Ong Teng Cheong
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, as of now, the position is this. We have signed an in-principle agreement with the Suzhou Municipality to help plan, develop and manage a township. There are two parts to this development. So far, we have put up a rough outline plan for the development of the township.”
“The consortium would include members or companies from both the Government as well as the private sector. Whether SLF will hold a significant share it has yet to be decided. I believe SLF will hold a very small share or no share at all, because, as I have said, our role is that of a facilitator.”
“Like all other projects undertaken by SLF, such as the Pasir Ris Resort, the Sentosa Beach Resort and the Orchid Country Club, the ultimate objective of SLF's investments is to help raise the social and economic status of our workers, and ensure that our workers will continue to enjoy a fair share of Singapore's progress.”
“Sir, I think Mr Chiam has got all this confused. PAP and NTUC run BEST classes jointly. NTUC does not run BEST classes by itself. George Sita, he is referring to, is a member of the SDP who stood against the PAP in the last election. He was employed jointly by NTUC and PAP.”
“NTUC Comfort is a co-operative. The taxi-drivers are members of the co-operative, and there were more than two members who had been removed from membership of the co-operative because of misbehaviour or misconduct, or arrears of their instalment payments, or whatever it is. There were many reasons why they were removed.”
“But when members of the co-operative are actively involved with opposition political parties against the PAP or NTUC, then they are acting against the resolution of the National Trade Union Congress, and it was a compliance of that resolution that action had to be taken against them.”
The complete record
Every one of 720 lines we hold for Ong Teng Cheong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 3 of 15.
“Sir, before I give my reply to the specific questions raised by the Member for Anson, I would like to take this opportunity to go back a little into history to explain the rationale for the various taxi policies that have been adopted by the Government. Prior to 1962, there was no restriction as to who could own a taxi. Anyone who could afford to purchase a vehicle could apply to register it as a taxi. This resulted in taxi licences being issued to persons who did not hold taxi drivers' vocational licences and to individuals and companies holding fleets of taxi. Very few taxi drivers then could afford to own taxis. These individuals and companies who owned taxis had no proper management control and no workshop facilities to maintain and operate a good, clean and efficient taxi service, and taxi drivers were often exploited by the taxi owners. A change of policy was therefore made in 1966 to issue only non-transferable taxi licences to taxi drivers by balloting. The intention was to encourage individual ownership of taxis by taxi drivers themselves. This, however, was not a complete success due to the lack of financial capital of taxi drivers to purchase a vehicle and the costly credit facilities. This then degenerated into the "Ali Baba" ownership system whereby the registered owners were only the notional owners while the true ownership of the taxis was vested in some financiers. 4.30 p.m. To overcome this problem of proxy ownership and to encourage true ownership of taxis by taxi drivers, the NTUC set up a cooperative known as the NTUC Comfort in 1970 to provide easy credit facilities to member taxi drivers to own their taxis.”
“Sir, we have granted SBS a licence to operate a fleet of 200 taxis, as one of the measures to increase the effective supply of taxis. We are all aware of the problems of a taxi shortage and have been looking into the various measures to overcome this problem, and this is only one of the measures. We hope that SBS taxis will provide healthy competition to the present taxi owners. In granting the licence to SBS, we took into consideration that it has the management capability, manpower and the necessary back-up facilities to operate a taxi company and, more importantly, its good track record of being a responsible organization. I agree with the Member's suggestion that perhaps we can inject this concept of more competition into the taxi service. But granting a company a taxi licence requires very careful consideration. We not only want to be assured that it has the capability to operate an efficient and reliable taxi service but also that it will give fair treatment to the taxi drivers. We are not beg-rudging companies from making a profit by operating taxis but we have a moral obligation to ensure that the public gets a good service and at the same time the taxi drivers are not exploited by taxi companies.”
“As regards the Member's suggestion on LUM service, Telecoms has found that it is not productive for postmen to deliver LUM articles after office hours. This is because over 90% of LUM traffic are urgent mail for the business community. If the LUM items are delivered after office hours, chances are that they will not be delivered because most of the offices would already have been closed. This was the experience of the former Postal Services Department when it provided delivery in the late afternoon, after 4.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. during the initial years of the LUM service. As regards the SIA shuttle service, I am aware and I think most of us are aware that the service is not operating as satisfactorily as we hoped to see. SIA and MAS review this shuttle service regularly and they have mounted additional services when the demand is high. This has been done, although it has not solved all the problems. I believe that both SIA and MAS have agreed to reschedule their other services in order to improve the service of the shuttle service, and I hope to see some improvement in the near future.”
“Sir, the Member for Telok Blangah has made two suggestions, namely, the delivery of registered articles and local urgent mail (LUM) service items be made after office hours. Before I proceed, I wish to point out that because of the high labour cost and manpower constraints, Telecoms presently makes only one attempt to deliver the registered articles and the LUM service items. The Member's suggestion that registered articles be delivered after office hours is being examined by Telecoms presently. The delivery of registered mail to the addressees is a very laborious and time-consuming task, as these articles have to be taken right up to the doorstep of the addressees. This problem is further aggravated by the fact that as much as 20% of the trips made by postmen in HDB estates to deliver the registered items are unsuccessful because no one is at home to accept them, as the Member has mentioned earlier. This is an unnecessary waste of manpower. Addressees of undeliverable registered items also face much inconvenience as they have to take time off from work to collect their registered articles from the post offices. In view of this problem, Telecoms is looking into the feasibility of extending the hours of business of the post offices in major housing estates to enable the addressees to collect their registered mail after office hours. Telecoms is also looking into the feasibility of introducing a new category of registration service called "Recorded delivery service", whereby delivery of the articles will be recorded by the postmen without obtaining the receipting signa- tures of the addressees. Telecoms will study all the possibilities and consider whether any of them is feasible for adoption.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have already answered that point. If these employees of PSA affected by the scheme had heeded the advice of PSA a long time ago, they would have found their permanent accommodation. I hope the employees, the tenants of Blair Plain, will act sensibly and take heed of PSA advice because otherwise they are the ones who are going to suffer, and not the Member for Anson. The Member for Anson has his own political ends in advising the tenants to stay put to reject HDB flats or other PSA temporary accommodation. But I am confident, Sir, that common sense and reason will prevail. Mr Jeyaretnam rose -”
“Conditions of service. I have already explained, Sir, last year, that these are not staff quarters. It is not in the conditions of service. These were let out to these employees on a monthly tenancy basis and one month's notice to quit. This is a contractual agreement between PSA employees and PSA. PSA has been more than good enough to give them two years' notice to quit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have already replied in my answer earlier that PSA will arrange temporary accommodation for these employees, who are affected, in other PSA housing estates, and they will be there until they are allocated HDB flats. But should they reject HDB flat allocations, then they will have to be evicted. I cannot assure that PSA or HDB will find accommodation near their work place for these employees. Sir, I have explained this at length last year and I do not intend to repeat this in this House, that there is no employer in the world who provides life-long housing for his employees. The Member for Anson himself is also an employer. I do not know whether he provides housing for his employees. Obviously not; he is shaking his head.”
