Hi everyone,
I received the latest mail on the matter this morning.Please see below.
John Barnes' reference to what happened in the eighties has also being alluded to by Singapore's DPM.
The pressure must be immense for the pilot union.
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori.../59506/1/.html
SIA pilots should rethink their confrontational approach: DPM Lee
By Channel NewsAsia's Teo Chia Leen in Wellington, New Zealand
WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Recent move by SIA pilots to vote out union leaders whom they felt had let them down, is a confrontational approach which could undermine tripartite relations.
Speaking to reporters at in a wrap-up news conference in New Zealand, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: "The health of the company is critical not only to their well being but to the well being of Singapore and the company has to look after its interest and at the same time, look after its staff. But it has to be fair and do its responsibility as an employer and the unions have to know how to work with the company in order to safeguard the workers.
"I think the deal which the union leaders made earlier which had wage restructuring and wage cuts but at the same time formula and restoration and profit sharing beyond a certain point - that was a very fair deal. And well if now, things have turned out better there's a profit share arrangement which will kick in at some point. So I don't think there's a reason to rethink what was agreed earlier.
But as Ng Eng Hen said the pilots, the leaders of this group have to think very carefully, do they really want to take on the government?
"The last time where there was a run in 1980 between the pilots and SIA and at that time the PM stepped in. He was speaking to the pilots union and he said 'I don't want to do you in but I don't want let anybody do Singapore in' and I still think it's a valid message."
DPM Lee is the latest Cabinet Minister to warn union leaders of Singapore Airlines to re-think their confrontational approach to labour relations.
But DPM Lee stressed that on the whole, the government's relations with unions are very good.
He also touched on the issue of whether retrenchment benefits in Singapore are too generous.
The tripartite committee comprising unions, the government and companies last reviewed them some years ago but the economic downturn has raised the question again.
"Lim Boon Heng has expressed the view and which I agree that they are still rather generous and if we want to change them further it will have to (be) another tripartite discussion to see if we can go further. It's symbolically important. Practically the impact is not, maybe not so huge because nowadays not so many workers will be working for 15-20 years for the same employer."
"But psychologically it has an impact on employers because they look at it and say, 'Wow! The chap works with me so many years, it's such a generous benefit he expects from the company,' and it will be a disincentive for people to hire. Because when you hire you must calculate that when you retrench, what the expenses are," said Mr Lee.
Companies usually offer a month for every year year of service. But with the possibility of lowering the ceiling on the years of service, the amount of retrenchment benefits to a worker would be substantially reduced.
As a comparison, Mr Lee noted that countries which have made it the hardest to retrench workers, have the highest unemployment rates.
Said DPM Lee: "The countries that make it the most difficult to retrench workers have the highest unemployment rates. Germany is the best example. In Germany they rule that when you retrench workers, you must retrench the cheapest workers first, last in first out so the youngest workers - those with no family obligations, go.
"Those with family obligations and highest seniority go last so there's no point retrenching. If you retrench cheap workers and you end up increasing your wage costs, the conclusion is that companies refuse to hire and the unemployment rate is 9 or 10 per cent and then the growth of companies is over and the economy stagnates." - CNA