UNIONISM IN THE CIVIL SERVICE IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Unionism in the civil service in Singapore began as far back as the late 1940s. While some research has been done on the labour movement in Singapore, little is known about unions representing civil servants in Singapore. The purpose of this exercise is to try to shed some light on these civil service unions. Do civil servants have the right to join a trade union? Can they negotiate for better terms and conditions with the employer, who is the government, as their counterparts in the private sector do? Are they allowed to engage in industrial action? Are there differences in the way disputes are resolved in the civil service where the government is the employer? This exercise attempts to look at these issues, together with a discussion of the structure and government of civil service unions. The governance of the largest civil service union -the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees- will be highlighted. Owing to difficulties in collecting data on membership and union density for the various civil service unions before 1985, an examination of union membership and union density is confined to 1985 and later years.