“When the PSA decided that Blair Plain flats had to be demolished by 1983 to make way for port development, all affected PSA employees were given two years' advance notice in June 1981 to find their own alternative accommodation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, since March last year, about one-third of the 640 tenants in the Blair Plain slab blocks have found alternative accommodation and moved out of the flats. There are now 404 PSA employees still staying in the Blair Plain blocks A, B and E. They have to vacate the flats by the end of May this year. I am surprised that the Member for Anson should ask about Block C, He should have known that the block was completely demolished in December, 1980, almost 2?, years ago. The Singapore Port Workers' Union and the PSA have been doing what they could to help the Blair Plain residents to obtain HDB flats quickly. They have been encouraging those who have applied for HDB flats to change to other zones from the Central Zone and not to be too choosy in accepting their HDB flat allocation. Of the 404 employees, 65 will be moving out shortly as they have accepted HDB flats or found their own alternative accommodation. Of the remaining 339 employees, a majority of them have registered with HDB but are not due for allocation of HDB flats as yet. The PSA is under no obligation to provide these employees with alternative accommodation. PSA as a good employer is arranging for those who are willing to move to other PSA housing estates temporarily until their HDB flats are allocated to them. Those who eventually reject the HDB offers will be asked to move out of the temporary accommodation. Let me reiterate what I said in the House last year. Since 1970, the Singapore Port Workers' Union and PSA had advised the residents of Blair Plain to register for the purchase of their own HDB flats, Those who had heeded the advice would have obtained homes of their own by now, probably before inflation caused the prices of HDB flats to go up.”
“The possibility of a direct bus service between Ang Mo Kio and Telok Blangah will also be looked into as part of the overall revised bus network, details of which will be made known after the network has been finalized. BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (Projected labour requirements) 7. Mr Goh Chee Wee asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the projected labour requirement of the building and construction industry in the next five years; (b) how many of the jobs will be taken up by Singaporeans; and (c) whether our aim of building up a good core of Singaporean construction workforce is attainable.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the recommendations of the Comprehensive Bus Study are being finalized and will only be available around April or May this year. I shall nevertheless briefly outline some of the more important preliminary findings to the House. A passenger survey was undertaken to determine accurately the travel patterns of bus passengers. Data from the passenger survey has been used to design a new bus network for the whole island to better match service to demand. The second major objective of the study was to devise a fare collection system that would allow SBS to convert all its services to one-man-operation. This is to make more efficient use of manpower. Although details are yet to be firmed up, the broad recommendation is to retain a distance-related fare structure and use ticket issuing machines that will record the time and place of boarding as well as the fare paid. For this system to work, we will need honest commuters because there will be no conductors on-board. Those caught riding beyond the fare paid will be asked to pay a penalty fare. A key feature of the proposed fare collection system is "through ticketing", that is to say, passengers having to transfer from one bus to another will not have to pay a second time. Season tickets with appropriate discounts will also be introduced. Although the majority of commuters can expect to benefit from the changes proposed by the study, details will have to be carefully examined to ensure that as few people as possible are adversely affected. The proposed changes will be implemented in stages starting around end of this year or early next year.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer is yes. Taxi stands will be provided at MRT stations where there is a demand for them and where it is feasible to do so. LINKING OF PUNGGOL TO PAN-ISLAND EXPRESSWAY 2. Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for National Development whether his Ministry has plans to link Punggol to the existing expressways and, if so, when.”
“My Ministry, in conjunction with the Singapore Association of Shipbuilders and Repairers, also has a safety education scheme for workers in the shipbuilding and repairing industry. Under the scheme, all shipyard workers have to undergo a one-day safety instruction course at NPB. After that, they will be issued with a safety permit. All contractors' workers are required to have safety permits before they are allowed to work in shipyards. Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Minister of State has said that deaths in the construction industry have risen dramatically last year; I think he said about 75%. Would he be able to say, first, what percentage of this number was due to the fault of the contractors, the employers of labour, and, secondly, how many contractors or employers have been prosecuted in court for the deaths.”
