Questions/Answers

The setting up of the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) transformed the employment dispute resolution landscape in Singapore. Singapore has a workforce of about 3.7 million people, including 1 million migrant workers. Prior to April 2017, only 60% of the Singapore workforce (2.2 million), covered under the Employment Act (EA), could approach the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to resolve salary related disputes. All other workers not covered by the EA (including the self-employed, gig economy workers and PMETs) or disputes outside the scope of the EA could only be resolved through the civil courts which can be costly and time consuming. As the nature of employment and the workforce profile have changed significantly over time, such a framework for resolving only salary related disputes was at risk of being outdated and becoming non-inclusive. As such, Singapore’s tripartite partners – MOM, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Singapore National Employers’ Federation (SNEF) – set up TADM to offer both workers and employers an efficient and low-cost way of resolving employment disputes. The coverage went beyond statutory protections to cover all workers and all employment related issues. In 2019, TADM’s scope expanded to include mediation for wrongful dismissal claims. TADM operates on the philosophy of resolving disputes in a worker centric, accessible, affordable, and fair manner. TADM provides a low cost and efficient way to resolving employment disputes through mediation. For disputes/claims that are monetary in nature, where mediation fails, TADM will help employees file their claims at the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), a special employment tribunal to arbitrate such disputes. TADM also provides a full suite of end-to-end services beyond mediation, such as working with government agencies and NGOs to provide assistance to the needy and unemployed which include lower wage workers and migrant workers (MWs).

TADM’s services are open to the entire workforce in Singapore. Our charges are kept intentionally low at S$10 to S$20 to ensure accessibility for workers. For workers who have been dismissed, mediation is provided free of charge. Additional support is given to older workers, low wage workers, women as well as migrant workers as they are more vulnerable. Such support includes waiver of filing fees, assistance in filling up claims applications, interpreter services and protecting women who are dismissed unfairly because of pregnancy-related issues. This is an innovative public-people-private sector partnership model to provide employment services to the entire workforce.

TADM takes an evaluative approach to ensure a balanced and fair settlement outcome. Employers are counselled on their obligations and majority will settle based on our mediator’s advice, ensuring that workers get a fair settlement. As an additional protection for MWs from less developed countries from the construction sector, we require companies to make monthly declarations that salaries have been paid and mandate employers to credit salaries via e-payment to allow easy verification. We help MWs open bank accounts and provide onsite assistance at their dormitories. We also work with NGOs to provide accommodation and food to needy MWs. Gig workers and the self-employed have equal access to our services. To ensure that workers’ rights are protected, TADM will refer such employers to MOM for enforcement action after assessing their practices, including requiring such employers to take corrective actions and attend mandatory Human Resource clinics. Special attention is given to the rights of the vulnerable workers. For workers who are unemployed, TADM refers them to the relevant agencies for social assistance and employment facilitation. This ensures that they and their families receive the necessary support and the unemployed get decent employment as soon as practicable.

Social and Economic – Through comprehensive management of employment matters ranging from disputes settlement to social and financial support and assistance in finding alternative employments, TADM ensures that every worker is fairly paid and can continue to be economically active. TADM was able to meet this commitment even during the pandemic when businesses faced difficulties, thus ensuring workers continued working and not depend on government hand-outs. Environmental – We are pivoting to Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), which reduces our staff, workers, and employers’ carbon footprint as they do not need to travel to our physical offices and can transact from their homes.

TADM has helped to address the following shortfall: a) TADM now helps 100% of all workers including contract and self-employed workers resolve their employment issues compared to a much narrower group previously. b) Workers facing end of employment issues like dismissal and salary arrears face stressful times. TADM is now the one-stop agency providing end-to-end solutions for these and all workers. c) For lower wage workers including MWs and disabled workers, mediation is provided for free. TADM provides short-term income relief to help them tide over their financial needs. This relief was not available previously under MOM. d) To balance the interests of both employers and workers, TADM is one of the few such agencies in the world to provide evaluative and not facilitative mediation to ensure fair outcomes to both parties. Our key numbers are as follows: a) We assisted over 83% of workers (29,681) resolve their claims at mediation within 8 weeks b) We helped 94% of workers recover their salary, totalling to S$74.5 million c) We referred close to 2,000 workers to agencies for job, financial and legal assistance d) We provided more than S$9.4 million ex-gratia payment and food/housing assistance totalling more than S$115,000

