Have You Been Unfairly Dismissed? Call MOM

• My Paper (17 March 2009) : Have You Been Unfairly Dismissed? Call MOM 
• My Paper (11 March 2009) : Elderly workers may have been misled into resigning
• My Paper (13 March 2009) : Misled elderly workers could file complaint

Have You Been Unfairly Dismissed? Call MOM
- My Paper, 17 March 2009

Please refer to the letters, “Elderly workers may have been misled into resigning” (11 Mar 2009) by Mr Andy Cheng and “Misled elderly workers could file complaint” (13 Mar 2009) by Ms Jennifer Lim.

2.   Mr Cheng had written that some elderly workers at a restaurant were misled into signing a resignation letter, whereas they were told it was an agreement to convert their employment terms from full-time permanent to contract. We have not been able to contact Mr Cheng but we would like to invite him to contact our Labour Relations Officer, Ms Heng Li Choo at (65)**** **** to enable the Ministry to look into the case.
.
3.   Employers are responsible for communicating clearly to their employees when there is any proposed change to the terms of employment. Where retrenchments need to be carried out, employers should manage the affected employees responsibly and with sensitivity. Adequate notice and a fair amount of retrenchment benefits should also be offered. Under Section 14(2) of the Employment Act, employees who feel they have been dismissed without just cause may appeal to the Minister for Manpower to be reinstated into their former employment.

4.   Anyone with information on unfair employment practices should contact MOM at (65)6438 5122 or email mom_lrd@mom.gov.sg so that the matter can be investigated.

Elderly workers may have been misled into resigning 
- My Paper, 11 March 2009

There is a restaurant in Singapore which called all its elders workers to its headquarters one day.

It was announced to these workers that their terms would be converted from full-time permanent to contract.

Almost all the elderly employees were asked to sign an agreement on this.

The agreement was written in English and most of the workers were unable to read or understand its contents.

The management provided an interpretation of the agreement in Mandarin, but omitted to mention that the employees were signing a resignation letter.

A condition in the letter required the workers to leave their jobs immediately.

Under the circumstances, they were not entitled to any severance pay.

The staff are illiterate and signed the agreement based on the interpretation provided by the restaurant's management.

The Government has been urging companies to employ senior citizens as this group has much to contribute to the workforce.

I hope the Ministry of Manpower could look into this issue.

Are there avenues workers could avail themselves of to voice their grievances regarding such matters?

Misled elderly workers could file complaint
- My Paper, 13 March 2009

I refer to the letter, “Elderly workers may have been misled into resigning” (my paper, March 11).

The affected workers could file a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and ask it to investigate the issue.

Should the investigation show that they have been replaced by cheaper foreign workers, MOM should help them seek reasonable compensation, and have their termination of full-time employment treated as retrenchment, with its accompanying
benefits.

The letter writer could also gather the workers and have them approach the Legal Aid Bureau collectively for free legal aid.

Resignation letters are normally drafted by employees, not by employers. If layoffs are initiated by the employer, it would be secured with a letter of termination/retrenchment, instead of a letter of resignation.

If the workers' services were terminated because the company is facing financial difficulties but is still operating as normal, then it should compensate the workers accordingly for the sake of goodwill and its own reputation.