“More intense enforcement action is taken against contractors who have bad safety records. In such cases, factory inspectors will issue Stop Work Orders if the construction sites are grossly unsafe. Work can only resume after remedial action is taken. As a further deterrent, my Ministry will not extend or grant work permits to workers of contractors who persistently flout safety rules. We may even revoke work permits of existing workers of such contractors. In the long run, safety in the construction industry must be improved through strategic changes, such as the use of metal scaffolding, mechanization and better construction methods. These will require more skilled workers. They will also provide for a safer working environment. Skilled workers should also be more safety conscious, and commit less errors which can lead to tragic accidents. In the shipbuilding and repairing industry, my Ministry has introduced accident prevention systems which must be followed by shipyards to prevent accidents such as fire, explosion, electrocution and other.serious accidents. My Ministry has a continuing programme of inspecting all shipyards. The larger shipyards are inspected as often as once a week. These inspections are to ensure that the shipyards conscientiously adhere to the accident prevention systems. We also render assistance to shipyards to help them improve safety measures. Hitherto, my Ministry only enforced safety measures for ships docked in shipyards. Recently, the accident prevention programme was extended to cover oil tankers in the harbour in which tank cleaning work is carried out. It was recognized that tank cleaning is extremely hazardous if safety precautions, such as proper ventilation, are not taken.”
“We, therefore, have to import large numbers of foreign workers for our construction sites and shipyards. The safety situation in the shipbuilding and repairing industry has improved. Although the safety record in the construction industry appeared to have worsened, it may not be so if we take into account the fact that there was a great increase in volume of construction from 1981 to 1982. Nevertheless, we must continue to improve the safety record if we are to attract our citizens to work in these two industries. My Ministry has a two-pronged approach to improve safety in the construction industry. These are the education of workers and contractors and enforcement action against violation of safety rules. We have established an Advisory Committee for the Construction Industry. The responsibility of the Committee is to identify problem areas in the construction industry, particularly with regard to safety. Once a safety problem is identified, the Ministry of Labour and NPB will map out an education programme to educate workers and supervisors on safety. The programme will include training and distribution of safety pamphlets. The NPB has started a mass safety orientation course to educate construction workers on basic safety knowledge. Each course lasts three to four hours. Unfortunately, the response to the course has not been encouraging. We may have to require contractors to send all their workers in batches to attend the course as a condition for the issue of work permits to their foreign workers. Despite education, there will be some contractors who cut corners on safety precautions. My Ministry has stepped up routine and surprise inspections on worksites. Those who commit minor offences are fined. Those who commit more serious offences are charged in court.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member for Telok Blangah will be pleased to know that implementation of the MRT Project is proceeding as scheduled. Response from both local and inter- national contractors to our invitation for pre-qualification was overwhelming, and naturally resulted in the time required for the processing of applications to be extended by a few days. First tenders are scheduled to be called by the middle of this month. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES (Steps to reduce accidents) 8. Encik Abbas Abu Amin asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour what steps are being taken to reduce the number of accidents in the building construction and shipbuilding industries which showed an increase during the year 1982. The Minister of State for Labour (Dr Wong Kwei Cheong) (for the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour): Mr Speaker, Sir, the accident statistics (Cols. 433 - 434) for the construction and shipbuilding and repairing industries for 1981 and 1982 are as follows: statistics - ACCIDENT STATISTICS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY (Cols. 433 - 434) In the construction industry, the number of accidents increased from 1,073 in 1981 to 1,460 in 1982, an increase of 36%. The number of deaths increased from 28 in 1981 to 49 in 1982, an increase of 75%. In the shipbuilding and repairing industry, there were 1,274 accidents in 1982. This is only six cases more than the number in 1981. The number of fatal accidents has however fallen dramatically from 24 in 1981 to nine in 1982, a decrease of 62%. The construction and shipbuilding and repairing industries are two of the most hazardous industries. Not surprisingly, our citizens shun employment in these two industries.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry is aware that there were fewer taxis plying on the road during the last Chinese New Year holidays. This artificial shortage is not unexpected as 96% of our 10,714 taxis are owned by individuals and 82% of the 32,275 taxi drivers are Chinese. Like other Chinese, they would like to celebrate this special festive season with their families and visiting relatives. My Ministry has, however, ensured that adequate bus services were provided and charging the usual bus fares during the festive season. A proposal to allow taxi drivers to levy a $1 surcharge during the Chinese New Year holidays is being considered by the Taxi Advisory Committee. However, this proposal requires careful study as it may set a precedent for requests of surcharges on other festive occasions. Besides, the $1 surcharge may not solve the taxi shortage problem during the Chinese New Year holidays. The Hon. Member has also mentioned that some taxis failed to stop when flagged. ROV receives such complaints from time to time. Taxi drivers are obliged to stop when flagged unless they have passengers in their taxis or a 'NOT FOR HIRE' sign has been displayed. However, sometimes taxi drivers did not stop because they did not notice that there were commuters by the roadside flagging for their taxis as they need also to pay attention to traffic conditions on the road. Therefore, complaints of this nature need to be carefully investigated by ROV. MASS RAPID TRANSIT PROJECT (Progress) 7. Mr Rohan bin Kamis asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour what is the latest position of the Mass Rapid Transit project.”
“Jeyaretnam asked the Minister of Defence and Second Minister for Health whether he will ask the proper authority under the Enlistment Act to ensure that those who are not called up for national service soon after they become liable for service are informed whether they will be called up and, if they will be called up, the likely date of their call up so as not to prejudice their chances of finding employment.”
