers could continue to keep their jobs.
In order to better achieve solutions for industry-wide issues, various sectoral tripartite committees were set up by bringing together unions, management and the government agencies. To date, various notable tripartite committees have been set up. These include the National Wages Council, Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers, among others.
The Tripartite Standards are a new tripartite initiative which helps organisations with good practices distinguish themselves. They complement our laws, Tripartite Guidelines and Advisories to increase the adoption of fair and progressive workplace practices in Singapore.
Best sourcing entails awarding service contracts for outsourced functions based on factors that go beyond just price. This is in contrast to cheap sourcing where contracts are awarded to service providers solely on the basis of the lowest price. When service buyers emphasise service quality and outcomes rather than headcount in their contract terms, service providers are encouraged to improve productivity in the delivery of their services, workers benefit through better employment terms and conditions, and service buyers and consumers also potentially stand to benefit from services that are of higher quality.
The Tripartite Advisory on Best Sourcing Practices aims to provide more guidance to service buyers on progressive remunerations for workers, outcome-based contracting and fair contracting practices.
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To date, various notable tripartite committees have been set up. These include the National Wages Council, Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices and Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers, among others.
In order to better achieve solutions for industry-wide issues, various sectoral tripartite clusters were set up by bringing together unions, management and the government agencies.
The primary purpose of these clusters is to look at how the Progressive Wage Model can be implemented in their industries or sectors; and setting targets for progressive wage increases specific to their industries, especially for the more vulnerable workers such as low-wage earners, women, and older workers. In addition, these tripartite clusters explore work areas that require strengthening so as to enhance productivity and competitiveness for their respective industries and workplaces.
In October 2012, the Tripartite Cluster for Cleaners (TCC), a tripartite effort stemming from the Labour Movement’s Building and Facility Management Services (BFM) Cluster, which is made up of seven unions, released its recommendations for the cleaning industry in three sub-sectors, namely the office and commercial buildings, food and beverage (F&B) establishment and conservancy sectors.
The recommendations aim to help cleaners earn progressively higher wages with skills upgrading and structured career advancement, as well as productivity improvements in the industry through technology and process re-design. Following engagements with the industry's stakeholders, further refinements have been made to the TCC recommendations.
Latest update:
Related documents:
The Security Tripartite Cluster (STC) was formed in September 2013 to address several industry challenges through the development of a Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the private security industry. The PWM would create a roadmap for raising basic wages, skills and productivity, and set out an approach for reducing the industry’s reliance on excessive overtime (OT) hours to meet manpower needs.
Related documents:
Latest update:
The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the landscape maintenance sub-sector was announced in 2015 by the Tripartite Cluster for Landscape (TCL) and came into effect in June 2016. The recommendations are as follows:
The PWM was incorporated as a mandatory requirement for landscape companies applying to be on the Landscape Company Register which is administered by the National Parks Board.
Enhancements to the PWM were announced in 2018 and the changes are as follows:
For more information:
Report and recommendations by the TCL
Advertorial for service buyers of landscape services
Tripartite Advisory for Landscape Sector Sustainability (COVID-19) (13 August 2020)
NTUC is at the heart of the Labour Movement, which comprises 58 affiliated unions, seven affiliated associations, a portfolio of businesses and six related organisations, as well as a growing ecosystem of professional associations and enterprise partners.