Singapore's national carrier - Singapore Airlines - may be about to lose hundreds of its pilots. Many have already threatened to resign in protest against pay cuts and proposed changes to the country's labour laws.Yet it appears the dispute is not just about pay cuts - some analysts say it's the government's way to rein in what it sees as a "rogue union" - the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore or ALPAS.
SINGAPORE: Industrial dispute prompts mass resignations 02/12/2003
Transcript:
WOODS: The Airline Pilots Association is one of very few unions in Singapore which is not a member of the government controlled National Trade Union Congress - it is was also a rarety in that it's members had the right to ratify decisions made by the union executive.
The dispute follows a decision by ALPAS members this month to sack their entire leadership over the union executives recommendation that the membership accept the wage cuts imposed by the airline.The pilots are also incensed by a Singapore Airlines decision to move a pilot training base to Mauritius, where the company is paying pilots based there wages based on local payscales - far less than they would receive if based in Singapore.
Singapore airlines says it is in the "midst of a difficuilt operating environment" and in a bid to stay competitive must consider a range of options - including retrenchments. However, it says it will work with the union towards more flexible wage structure and a possible return of wage cuts once the groups reaches 600 billion - a target identified by the airline and the National Trades Union Council. The president of Singapore's civil rights organisation the Think Centre, Sinapan Samydorai says Singapore Airline's pilots have been stifled and frustrated by Singapore's unique industrial system.
SAMYDORAI: The secretary general of the NTUC is a minister without a portfolio and often you will see members of parliament being seconded to trade unions, at the industrial level and also other jobs within the trade union, that means the various positions in the trade union, often the secretary general of a trade union.
WOODS: Many other unions representing Singapore Airlines, including ground staff and baggage handlers freely accepted the SIA paycuts - because traditionally the the National Trade Union Congress has worked with the government - for what it calls the "good of the country". The government has long been critical of the Pilots Association's protracted negotiations with Singapore airlines on a number of disputes - which usually ended with SIA agreeing to the union's terms. But Sinapan Samydorai says it now seems the government, which has a majority stake in the airline, is moving quickly to protect what it sees as one of its blue chip investments.
SAMYDORAI: One of the best investments is SIA, which is making a profit. It was a golden egg. So in a way, you would have expected the redress of the union that are linked with the NTUC, even those dealing with the transportations within the airport have accepted such a card. But in the pilots case there is a history of 20 years of struggling or opposing certain positions of the management in favour of the pilot membership.
WOODS: In a statement Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong explained his reasons for changing the country's Labour laws.
CHOK TONG: We cannot allow confrontational industrial relations to add to the problems of SIA, Changi Airport and our travel industry. It will put jobs and Singapore's economy at risk. We cannot afford a continuation of these dysfunctional relations marked by confrontations and stand-offs. To prevent another such cycle of acrimony, the Ministry Of Manpower will amend the Trade Unions Act to ensure that the rules of registered trade unions enable executive committees to negotiate and commit to collective agreements without the need for formal ratification by the general membership or the branches.
WOODS: Under the new act foreigners, seen by many in the Singapore government to be the agitators within the union - will be banned from taking position's on the Airline Pilots Association executive. Almost 800 of the union's 1600 members are foreigners. The Think Centre's, Sinapan Samydorai says whether the dispute worsens is now in the lap of Singapore Airline's pilots - but he believes while some will stay and fight, many will simply walk away to seek employment elsewhere.
SAMYDORAI: It depends on the pilots and how far they want to stick to their position and to their rights. I mean what they are doing is in their rights as a trade union. If there is a protest, which is already happening, pilots are already leaving and knowing they have moved the training centre to Mauritius and paying pilots less this will also affect their morals, so I suspect some of the pilots will pull themselves out of SIA completely.
Sources and Relevant Links:
ABC Radio Australia: SINGAPORE: Industrial dispute prompts mass resignations 02/12/2003
PPune Forum: The Facts about SQ Saga 5th January 2004
Reuters: Singapore PM warns pilots against labour action
CNA: SM Lee says SIA management and pilots' union have to make fresh start 6 January 2004