“Taxi vocational licences are still being issued by the Registry of Vehicles (ROV) to successful applicants to drive any licensed taxi including yellow-top taxis. A taxi licence is issued to a person to enable him to earn a living by operating a taxi. Taxi licences are made non-transferable to prevent trading in such licences. It would not be proper for holders of these licences to make large windfall gains out of them. In Hong Kong, where taxi licences are transferable, a taxi licence can fetch a high transfer value of more than HK$250,000 in the market. It is the practice of the Hong Kong Government to issue taxi licences by tender to the highest bidders. The bidding price for a taxi licence is more than HK$200,000 each. Thus taxi licences are owned by the few who can afford to put up large sums of money and who in turn must charge high rental. I do not think our taxi drivers would like to have such a system nor should we allow it. HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (Accounting System) 4. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for National Development what further progress has been made by the Housing and Development Board since the 27th of July 1982 to change its accounting system following the recommendation of the Auditor-General. Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Since July 1982, the Housing and Development Board has held discussions with a number of reputable international accounting firms and has short-listed three firms to carry out preliminary studies. The firms have recently completed their surveys. They will be submitting specific proposals shortly for the implementation of a fully integrated and computerised financial and cost accounting system for the HDB. In all these arrangements, the HDB is working in close consultation with the Auditor-General. NATIONAL SERVICE 5. Mr J.B.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not intend to repeat what has been said. The decision of the Registrar may be to refuse registration of a trade union, to withdraw or cancel the registration of a trade union, or to refuse to register a new rule, or to alter any of the rules of a trade union. I would only like to say that matters of registration, withdrawal or cancellation of a trade union or the rules of a trade union essentially hinge on the question of policy and executive action. Hence, they can only be exercised by an executive body and not by the court. Accordingly, such decisions can only be made by a Minister responsible to Parliament and the electorate. As the Member for Kuo Chuan has explained, although an appeal on such matters is made to the Minister and his decision is final, it does not debar proceedings in court. I am afraid the Member for Anson is not serious when he proposed his amendment to the Amendment Bill. As I have mentioned just now, even if we were to approve this amendment, a lot of amendments to other provisions of the principal Act would have to be made. But he did not suggest them and, as it stands, I do not see how we can approve or even consider this proposed amendment. Question put: Ayes, 1 ; Noes, 36; Abstentions, 1. Amendment negatived. Clause 6 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 7 to 9 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 10 -”
“One of the important functions of the courts in a democratic society, as we proclaim to be - we hear this from the Government leaders that we are a democratic society - is to see that the executive functions within and under the law, and they can only do this if the citizen who is aggrieved by any decision of the executive is allowed to take it to the court and to challenge that. But what happens here is that you go from one member of the executive to another member of the executive. You go from the Registrar, who works under the Minister, to the Minister. So the citizen does not have this right of taking his grievance to the court. The Minister in reply said that he would attempt to show that my amendment would make the Bill incomprehensible. I realize what he was referring to because, if this amendment is allowed, then there will have to be a consequential amendment to section 18. That is purely a consequential amendment. It means changing the word "Minister" there to the "High Court".”
“The object of this amendment, Sir, is to give the trade union the right to appeal, from either the refusal of the Registrar of Trade Unions or from an order made by him under section 15 or his refusal to register a new rule, to the High Court rather than the Minister. This decision of the Registrar may involve fundamental rights of the workers to form themselves into a trade union or a combination of workmen. It is a right which they possess and, if that right is to be refused, then it is only proper that the refusal should be tested in a court of law to see whether the decision of the Registrar is in accordance with the law as enacted by Parliament. What the Bill does is to give this power to the Minister. I do not know what the machinery will be when an appeal is made to the Minister. But when there is an appeal made to the High Court, then the machinery is that both parties are before the court and the arguments are presented by either party in the presence of the other, and the right of reply is given. This is such a fundamental right in my opinion, Mr Speaker, Sir, that it should be vested in the courts. As I have said previously, speaking at other times, there is a tendency of this Government to invest Ministers, who are after all the executives, with all the powers and to take away the rights of the courts to pronounce on the legality or illegality of decisions made by the executive. This, in my respectful view, Mr Speaker, Sir, is all wrong.”
“He is concerned about the practicability of going back to all members to get their consent for a certain type of fund collected through voluntary donations not only from members of a union but also from members of the public, in which case members of the union could also be regarded as members of the public. He has clarified a point that if funds were to be raised from members of a union through its rules and regulations in the form of a levy for a specific use, then if the union wants to change this use it must go back to the union members. I think he agrees that this is necessary and reasonable. We have no quarrel with that point. But he also raised the point about raising funds through a walkathon or other functions for a specific purpose, like organizing a conference or holding a productivity campaign, where the surplus fund or the balance, a marginal amount, could be channelled back to the general fund for other uses, then it may not be practical to refer back to all those members who have made contributions. I think he has a point there. If the Member for Moulmein could come up with suitable amendments to clause 12 at the Committee stage, I am prepared to consider them favourably. Question put: Ayes, 33; Noes, 1 ; Abstentions, 1. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong]. Bill considered in Committee. 6.34 p.m. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] Clauses 1 to 5 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Mr Jeyaretnam: Sir, I beg to move, In page 3, line 19, to leave out "Minister" and insert "High Court by Originating Motion".”
“I would like to assure Members for Kebun Baru, Geylang Serai and Pasir Panjang that the new definition of trade union, although emphasising the promotion of good industrial relations, does not in any way curtail trade unions the right to strike. The Member for Anson quoted an incident last year, before he was in this House, when I introduced an amendment to the Trade Disputes Act. He must have just simply read what was reported in the press. Obviously he did not read the Bill or the Act himself. My advice to him is that it is dangerous just to rely on the press report alone. The only amendment that I introduced last year was to replace the word "strike" in the Trade Disputes Act with the word "industrial action". That was what the amendment was all about. If he is again serious in proposing the amendment to clause 6 of this Bill, to leave out "Minister" and "High Court by Originating Motion", then, if approved, i.e. if we accept his amendment, it would make this Act totally incomprehensible. I will explain to him later on. As I have mentioned, the right to strike is there. It is the fundamental right of the trade unions. However, we have here the proper machinery in resolving disputes through collective bargaining, conciliation and arbitration. No effort must be spared to use this machinery. Should a trade union of workmen find it necessary to resort to strike or any industrial action to resolve a dispute, it must go through proper procedures to get the majority consent of the members concerned, by a secret ballot as provided in the Trade Unions Act and other necessary measures under any written law. I come to the point raised by the Member for Moulmein. I have heard him carefully. His arguments have merits.”
