Labour MP raps Dyson over layoffs of Singapore workers
Queried by The Business Times, Dyson reiterates on Wednesday that it is not disclosing the number of workers affected
THE United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) has said that Dyson’s conduct of its latest retrenchment on Tuesday (Oct 1) is “not in accordance with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment”.
In a nearly two-minute-long video posted on Facebook on Wednesday, the union’s executive secretary Patrick Tay said: “This is unacceptable, as it does not give sufficient time for discussion between Dyson and UWEEI to ensure not just a fair, but also a responsible and progressive retrenchment exercise.”
UWEEI had on Tuesday issued a statement, criticising Dyson for giving the labour union only a day’s notice of the layoff, despite being a unionised company.
A Dyson spokesperson, responding to the union, said the company was “following all prevailing guidelines from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)”.
UWEEI, which is affiliated with the National Trades Union Congress, is still trying to confirm the details of the retrenchment package. It has heard that the retrenchment payout is in line with the UWEEI norm of one month’s salary for each year of service. But it does not know whether there is a cap on this package.
Tay said: “We understand from some affected employees that they were told to keep it confidential or risk affecting their retrenchment package.”
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The union also does not know how senior the affected workers are. But it notes that Section 30A of the Industrial Relations Act allows unions to represent executives individually – if not collectively – on retrenchment benefits.
UWEEI said on Tuesday that it has “escalated” the matter to MOM.
Queried by The Business Times on Wednesday, the Dyson spokesperson reiterated that the company is not disclosing the number of workers affected, but also stressed that the 2022 forecast of S$1.5 billion in investment over four years remains unchanged.
In a statement on Thursday morning, an MOM spokesperson said the ministry met with Dyson on Wednesday and will also meet with UWEEI to “understand the concerns of both parties and to explore an amicable resolution”.
“MOM understands that all the retrenched Dyson employees would have after-care support and outplacement, and that they would have unlimited access to coaching and career counselling in the next three months,” the spokesperson added.
Under the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, the spokesperson said that unionised companies should give unions early notice when informing employees of retrenchments.
“For Dyson, while the company is unionised, the retrenched PMEs are not unionised, and they are not part of the scope of the union’s collective representation. Hence the period of notice to inform UWEEI is negotiable,” he said.
“In addition, the formula adopted for computing the retrenchment benefit quantum for the PMEs does not have to be based on that used for a rank-and-file employee. It is negotiable between the union and the company. This is an agreed tripartite position.”
The spokesperson said that the union has indicated that “insufficient notice” was given to the union prior to Dyson’s retrenchment exercise, and that MOM will discuss with both parties on ways to improve communications going forward.
“Singapore supports companies such as Dyson to continue investing and setting up operations in Singapore. We will work with these companies, economic agencies and NTUC to ensure that we remain both pro-worker and pro-growth,” said the spokesperson.
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