THE BARGAINING STRUCTURE OF SINGAPORE

Abstract

Collective bargaining is basically negotiations about terms and conditions of employment between representatives of the employer and union representative of the employee. However, before negotiations begin, there is a need to identify who are to be covered in the ensuing agreement. This grouping of employee and employer covered in a collective agreement is known as the bargaining structure. The scope of the employees represented may range from a single craft to all workers. The employer side of the bargaining structure may range from a single plant to an entire economy. The general configuration of the bargaining structure will have significant consequences on the relevant issues to be negotiated, the relative bargaining power of the union and management and ultimately on the terms of employment agreed upon. This academic exercise focuses on the bargaining structure of Singapore. It seeks to identify the various bargaining structures existing in the republic. The opening chapter introduces the study of bargaining structure. It addresses the main determinants of bargaining structure and briefly discusses bargaining structures in three developed nations. Chapter 2 discusses the industrial relations system of Singapore, and in particular the collective bargaining framework, within which bargaining structure exists. In chapter 3, the academic exercise concentrates on the formal bargaining structure as found in the collective agreements certified in 1991. It identifies the dominant bargaining structure and notes the various nuances to this form. The following chapter describes informal bargaining structures existing within the Singapore context. In the final chapter, the academic exercise looks at two current issues in the bargaining structure of Singapore and then closes with some concluding remarks.