“Perhaps I should now turn to the points raised by a number of Members on the right of trade unions to strike. The hon. Member for Anson is full of surprises. He surprised me when he opposed the Bill totally while at the same time he submitted an amendment to this Amendment Bill. I thought he was going to support this Bill wholeheartedly with only an amendment to that particular clause 6. But now that he is opposing the Bill, I wonder whether he still wants to proceed with the amendment. Does it mean that if he proceeds with the amendment, he will support the Bill? I would like to explain, especially to the hon. Member for Anson, that removing the objective regarding strike and so on, from the definition of trade unions, does not mean that the rights are removed. It is only the objective that we are referring to. The right to strike, as he has explained himself, is contained in section 28 of the Trade Unions Act. It also appears in the Industrial Relations Act and in the Trade Disputes Act. The right to strike is the fundamental right of the unions. But that is not the objective - to strike. To strike is only a means to achieve the objective. He himself agrees that the new definition is all right with him. He has no qualms. He would buy them. The new definition of trade union means any association of workmen or employers whose principal object is to promote good industrial relations; to improve the working conditions of workmen or enhance their economic and social status; to achieve the raising of productivity for the benefit of workers. And yet he tells us that he objects to this Bill. To strike is the right of the unions, but to strike is not an end in itself. It is a means to achieve the end.”
“My Ministry, as I mentioned earlier, is aware of this problem and has conducted a number of discussions with the office-bearers of these unions with a view to help them sort out this problem. If the members of these unions intend to continue their association as a society under the Societies Act, if they do not come under the new definition, the Ministry of Labour will give every assistance, where necessary, to help them in their application for registration as a society and in the transfer of assets to the new organization. For example, the musicians. Some musicians are actually employees, as in the case of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. By the new definition, these musicians will be eligible to form unions and continue their association as a trade union. But there are other musicians who are self-employed. They would not come under the new definition. There is also another class of musicians who are on contract with night club managers or other operators. They are neither employees nor employers. We are in the process of sorting this out with these musicians to help them define whether or not they come under this new definition. In fact, since the introduction of this Bill the officials from my Ministry have met the officials of these 11 trade unions to find out ways and means to assist them. Besides these 11 trade unions of workmen, there are also 39 trade unions of employers who are affected by the change of definition of trade union. My officials have also met the officials of these unions, and they have been assured of the assistance of my Ministry. All those trade unions whose status will be affected by the change of definition of trade union and the definition of workman will be given a grace period of one year to wind up their affairs.”
“Sir, I would like to thank the various Members of Parliament, except the Member for Anson, for their support of this Bill. I do not intend to dwell at length on the subject as I have already explained in detail earlier and various Members have also touched on the various points mentioned in the Bill. I only want to answer a few points raised by Members, points where clarifications are being sought. The Member for West Coast is concerned about certain types of workers who are neither employees nor employers. As I have explained in my earlier speech, a trade union of self-employed persons has no recourse to conciliation and arbitration procedures laid down in the Industrial Relations Act because their negotiations with their principals concern mainly business issues. There is no employee-employer relationship. If self-employed persons are allowed to continue their association as trade unions, it will only give them a false sense of protection under the Trade Unions Act. There are altogether 11 existing trade unions of workmen which are likely to be affected by the change of the definition of workman. The members of these 11 trade unions, such as newspaper distributors, shoemakers, rattan workers, will not fall within the meaning of the revised definition of workman as they do not work under a contract of service. These trade unions, therefore, should not continue to be registered as trade unions. However, as the Member for West Coast has pointed out earlier, there are certain categories of such workers who, in practice, are workers. They are employees but they work under a certain arrangement that they do not come under this definition.”
“Point of order, Sir. I think we are referring to the Trade Unions (Amendment) Bill and not the Employment (Amendment) Bill. The hon. Member for Anson should confine himself to this Bill and not other Bills.”
“The powers given to the Registrar of Trade Unions will enable him to call up an auditor for an explanation of his audit on the accounts of the trade union concerned, cause the accounts to be further audited, or where he finds it necessary, direct a trade union to change its auditor so that the accounts can be audited by other auditors to give an objective and better perspective of the financial position of a trade union. The Registrar of Trade Unions will also have powers to call up documents of the trade unions, so that he can be kept informed of union activities and to get a better understanding of the trade unions. This will help him to establish better rapport with trade unionists and employees of trade unions. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 4.00 p.m.”
“Sir, under section 50 of the Trade Unions Act, unions are allowed to invest their funds in stocks and shares in such private or public companies, or in such other securities as approved by the Minister. With increasing membership since the 1960s, more and more unions are becoming affluent. Since the Seminar on Modernization of the Labour Movement in 1969, many of the unions have invested their surplus funds in union cooperatives which serve to improve the quality of life for workers. The amendment in clause 13 will allow unions more avenues to invest their funds, which will be in any investments authorized under the Trustees Act, in interest-earning deposits in banks or finance companies or in shares of co-operative societies established by any registered trade union. Sir, while the Trade Unions Act will provide more avenues for unions to invest funds, we should, on the other hand, tighten up the accountability of unions for such funds. This is to safeguard the interest of workers ultimately. The amendment in clause 14 will require a union to change its auditor after five years. This is to prevent complicity. However, in circumstances where it is advantageous to retain the same auditor and there is no danger of complicity, approval may be given by the Minister to the union to use the same auditor for more than five years. Our trade unions have generally been well managed. However, we cannot assume that this will be so at all times. The law must provide safeguards to protect the interests of members. Clause 15 of the amendment Bill will give powers to the Registrar of Trade Unions to call up accounts so that he can check the accounts, or to take action to remedy any wrongdoings quickly.”
