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The International Labour Organisation & Singapore Ministry of Manpower Sign Partnership Agreement to Improve Labour and Workplace Practices

Employment practices
15 June 2011

  1. ILO NEWS (Geneva) – The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) have signed a two-year Partnership Agreement to improve human resource development and workplace practices in the ASEAN region.
  2. The MOM and the ILO's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific will implement the Partnership Agreement for a Collaborative Programme on Labour and Workplace Practices between 2011 and 2013. The cooperative activities will cover a number of labour and workplace areas, including occupational safety and health (OSH), tripartism and social dialogue, productivity, employability and skills development. Other areas of work may be subsequently added by mutual agreement.
  3. Under the Partnership Agreement, Singapore will co-organise and co-fund activities while the ILO will co-ordinate work and contribute its specialists' expertise and time. Proposed activities include study trips and workshops in Singapore to improve knowledge on OSH, labour inspection regimes, and tripartism and social dialogue.
  4. Ms Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Mr Loh Khum Yean, Permanent Secretary of the MOM, signed the agreement on 15 June 2011 at a ceremony held during the 100th International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland.
  5. "Singapore and the ILO have a long-standing record of productive co-operation and their support for human resource development is playing a valuable role in progress towards decent work for all in Asia Pacific," said Ms Yamamoto. "This Partnership is also an example of the importance of the region's deepening integration, and the growing role of new forms of development co-operation, such as triangular South-South co-operation."
  6. Mr Loh said: "The Singapore Ministry of Manpower is pleased to sign this partnership agreement with the ILO. The Partnership Agreement reflects the growing and strengthening cooperation between the two parties in helping to enhance human resources management and development in the ASEAN region."

    Background
  7. Held from 1 to 17 June 2011, the ILC is the annual meeting of the ILO, the UN specialized agency that deals with work and work-related issues. The ILC brings together the ILO's 183 member states and is attended by more than 3,000 delegates representing Governments as well as workers' and employers' organisations.