From January, more than 200,000 workers will be added to the list of people covered by the Employment Act, updated for the first time in 13 years. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
FROM January, more than 200,000 workers will be added to the list of people covered by the Employment Act, updated for the first time in 13 years.
The changes, proposed in September, are to keep pace with a changing labour market with rising salaries and more white-collar workers, said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong .
The Act, which was passed by Parliament on Tuesday, offers basic benefits such as salary protection, minimum employment terms and dispute resolution.
The new Act will cover workers with a monthly salary ceiling of up to $2,000, raised from $1,600.
This will bring in about 82,000 workers.
At the same time, junior executives earning at most $2,500 a month will, for the first time, be able to use the Labour Court for salary claims.
About 44,000 of them stand to gain as they no longer need to pursue costly civil suits in the courts to recover arrears in their salaries, said Mr Gan when he presented the amendments in the House for debate.
Another group that will cheer is the 153,000 'confidential staff' such as secretaries and human resource clerks.
They were excluded from the Act to 'avoid conflict of interest' as some might be dealing with sensitive information.
But in today's corporate world, he said such staff were seldom directly involved in sensitive matters.
On the other hand, a small group of 'workman' like technicians, who earn above $4,500 a month, will no longer be covered.
These 'highly-paid and skilled workmen are able to negotiate for favourable employment terms' on their own, explained Mr Gan.
Other changes include stiffer fines for offences such as dismissing staff without just cause, changing the definition of part-time work, and shortening the time taken to qualify for paid sick leave.
Mr Gan stressed the new rules, while offering greater protection to workers, also balance the interests of both employees and employers.
However, at least two of the nine members of the House who spoke during the debate were concerned the changes would add to business costs.
They were Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC) and Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC).
Replying, Mr Gan said: 'It is not our intention to impose excessive burden on businesses, especially in a downturn.
His ministry consulted business groups and found employers 'generally accept' the changes were necessary.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
