About 9 in 10 retrenched eligible workers received retrenchment benefits: MOM
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Among the retrenched eligible workers who received retrenchment benefits from 2020 to 2025, around eight in 10 got at least two weeks’ salary per year of service.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
- 90% of eligible retrenched workers received benefits (2020-2025), with 80% getting at least two weeks' salary per year of service, in line with tripartite guidelines.
- Government considers a balanced approach to retrenchment benefits, balancing worker protection with business flexibility, and avoiding strict conditions affecting struggling firms.
- Employment rates for local and overseas graduates from ages 25-29 remain strong at 90%; government tracks graduate outcomes, reviewing data for precise support.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – About nine in 10 retrenched eligible workers received retrenchment benefits from 2020 to 2025.
Among them, around eight in 10 received at least two weeks’ salary per year of service, which is in line with the norms stated in the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Feb 4.
The latest numbers are based on the mandatory requirement that employers with at least 10 employees must notify the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) within five working days
Dr Koh was responding to Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC), who asked for the number of companies with more than 25 workers who have paid retrenchment benefits below the prevailing tripartite guidelines governing retrenchment payouts.
“I use the number 25 because the recent Workplace Fairness Act
He also asked whether the Government would similarly consider a differentiated guideline on retrenchment benefits requiring an increase in benefits for companies with more than 25 workers, rather than having a set of one-size-fits-all guidelines that extend the same recommended retrenchment benefits to all companies.
Citing a raft of retrenchment reports in the second half of 2025, Mr Singh asked Dr Koh if the Government would consider mandating all retrenchments to be reported, and whether the ministry would penalise companies, such as by revoking their work pass privileges, if employers impose punitive and unreasonable clauses on the retrenched workers.
In response, Dr Koh replied there is “no real right or wrong answer” to whether companies of a certain size should notify MOM.
“Our requirement for mandatory retrenchment is for companies that retrench... workers to notify MOM, (it is) not specific to company size per se.”
He said the question of minimum quantum and mandatory retrenchment benefit has been “deliberated extensively” between the Government, unions and employers. He noted there must be a balanced approach to protect workers while providing business flexibility.
“There are many reasons why the retrenchment exercise takes place, and imposing strict conditions such as legally mandating retrenchment benefit may affect the viability of companies who are already in financial difficulties,” he added.
Mr Patrick Tay (Pioneer) asked for MOM’s response to some multinational companies (MNCs) setting lower caps on the number of years of workers’ service in computing the retrenchment payouts.
The norm is to set a cap of 25 years, but “some MNCs have set lower, for example, 12 to 15 years, especially for the professionals, managers and executives that are affected”, he said.
Dr Koh said there is a need to continue engaging with the companies as some MNCs may follow certain norms carried over from their operations in other jurisdictions or their home countries.
He also encouraged unions to continue engaging with multinationals. “Through a more interactive understanding between the unions and the companies, we hope to socialise them to the norms here.
“And in general, once they understand the different tripartite environment in which they operate in Singapore, many of these companies will over time consider moving closer to that kind of norm, especially in a collective agreement setting.”
Impact of local job climate on overseas graduates
In a separate parliamentary question on Feb 4, Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) asked Manpower Minister Tan See Leng how recent labour market conditions have affected Singaporeans who graduated from overseas universities.
Responding, Dr Tan said that the employment rate of local and overseas university graduates aged 25 to 29 remains “generally strong”, with about nine in 10 employed.
He said the fresh graduate employment figures published by MOM in September 2025 did not include Singaporeans who graduated from overseas universities. The underemployment rate among this group was 0.8 per cent in 2025, he added, which was slightly above the 0.7 per cent recorded for local graduates.
He noted this is based on the internationally recognised measure of time-related underemployment, which refers to part-time workers who prefer full-time employment.
MOM released data for fresh graduate employment for the first time
Dr Tan noted that graduates from local autonomous universities continue to have “slightly more favourable outcomes” on balance, as reflected in their lower unemployment and higher median wages.
Mr Saktiandi also asked whether MOM intends to publish overseas graduate employment outcomes separately and whether the weaker hiring conditions in certain sectors have disproportionately affected overseas graduates who may return to Singapore later than the annual hiring cycle.
Dr Tan said MOM tracks and monitors the employment outcomes of graduates across various types of institutions, including both overseas and local educational institutions, which is reflected through the ministry’s comprehensive labour force survey. He added that the ministry will continue to review the data collected and published.
“We also want to be able to go sectorally and adopt a more differentiated, precise and focused approach,” he said.
Dr Tan also encouraged all fresh graduates to make use of the career matching and coaching services offered by Workforce Singapore and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute.
“We will continue to support our fresh graduates’ entry into the workforce. Students and fresh graduates from our institutes of higher learning (IHLs) can access education and career guidance services within the IHLs.”
Companies operating here must comply with Singapore labour laws: Koh Poh Koon
Dr Koh also said in Parliament on Feb 4 that MOM does not treat new companies that redomicile in Singapore any differently in terms of hiring practices.
In the redomiciliation process, a foreign corporate entity may choose to transfer its registration to Singapore, according to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.
“All foreign companies operating in Singapore are expected to comply with Singapore’s manpower laws and fair hiring practices,” said Dr Koh.
He was responding to WP Non-Constituency MP Andre Low’s question on the impact of Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based artificial intelligence start-up Manus
Mr Low asked if there are any considerations to discourage companies from using Singapore as a “flag of convenience” without accruing any benefits to the local labour force.
He noted that the company was launched in March 2025 and moved to Singapore mid-year before being acquired by Meta.
“So one cannot help but feel that Singapore’s business environment was taken advantage of opportunistically to achieve certain aims and is now being cast aside.”
Dr Koh replied that as the acquisition is a commercial agreement between the parties involved, MOM does not intervene in such agreements.
The Government does not disclose details of the workforce demographics of individual companies in line with confidentiality obligations, he said.
“But we will make sure that when it comes to hiring or retrenchment, the laws will protect the rights of our workers and make sure they are treated fairly.”
In response to Mr Low’s question on how MOM plans to ensure foreign-founded start-ups benefiting from the local business environment can facilitate skills transfer to local workers, Dr Koh highlighted the Enterprise Compute Initiative by the Economic Development Board (EDB) that supports skills transfer.
“EDB works closely with foreign companies and start-ups to facilitate skills transfer, training and capability development, ensuring that Singaporeans benefit from the presence of such companies in our business environment.”
