Skip to main content
About Us

ILO and Singapore cooperation on labour issues to continue

Extension of Partnership Agreement between International Labour Organization and Singapore Ministry of Manpower will see continuation of collaboration and joint activities throughout the ASEAN region.

Employment practices
  1. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will continue their cooperation to promote Decent Work in Southeast Asia following the extension of their Partnership Agreement until the end of 2021.
  2. Joint technical activities will help further enhance capacities of social partners in ILO and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member States in the field of labour and promote the Decent Work Agenda.
  3. The Agreement will see ILO and MOM work together in three key areas namely: occupational safety and health; fostering social dialogue and cooperation between governments, employers, and workers; as well as other labour and workplace practices.
  4. The agreement was signed by Ms Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Mr Aubeck Kam, Permanent Secretary of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower.
  5. "Since it was first signed in 2011, this partnership agreement has delivered tangible benefits throughout the region. We greatly welcome the commitment of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower to supporting these joint activities and sharing its expertise on work related issues with countries and partners throughout ASEAN. This work is more important than ever as we seek to build back better from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ms Asada-Miyakawa.
  6. Mr Kam said: “Singapore is pleased with the extension of the Partnership Agreement with the ILO. It reflects Singapore’s continued commitment to working with the ILO to share experiences and best practices to promote decent work for workers, especially in these uncertain times. Activities under the Partnership Agreement will be complemented by the work of the Regional Centre for the Future of Work, recently launched by Singapore to raise regional capabilities and foster regional conversations related to work issues.”
  7. The Partnership Agreement between the ILO and the MOM was first signed in June 2011. Activities held under the agreement include the Singapore-ILO Conference on the Future of Work in 2019, Sub-Regional Workshops on the implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention in 2006 and 2018 as well as the 21st World Congress on Safety and Health in 2017.
  8. Technical cooperation has covered the development of an occupational safety and health profile in Brunei Darussalam, employment disputes in ASEAN and risk assessment in the Philippines. Training has been carried out for labour inspectors in Vietnam as well as for government officials in Brunei Darussalam on Labour Force Surveys and Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS). A number of study visits have also been supported including for Vietnamese and Cambodian delegations relating to industrial relations and the National Wages Council.