The Employment Standards Report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) on Tuesday reveals that while more local and foreign employees, in dispute with their employers, filed salary claims in 2022 than in the year before, the vast majority of these claims were resolved quickly, and the total amount recovered for these employees rose by almost 40 per cent from the year before to $12 million. The report also found that 86 per cent of salary claims were resolved via mediation at the TADM, while the remaining 14 per cent were referred to the Employment Claims Tribunals for adjudication. Salary claims jumped 26 per cent from 2021 to 2022, with more of these claims being made by groups against companies that experienced business failure or ran into financial difficulties. What is heartening is that less than 1 per cent of salary claims lodged in 2022 involved employers who refused to make full payment for the salary arrears despite having the means to do so. MOM is investigating such employers with a view to taking enforcement action against them.

This desire to pursue errant employers lies at the heart of the dispute resolution process. It is bad enough when companies experience business failures or financial difficulties. Then, both employees and employers lose. But when companies are doing fine, there simply is no reason for them to withhold payments due their workers. The authorities must continue to safeguard employment standards through effective dispute resolution, the education of both employees and employers on their rights and obligations, and strong enforcement action when called for. Where workers are concerned, they must report disputes early, thus making the total sum claimed smaller. As the amount gets larger, employers might have greater difficulty repaying or may not have the ability to do so. The ultimate goal of the tripartite process which the TADM seeks to uphold is to create fair workplaces where relations are based on trust and not on acrimony.