TADM ensures women are not unfairly dismissed because they are pregnant or are being forced to resign because of workplace harassment. Our mediators will objectively access if employers are at fault. If so, we ensure the employer reinstates or compensates the women, failing which, we will refer them to ECT and MOM for enforcement. Such cases are low – less than 1% of all dismissal cases – despite women making up 45% of our workforce, as employers know they will be taken to task. TADM also refer such firms to our partner agency TAFEP, to educate the company on fair employment practices.

• Low Wage Local workers – 80% of their cases resolved at mediation, with salary recovery close to 100% as they are able to get more ex-gratia payments in instances where employers cannot pay salaries. • PMETs earning more than S$4500 – More than 1,330,600 PMETs now have access to mediation and adjudication services instead of having to go to the Civil Courts. TADM has helped nearly 7,000 of such workers with more than 70% resolved at mediation. • Migrant Workers – 90% of their cases (16,883 MWs) resolved at mediation. Their salary recovery is nearly 100% as we provide ex-gratia payments in instances where employers cannot pay salaries. During COVID-19, we started a new process to proactively help MWs recover salaries without them having to file their claims at TADM. We helped an additional 63,170 MWs through this process. • Gig Workers and Self-Employed Persons – More than 190,000 now have access to our voluntary mediation services. • Women – More than 77% cases (107 women) resolved at mediation and recovered S$340,000 maternity-related benefits. • All workers, including seniors – Recovered over S$74 million in wages with 94% managing to recover their salaries. They have seamless referral to other agencies if they require new jobs, legal or financial assistance.

2015 to 2017 To close gaps, tripartite partners agreed to create a platform for all workers to resolve employment disputes in an inclusive, affordable and equitable manner. In June 2015, Director-General of International Labour Organisation complimented Singapore’s tripartism model and a MOU was signed with Fair Work Commission, Australia. 2017 TADM was set up to expand coverage for all workers including PMETs, workers seeking recourse for wrongful dismissal, women who were denied maternity leave benefits and re-employment of seniors. NTUC shared TADM’s office space to provide one-stop- services for union members. TADM partnered other agencies to provide job placement, social assistance and pro bono legal advice. 2018 Launched ODR for effective and efficient dispute resolution using technology. Shifted from facilitative to evaluative mediation. Through fact-finding, TADM determines the amount due to the workers under the law. Employers in breach of the EA were referred to MOM for enforcement action. Hired HR professionals from private sector to help mediate contractual disputes. Started Voluntary Mediation to help gig workers and self-employed persons. Worked with NTUC and SNEF to start giving ex-gratia payment to workers who were not able to receive salaries with focus on low wage workers and migrant workers. 2019 Launch of online system to facilitate seamless filing of claims at the ECT. 2019 onwards During COVID-19, we pivoted to digital services to continue providing our services remotely as movement was restricted. Proactive settlement of MWs’ salaries by making employers declare if salaries were paid. We made employers pay salaries electronically and help MWs open bank accounts. TADM set up satellite station to expand our reach. We also conducted briefings to constituencies so that they may provide basic employment advice to their constituents. Ex-gratia payment extended to lower to middle income group of workers through extra contribution from SNEF and NTUC.

Funding Support – Both NTUC and SNEF contributed monies to the set-up with government providing the bulk of remaining funding. To provide workers with income relief, SNEF donated S$1 million with a matching grant of S$3 million from the Government. For Low wage workers and MWs – We waived off the claims filing fees. Workers less digitally savvy – We provided manual services for claims filing. End-to-end services – We leveraged on agencies such as statutory boards and NGOs, e.g. e2i (a statutory board) to provide important services like job placement assistance. Staff Competency – We hired HR professionals to deal with complex contractual issues.

TADM’s set-up itself is innovative because it was created with the backing of unions and employers, which helps maintain industrial peace in Singapore as parties trust TADM to resolve their disputes in a fair and equitable manner resulting in a win-win outcome. Mediation participation rate is close to 100%, with more than 80% of mediated cases resolved amicably. With this trusted tripartite platform, workers can seek redress amicably instead of through industrial actions or strikes. This was significant during COVID-19 when many workers were losing their jobs. Unlike many other countries, Singapore continued to enjoy industrial peace.