“The amendments in clauses 5, 6, 7 and 10 are consequential upon the amendments in clauses 3 and 4. Clause 12 of the Bill requires a trade union to obtain the consent, by secret ballot, of the majority of its members, if the union intends to use moneys collected from its members for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected. Sir, the rules of most, if not all, trade unions require persons who are admitted as members of the union, to pay an entrance fee and subscriptions at a monthly or other periodic intervals. However, a union may decide to raise funds for a specific purpose, for example, to purchase a building and request its members to make donations or contributions towards the fund. In such a situation, it is only fair that the union should obtain the consent of its members, who have been making contributions or donations to the fund, if the union decides to use the moneys for some other purpose because the moneys collected are not sufficient to purchase a building or the moneys are in excess to its needs. I would like to clarify that clause 12 of the Bill is not intended to apply to moneys which are collected by a union as entrance fees or subscriptions since they are not paid to the union for any specific purpose. The purpose for which such moneys are to be used or applied is a matter for the union to decide so long as the union complies with the provisions of the Trade Unions Act relating to the investment and expenditure of the trade union funds. It also does not apply to moneys which are allocated by a union for a specific purpose from the general fund of the union.”
“Officials of my Ministry have been meeting and will continue to meet the office-bearers of these unions to assist them in whatever way possible. Where the unions after reorganization do come under the ambit of the Trade Unions Act, they will be allowed to continue as trade unions. Associations of employers and self-employed persons, which will cease to be trade unions by virtue of the amendments in clause 2 of the Bill, will be given a grace period of one year in order to wind up their affairs and to settle and dispose of their funds. This is provided for in clause 16 of the Bill which is a transitional provision. Clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill empower the Registrar of Trade Unions to refuse the registration of any trade union if any of the rules is oppressive or unreasonable. Sir, a trade union need only have seven members to apply for registration under the Act. The application must be accompanied by the rules of the union. The rules of a union which are submitted at the time of the application for registration may include provisions which are unreasonable or oppressive in the sense that they impose undue burden on its members, for example, rules which are designed to protect the interests of the persons responsible for forming the union or which do not provide every member an equal right to be elected or appointed as an officer of the union. Unless the rules are subsequently amended by the general membership of the union, any person who joins the union after it has been registered will have no choice but to accept such rules. It is therefore desirable that the Registrar of Trade Unions be given powers to refuse the registration of a trade union if any of its rules are unreasonable or oppressive.”
“When the new definition of a trade union comes into operation, they will cease to be trade unions. Mr Speaker, Sir, clause 2 of the Bill also amends the definition of a workman to exclude self-employed persons from the definition. The present definition of a workman includes self-employed persons such as newspaper vendors and musicians. Associations of self-employed persons are therefore required to register as trade unions under the existing Trade Unions Act so long as their objects include any one or more of the objects which I read out earlier. There are at present 11 registered trade unions of self-employed persons whose members include stevedores, lightermen, porters, musicians, newspaper vendors, shoemakers, etc. These associations are also not involved in the regulation of relations between workmen and employers because their members do not have any employers unlike those who are employed under a contract of service. Though they are registered as trade unions, they do not come within the scope of the Industrial Relations Act and therefore cannot avail themselves of the conciliation and arbitration procedures set up under that Act. Sir, as the registration of associations of self-employed persons under the Trade Unions Act does not confer any advantage on the members, it will be more appropriate for such associations to be registered under the Societies Act instead of the Trade Unions Act. The purpose of the amendment to the definition of a workman is, therefore, to exclude associations of self-employed persons from the scope of the Act. Some of these unions of self-employed persons, however, may have some members who are employees and who will continue to come under the amended definition of a workman.”
“Under the new definition in clause 2 of the Bill, a trade union means: 'any association or combination of workmen or employers, whether temporary or permanent, whose principal object is to regulate relations between workmen and employers for any or all of the following purposes: (a) to promote good industrial relations between workmen and employers; (b) to improve the working conditions of workmen or enhance their economic and social status; or (c) to achieve the raising of productivity for the benefit of workmen, employers and the economy of Singapore, and includes any federation of two or more trade unions.' Mr Speaker, Sir, the present definition of a trade union is no longer relevant and must be changed, given the new cooperative approach in labour-management relations today. The new definition of a trade union will enshrine in law the new directions for all trade unions to further improve labour-management relations. The present definition of a trade union also has other disadvantages. Even associations of employers which are not established for the purpose of regulating relations between workmen and employers, must be registered under the Act. Their objects are mainly to regulate relations between employers and employers, or to impose restrictive conditions in the conduct of any trade or business. There are, at present, a total of 39 such trade unions registered under the Act. These include associations such as the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar Owners Associations, the Singapore Firewood Merchants' Association and the Singapore Importers and Exporters Association. Sir, the registration of such associations under the Act does not serve any useful purpose. These associations can well perform their functions as societies under the Societies Act.”
“While the trade union movement has kept pace with the development of the social and economic situation, the definition of a trade union in the Trade Unions Act has remained unchanged for about 40 years. Under the Trade Unions Act, a trade union means any association of workmen or employers with one or more of the following objects: '(a) the regulation of relations between workmen and employers, or between workmen and workmen or between employers and employers; or (b) the imposing of restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business; or (c) the representation of either workmen or employers in trade disputes; or (d) the promotion or organization or financing of strikes or lock-outs in any trade or industry or the provision of pay or other benefits for its members during a strike or lock-out.' The assumptions on which the definition was based are British assumptions and are largely confrontational in approach. The definition is also negative. It allows workmen to form trade unions whose only objective is to promote, organize or finance strikes or other forms of industrial action. Members will no doubt know that in several western countries, this confrontational approach has stifled economic growth. We studied countries which are models of success in economic development, and looked at their trade union laws. These countries include Japan and South Korea. The underlying spirit defining trade unions under their laws is cooperation, not confrontation. We decided to amend the definition of a trade union under our laws based on the laws of those countries.”
