Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness released interim report on recommendations for Workplace Fairness Legislation in Singapore 职场公平劳资政委员会发布中期报告书以针对新加坡职场公平立法提出建议
On 13 February 2023, the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness (the “Committee”), which was convened in 2021 to review the workplace fairness framework in Singapore, released an interim report on their recommendations for the Workplace Fairness Legislation (“WFL”). The WFL as recommended by the Committee aims to protect workers from workplace discrimination in Singapore. It is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the second half of 2024.
职场公平劳资政委员会（“委员会”）于2023 年 2 月 13 日发布了中期报告书，以针对新加坡职场公平立法（“职场公平立法”）提出各项建议。该委员会于2021年成立，旨在检讨新加坡保障职场公平性的框架。该委员会所提议的职场公平立法旨在保护员工，让其在新加坡免受职场歧视。职场公平立法预计将在 2024 年下半年提交新加坡国会审议。
Over the past two decades, the Tripartite Partners (i.e. the Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation) in Singapore have worked closely to uphold workplace fairness in Singapore through education and enforcement of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (“FEP Guidelines”). The Committee was convened to, among other things, look into how Singapore can strengthen its framework to stand against discrimination.
在过去的二十年中，新加坡的三方合作伙伴（即新加坡人力部、全国职工总会和新加坡全国雇主联合会）密切合作，通过教育和实践劳资政公平雇佣指导原则（ “公平雇佣指导原则”）保障职场的公平。该委员会设立的目的之一旨在调研新加坡如何加强遏制职场歧视的法律框架。
The Committee’s recommendations are to retain the FEP Guidelines to uphold overarching principles of fair and merit-based employment and stand against all forms of discrimination for all employers, while introducing legislation to prohibit the common and familiar forms of discrimination in Singapore, and strengthen protection and redress for workers who experience discrimination. The WFL will provide for mediation as the main avenue to address discrimination complaints, with recourse to the Employment Claims Tribunals (“ECT”) if mediation fails.
该委员会建议保留公平雇佣指导原则，以维护公平公正和择优就业的总体原则，并反对所有雇主采取的任何形式的歧视行为。同时，该委员会建议引入相关法律法规，旨在禁止在新加坡比较常见的职场歧视行为，并加强对员工的保护，也让遭受职场歧视的员工获得平反。 职场公平立法以调解作为处理职场歧视纠纷的主要渠道。如果调解失败，纠纷可被提交雇佣纠纷索偿庭（“ECT”）处理。
Here are some of the Committee’s key recommendations for the WFL:
本文对委员会对职场公平立法的一些主要建议总结如下：
- Prohibit workplace discrimination in respect of the following characteristics: (i) age, (ii) nationality, (iii) sex, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, (iv) race, religion, language, (v) disability and mental health conditions.
禁止与(i) 年龄，(ii) 国籍，(iii) 性别、婚姻状况、怀孕状况、看护责任，(iv) 种族、宗教、语言或(v) 身体残障及精神状况相关的新加坡职场歧视行为。 - Exempt small firms (<25 employees) from the legislation for a start, with a view to tightening this exemption in five years.
运作初期，新加坡的雇佣少于25人的小型公司将在相关法令下获得相关豁免，计划在五年后缩小豁免范围。 - Require compulsory mediation for workplace discrimination claims at the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management first, with adjudication at the ECT to be used only as a last resort.
职场歧视纠纷必须先由劳资政纠纷调解联盟进行强制调解，只有在劳资政纠纷调解联盟调解失败的情况下才可将相关纠纷提交给雇佣纠纷索偿庭（ECT）进行裁决。 - Encourage parties to explore non-monetary remedies, such as reinstatement of an employment offer or providing an apology letter, where practicable.
该委员会鼓励新加坡的职场歧视纠纷的各方在可行的情况下考虑非金钱补救措施，例如重新向员工提供就业机会或提供道歉函等。 - Allow monetary compensation of up to $5,000 for pre-employment claims; and up to $20,000 for non-union members and $30,000 for union-assisted claims, for in-employment and end-employment claims, as with other employment claims today.
该委员会建议让雇佣纠纷索偿庭有权下令雇主提供金钱补偿。涉及新加坡雇佣前纠纷的雇主可被下令赔偿最高 5,000新元，涉及在职员工和前员工纠纷的雇主可被下令赔偿最高 20,000新元（非工会会员）或 30,000新元 （工会会员），与当今的其他类型雇佣纠纷相同。
6. Empower the ECT to strike out frivolous or vexatious claims, or award costs against such claimants.
该委员会也建议授权雇佣纠纷索偿庭（ECT）撤销或驳回投诉人不成立的索赔，或下令此类投诉人赔偿相关费用。
Following the release of the interim report, there will be a one-month public consultation period, and feedback can be directed to https://go.gov.sg/twcfinterimfeedback. The Committee’s final report is expected to be ready later this year.
中期报告发布后，该委员会将展开为期一个月的公共咨询，在新加坡的公众人士可以将反馈意见发送至 https://go.gov.sg/twcfinterimfeedback 。该委员会的最终报告书预计将在今年完成。
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