SINGAPORE - The Public Transport Tripartite Committee on Tuesday outlined steps to safeguard the job security of bus drivers in the new contracting model.

Committee chairman Josephine Teo, who is Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, said a new operator must offer workers employment terms no worse than what they had in their previous firm.

Affected employees can choose to join the new player or be redeployed by their current firm where feasible.

The first parcel of bus routes to be contracted out by the Government consists of 26 services in the west. Tenders will go out as early as this month and implementation is scheduled for second half of 2016.