“Harmonious industrial relations was one of the reasons why we succeeded in attracting foreign investment in our industrialization programme, The 1969 Seminar on Modernization of the Labour Movement organized by the NTUC brought the trade union movement to yet another plateau. The Seminar decided that trade unions should do more than just collective bargaining to improve terms and conditions of service of the workers. Trade unions should be social organizations as well, to look after the welfare and social needs of workers. Trade unions should also be committed to improving the quality of working life and national productivity in general. Mr Speaker, Sir, the industrial relations scene in the Republic over the past decade has been stable and harmonious. There was not a single strike during the past five years. This healthy situation could be attributed to the close tripartite cooperation of the workers, the employers and the Government, and the positive and co-operative attitude of unions towards management. By and large, unions no longer resort to industrial action as the means of resolving trade disputes. Unlike the trade unions of yester years, present day trade unions do not exist merely for the purpose of organizing or promoting industrial action or merely representing their members in trade disputes. In fact, their main role has been to regulate relations between workmen and employers for the purpose of promoting good industrial relations and improving the working conditions of our workmen. It is important that we continue to maintain and improve on these stabilizing and favourable factors to attract more and better investment so that the quality and life of our workers and our national economy can be further improved.”
“With the return of British rule after the war, the Trade Unions Ordinance became operative and the first trade union was registered in October, 1946. Under the colonial rule, employers generally exploited workers to maximize their profits. In addition, there was hardly any system for resolving industrial disputes. The Communists and the pro-communists exploited the unhealthy economic and social situation then. They succeeded in infiltrating the trade union movement under the guise of protecting the fundamental rights and privileges of workers and of promoting their economic and social interests. But they did not practise what they preached, especially where promoting economic and social interests of workers was concerned. Instead, trade unions were organized to adopt a militant and confrontational approach against employers. We lost a few million man-days of work due to work stoppages during that period. Their aim was obvious. It was to damage the country's economy and sow seeds of discontent to foment the Communist revolution. The turning point came when a group of non-communist unions emerged to form the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) which opposed the Singapore Association of Trade Unions (SATU) formed by the pro-communist unions. Intense rivalry for workers' support developed between these two groups. The NTUC emerged as the eventual winner winning the majority support of organized labour. The defeat of SATU in 1963 paved the way for the development of a healthy non-communist democratic trade union movement. The trade union movement began to reorientate its attitudes towards management. Cooperation replaced confrontation and hostility.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." The main objects of the Bill are to amend the definition of a "trade union" in order to set a new and positive direction for labour management relations; to amend the definition of a workman for the purpose of excluding associations of self-employed persons from the scope of the Trade Unions Act; to confer certain powers on the Registrar of Trade Unions in relation to the registration of trade unions, the auditing of union accounts and investigations under the Act; and to make provisions concerning the investment of trade union funds and the use of moneys collected by a trade union from its members for a specific purpose. The proposed amendments to the Trade Unions Act are explained in the Explanatory Statement to the Bill. I would like, however, to speak on the salient features of the Bill. Mr Speaker, Sir, the trade union movement in Singapore can be traced back to the period prior to the Second World War. There was no trade union as we know of today in Singapore in the pre-war days. But there were in existence societies in the form of trade associations, employees' or craftsmen's guilds and mutual aid organizations. However, no association which was likely to function as a trade union was allowed registration then. It was not until 1940 that the British colonial government, realizing the potential of organized labour in Singapore and in order to woo workers in support of its war efforts, introduced the Trade Unions Ordinance. This Ordinance was based on the British trade union legislation. Soon after the Ordinance came into force in 1941, war broke out and Malaya and Singapore were captured by the Japanese.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on the first point raised by the Member for Kaki Bukit on Services No. 226 and 228 not keeping to their schedule, I can definitely ask SBS to look into this. With regard to his second point, I think this would probably come under the Comprehensive Bus Study that is being conducted. That is probably the reason why SBS has not been able to implement the suggested two-way service made earlier by his CCC members. HDB FLATS (Exclusion of certain categories of persons) 8. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for National Development whether he has considered whether the policy of the Housing and Development Board to exclude certain categories of persons from applying for HDB flats and the recently announced policy of the HDB to deprive families and relatives of persons, who may be convicted of arson or vandalism, of their right to apply for or stay in HDB flats violate the articles in the Constitution which provide for equality of all citizens under the law besides being contrary to notions of justice among civilised societies.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, Services No. 226 and 228 have been improved considerably since they were first introduced, both in terms of frequency and the number of buses. Service No. 226 was first implemented in February 1981 with three buses operating at intervals of nine minutes during peak hours. Now it operates at intervals of our minutes during peak hours and nine minutes during the off-peak. Service No. 228 began operation in September 1980 with two buses operating at intervals of 11 minutes during peak hours. Now it has five buses operating at intervals of four minutes during peak hours and 10 minutes during off-peak hours. I can assure the hon. Member for Kaki Bukit that SBS monitors all services in New Towns on a regular basis. A recent survey showed Services No. 226 and 228 in Bedok to be adequate. Encik Saidi Haji Shariff (Kaki Bukit): Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Hon. Minister aware that we have received numerous complaints that these two bus services do not keep to their frequency? The second question is that in response to queries and suggestions made by our Citizens' Consultative Committee to improve the services, particularly Service No. 228 to ply two-way, the SBS replied that it would consider implementing the two-way service if all the flats are fully occupied. But until now it has not been implemented yet. May I know whether the Minister would consider asking the SBS to carry out their promise?”