TADM studied Australia’s Fair Work Australia (FWA) and UK’s ACAS model for guidance. Their concept was different as they used facilitative mediation and FWA’s judges played both the roles of the mediator and the judge. In TADM’s case, mediation was done by TADM and adjudication was done by the ECT under the Singapore’s judiciary. This ensured transparency and trust in our dispute resolution system. For ACAS, they tapped on public and private HR professionals to mediate disputes. We learnt from FWA and ACAS that mediation is important to resolve employment dispute in an expedited fair and amicable manner.

TADM’s philosophy of being worker-centric guided us towards digitalisation to provide an enhanced dispute resolution experience for customers from their homes. TADM is building a customised ODR system, where employers and employees can use our digital system to self-resolve their disputes in a balanced and fair manner, through evaluative mediation. The system will use Artificial Intelligence to give options for parties to settle based on case facts. This will the first-of-its kind evaluative mediation ODR in the world. For those who are less IT savvy, we continue to provide in-person mediation, to ensure accessibility for all workers.

No. From our research, no other countries have created a similar tripartite organisation to deal with employment disputes in a worker centric, accessible, affordable, and fair manner, using evaluative mediation, including providing a one-stop and end-to-end solutions. We are also unaware of any other country which has a wide coverage, where even highly paid PMETs can bring their case to the ECT at a low cost instead of going to the civil courts, which can be expensive and protracted. We even help gig workers with voluntary mediation and continue to be effective as we are able to tap on our tripartite networks to help them get their monies. It is also common in other countries for workers to go to different agencies if they need non-employment assistance such as jobs, financial and legal assistance. Also, the courts are flooded with employment claims, as they tend to be legalistic and not rely on mediation. In the case of TADM, we have linked up with various agencies for seamless referral, and able to resolve majority of cases at mediation so that the courts are not burdened with large number of cases.

Singapore’s model requires strong support from the government and tripartite partners to come together to work as one as trusted partners, putting aside short-term interests to focus on long term success of employers and employees. This trust is not easy to build and takes several years, often demonstrated and reinforced during times of adversity, such as COVID-19, where unions were prepared to take equal sacrifices with employers to save jobs and businesses. We have shown with this new model of dispute settlement that if all stakeholders (government, employers, unions, NGOs) are prepared to work together in a concerted manner and focus on helping workers and employers resolve their disputes in a fair and equitable manner, strong positive employment and industrial peace outcomes can be achieved.

For TADM’s set-up, MOM provided the bulk of funding, with tripartite partners providing additional manpower expertise and funding. NTUC and SNEF provided funding to help workers who are unable to receive salaries from employers to get ex-gratia payment. Both NTUC and SNEF personnel also provide advisory to unionised workers and employers to resolve disputes amicably. For start-up of TADM, 70 MOM officers crossed over to TADM. We complemented them by hiring experienced private sector HR practitioners who could mediate on contractual law matters. For ODR, we worked with technology experts to develop customised platform to deliver the best digital experience.

Singapore government has committed to providing full funding for TADM to continue our operations indefinitely. The tripartite partners have also given their backing as we have delivered on our KPIs. Given TADM’s success, we may expand our mediation services to cover areas such as anti-discrimination in the future. Through our efforts to enforce and educate employers, we will see less cases as a result of breaches or ignorance of the law. As ODR allows for self-resolution, resources will be freed up for mediators to focus on new areas. Customers have also given their approval for the ODR model.

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Blackbox, an external vendor, determined satisfaction levels of customers through surveys, focus group discussions and qualitative interviews. The survey found that customers were happy with our advisory and mediation services, with 95% awarding a “5” or “6” rating out of a 6-point scale. MOM and TADM released 2 reports – Employment Standards Report highlighting our joint efforts in improving workplace practices and resolving employment disputes and TAL Annual Report providing snapshot of TADM’s achievements. Both reports showed that we resolved employment disputes in a worker-centric, accessible, affordable, and fair manner as well as providing holistic services beyond mediation.

