Written Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Acting Minister for Manpower & Senior Minister of State, National Development, to Parliamentary Question on Employment Disputes Lodged for Mediation Assistance

Mr Chen Show Mao: To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in each year from 2008 to 2012 as applicable (a) how many requests were lodged by employees for assistance to resolve employment disputes under (i) the tripartite mediation for PMEs and (ii) the Ministry's voluntary mediation service; (b) out of the number of incidents for each, how many were lodged by employees aged (i) 40 to 49; (ii) 50 to 59; and (iii) 60 and above; and (c) out of the number of incidents for each, how many were lodged by female employees.

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin:

1. MOM provides assistance to help employees resolve their employment disputes, such as voluntary mediation services and adjudication at the Labour Court. Most employment disputes mediated by MOM are amicably resolved between employee and employer.
2. Tripartite Mediation for Professionals, Managers and Executives (PMEs) was introduced in February 2011 to help PME union members in non-unionised companies address their key employment issues.¹ Tripartite mediation covers employment disputes in the areas of salary arrears, payment of retrenchment benefits and breach of individual contract by the employer. So far 7 cases have been lodged by employees and almost all have been successfully resolved.
3. The breakdown of employment disputes lodged by employees for voluntary mediation assistance or tripartite mediation from 2008 to 2012 is provided in Table 1.
   
   Table 1: Employment Disputes Lodged by Employees for Voluntary Mediation and Tripartite Mediation for PMEs by Age and Gender, 2008 – 2012p

   	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012(p)
   Total number of employment disputes lodged by employees for voluntary mediation*	857	1084	783	846	866
   (I) by age profile of employee
   (i) Under 40 years of age	298	348	269	321	269
   (ii) Age 40 - 49	175	247	189	160	190
   (iii) Age 50 - 59	157	221	168	185	171
   (iv) Age 60 and above	78	122	96	111	141
   (v) Age not indicated	149	146	61	69	95
   (II) by gender of employee
   (i) Female	332	434	324	344	347
   (ii) Male	444	574	423	459	454
   (iii) Gender not indicated	81	76	36	43	65
   Total number of employment disputes lodged by employees for Tripartite Mediation for PMEs	NA	NA	NA	4	3
   (I) by age profile of employee
   (i) Under 40 years of age	NA	NA	NA	1	1
   (ii) Age 40 - 49	NA	NA	NA	2	1
   (iii) Age 50 - 59	NA	NA	NA	1	1
   (iv) Age 60 and above	NA	NA	NA	0	0
   (II) by gender of employee
   (i) Female	NA	NA	NA	2	1
   (ii) Male	NA	NA	NA	2	2

   *Age and gender of the employee involved may not be captured at the point the case is lodged.
   p: preliminary figures
   Source: Administrative Records

¹ PMEs who fulfil the following criteria are eligible for Tripartite Mediation: (i) earn a monthly basic salary of up to $4,500; (ii) an individual member of any registered trade union without any form of representation rights; and (iii) employed in a non-unionised company.