“Sir, the Comprehensive Bus Study is still being conducted by SBS with the assistance of the London Transport International as consultants. The Study is expected to be completed sometime early next year. FEEDER BUS SERVICES NO. 226 AND 228 (Improvement) 7. Encik Saidi Haji Shariff asked the Minister for Communications and Minister for Labour whether there are plans to improve the feeder Bus Services No. 226 and 228 which now serve residents in Neighbourhood 6 and 7 of Bedok New Town at Bedok Reservoir Road.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore Bus Service (SBS) is currently conducting a Comprehensive Bus Study. This study is reviewing the bus network for the whole island. New services will be created between places where sizeable demand can be identified. At the same time, existing services will be rationalized to minimize duplication and cut down wasteful provision. Special attention will be given to New Towns where there are no direct services at present. While every effort will be made to ensure that residents in New Towns do not have to make too many bus transfers, it is not possible to have direct bus service in every case. Demand will have to be the main consideration. The request from the hon. Member for Telok Blangah for a direct service between Telok Blangah and Ang Mo Kio New Towns will be looked into by SBS as part of the Comprehensive Bus Study.”
“Section 63(4) of the Road Traffic Act empowers the Registrar of Vehicles to suspend or revoke the vocational licence of a taxi driver on the ground that by reason of his conduct or physical disability, he is not a fit and proper person to hold such a licence. In exercising this power, the Registrar's decision is based upon evidence adduced from both the complainant and the taxi driver. The power to review the Registrar's decision is vested with the Minister and this is laid down in section 63(5) of the Road Traffic Act. Thus if a taxi driver is dissatisfied with the Registrar's decision, he can appeal to the Minister against the decision of the Registrar. As there is already an avenue of appeal, we do not see a need to set up a tribunal as proposed by the Honourable Member for Anson. PERSONS DEBARRED FROM APPLYING FOR HDB FLATS 4. Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for National Development if the Housing and Development Board maintains a list of persons who the Board thinks should be debarred from applying for HDB flats and, if such a list is maintained, the various reasons for which persons are debarred.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 13, line 6, after "communication", to insert "system". Sir, the purpose of this amendment is to specifically state that the exclusive privilege granted to the new Telecoms Corporation is in respect of information communication system only and does not include the provision of all forms of information. Amendment agreed to.”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 6, line 4, after "services", to insert ", except broadcasting and television services,". Sir, the purpose of this amendment is to make explicit that information communication services which encompass postal and telecommunication services do not include broadcasting and television services. Amendment agreed to. Clause 6, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 7 to 19 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 20 -”
“Sir, I beg to move, In page 4, line 3, to leave out ", intelligence or information" and insert "or intelligence". Sir, this amendment deletes the word "information" from the definition of "telecommunications". The purpose of this amendment, and the subsequent amendment which I will be moving, is to make it very clear that the functions of the new Telecoms Corporation do not include broadcasting and television services or the control of information. These functions should rightly remain with the Ministry of Culture and the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation as provided for in the Broadcasting and Television Act and the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Act, 1979. Amendment agreed to. Further Amendment made: In page 4, line 6, to leave out, "intelligence or information" and insert "or intelligence". - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong]. Clause 2 as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 3 to 5 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 6 -”
“This clause provides that if the Auditor-General is not able to do the job, the Corporation may, after consultation with the Auditor-General, appoint an external auditor. The Member for Telok Blangah seems to have the misconception that this is a take-over Bill. If this is a take-over Bill, then we need only to amend the existing legislation. This is a new legislation for a new corporation. This Bill seeks to effect the merger of the Postal Services Department and the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore into a new statutory board, and not a take-over of one by another. The Member for Telok Blangah need not fear hat there will be no post offices or postal services after merger. We will continue to have post offices and postal services. As clearly stated by the General Manager, which he quoted correctly, with the merger it is anticipated that the services, such as electronic mail, can be implemented more efficiently and expeditiously, not to replace postal services nor to make the cost of postal services more expensive. As regards the arrangement for transfer of assets and liabilities, these are day-to-day manAgement matters. We will leave them to the management of the two bodies to handle. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Ong Teng Cheong]. Bill considered in Committee. 6.52 p.m. [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 2 -”
“This particular clause is to make provision for that sort of investment. I am sure the Member for Anson understands that the satellite is not in Singapore. It is somewhere up in the sky. Clause 71 is necessary to protect the public who uses the services of Telecoms in respect of the privacy and confidentiality of the information which is being transmitted. So I do not understand the point of the Member's objection. Clauses 28 and 29 refer to the transfer of staff from the Postal Services Department and the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore to the new Telecoms Corporation. I assure the Member for Anson and the Member for Telok Blangah that the interests of these employees will be safe-guarded, as explicitly stated in clauses 28 and 29. As I have explained in my speech earlier on, they will be employed on terms no less favourable than what they enjoy now. If Members were to read clause 29 carefully, they will find that all the safeguards are there. All the various options can be exercised by these employees, whether they want to remain under the pension scheme or otherwise. As regards the Third Schedule, paragraph 3, raised by the Member for Anson on the appointment of auditors, the Corporation would be happy to engage the Auditor-General as the auditor. Unfortunately the Auditor-General may not be able to accept the appointment because of man power shortage. My personal experience is that first preference is usually given to the Auditor-General to be the auditor for statutory boards. For example, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation wanted the Auditor-General to be the auditor, but the Auditor-General was unable to accept the appointment and suggested that the Corporation engage external auditors instead.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not a lawyer but I thought the last but one line of the clause is very clear on this point. It says that it is the investment of funds "for the development of information communication services whether in Singapore or elsewhere." I am here referring to the investment in submarine cables or satellite telecommunication systems outside Singapore. This is a capital expansion in order to upgrade the level of telecommunication services. This is to cover that part of the investment.”
“Clause 18 says: 'Any funds of the Corporation may be invested from time to time in securities . . . be invested or for the development of information communication services whether in Singapore or elsewhere.' I think the phrase "in Singapore" is quite clear. He is referring to "elsewhere". "Elsewhere" means investment in submarine cables, for example, linking Singapore to other countries. For example, in the submarine cable linking Singapore to Indonesia, the cable will have to be laid from Singapore to somewhere outside Singapore in order to be connected to Indonesia. This is what is meant by "elsewhere" insofar as this investment of funds is concerned. Is it clear now?”