For the external satisfaction evaluation report by Blackbox, in-depth interviews were conducted with customers who underwent advisory and mediation services with TADM, each interview lasting about 20 – 30 minutes. Indicators such as overall services satisfaction, channel satisfaction and performance by service elements were measured and reported. Our internal evaluation reports, i.e. Employment Standards Report and TAL Annual Report, measures KPIs such as employment claims filed, duration for resolution and salary recovery rate. We use data from a system co-shared with MOM to ensure integrity of our KPIs. We also conducted our own internal service quality survey with our customers.

The external and internal customer surveys revealed high level of satisfaction. Our internal survey indicated that despite challenges, satisfaction rating improved to 97% in 2020. Customers gave positive feedback and in 2021, we received 2,808 compliments from delighted customers. The external survey found that customers were happy with our advisory and mediation services, with 95% awarding a “5” or “6” rating out of a 6-point scale. While the external survey revealed technical difficulties in registering company’s representatives on ODR, this was resolved in subsequent months. For the internal evaluation report, our KPIs were positive even during COVID-19 and comparable with peace-time’s performance. This was due to the immediate pivoting to e-services and changing the mode of operations for MWs. The key figures are as follows: • More than 80% of cases (10,442 customers) resolved through mediation and 21,811 customers assisted through advisory. • About two-third of these cases were resolved without in-person mediation. • 80% of salary claims and 70% of wrongful dismissal claims resolved within 2 months. • 63,170 MWs cases resolved through proactive intervention. • Over 97% of MWs received their salaries electronically. The media was impressed with our numbers, and it generated positive PR value of S$770,000.

TADM is mainly funded by MOM to provide employment dispute resolution through advisory and mediation services under the Employment Claims Act. As a CLG, we tap on the expertise of both NTUC and SNEF, which represent the views of workers and employers respectively. This has allowed us to be more customer-centric to meet the needs of the end users. We are also able to tap on the regulatory powers of MOM to ensure parties comply with the employment laws. When TADM pivoted to e-services during COVID-19, we had the full support of MOM, which complemented our efforts. For instance, funding support from MOM for system development and formation of a project team to provide research and development support to pilot the digital transformation and initiatives for ODR and Chatbot. By 2025, it allows a seamless, integrated case management and more targeted policy and operations interventions, with the aid of real-time data analytics.

Tripartite Partners – As a CLG, we have the strong backing of the tripartite partners. We hold regular sessions with them to enhance our services. At the broad strategic level, the TADM Board has senior union, MOM and employer representatives to set broad directions and KPIs. NGOs – We also work closely with NGOs such as Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) to provide MWs with food, accommodation, and ex-gratia assistance. Media – We engaged them to write articles to increase TADM’s awareness to members of the public. Government agencies, statutory boards, Public Offices – We explained our purpose and convinced them to partner with us so that we could seamlessly refer workers from TADM to these agencies. Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) – If mediation failed, the next step was ECT, and we had to ensure that there was a seamless referral so that it was easy for our customers. Workers and Employers – Through our tripartite partners, we were able reach out and earn their trust on our impartiality. TADM’s staff – We conducted multiple communication sessions, training and culture building so that they know TADM’s mandate and being able to deliver services professionally and knowing that we are helping workers and employers.

Lessons: We started with a blank page to ask how an equitable and inclusive employment dispute system would look like with an ambitious vision to cover 100% of the workforce in an efficient, low-cost way with holistic end-to-end services. Our vision was implemented successfully because we collaborated and have firm long term financial and operational commitments from stakeholders in public-people-private sector space. Transparency and trust were important for the collaboration to work. Whole of Government’s financial and regulatory backing, plus desire to pull public resources to help workers and their livelihood, open solid support from tripartite partners is crucial for the initiative to remain sustainable. We held extensive stakeholder consultations so that our services were customer-centric. We learnt from international experience like FWA and ACAS, which prompted us to use mediation as a primary tool to achieve expeditious and low-cost settlement. For Improvement: As we move towards digital services, we want to make it more inclusive for MWs and less IT-savvy workers. We plan to make ODR multi-lingual for workers with poor English language literacy and incorporate assistive technologies. We plan to teach our partners how to use these digital services so they are not left behind.