When coffee chain Flash Coffee shut all 11 of its outlets in Singapore, it left a number of staff high and dry.

These staff were told on Oct. 12 that their services were terminated with immediate effect, but they were still owed unpaid wages, CPF contributions, and encashment for unused leave.

The Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) stepped in to assist its union members who were employed by Flash Coffee.

The union assisted its affected members in filing their cases of owed salaries with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management.

It also helped its affected members with job matching, linking them with immediate vacancies in the services sector, by tapping on the wider labour movement and its network of unionised companies.

How a union can help members in a non-unionised company

The intervention by the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union is an example of how a union can help union members working in a non-unionised company.

It mainly covers assistance with contractual claims, compensation, and importantly, help in moving on to new employment.

In such situations, the union will help the union member seek assistance at NTUC's Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. Together, they will try to negotiate better compensation for affected workers.

If there are contractual claims, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management can assist the union member with initiating a Tripartite Mediation, and if need be, escalate the dispute to the Employment Claims Tribunal.

Lastly, union members also have the option to seek employment assistance through their industry union or NTUC’s e2i (Employment & Employability Institute).

How a union can help members in a unionised company

It's a different story if you're a union member working in a unionised company.

A unionised company and the union (which represents the workers) are bound by a collective agreement which specifies the terms of the retrenchment benefits that union members are entitled to, amongst other terms and conditions of employment.

For instance, the collective agreement might stipulate that the company has to provide each union member S$X in retrenchment payouts.

This collective agreement is certified by the Industrial Arbitration Court, so it is legally binding.

The help from a union can also come sooner and might even help prevent a retrenchment in the first place.

Once the union knows that a retrenchment exercise is on the way, it will work together with the unionised company to save jobs by cutting costs in other areas, and in the process, avoid a retrenchment.

Of course, this doesn't always work out in the end. Sometimes a retrenchment is the only way forward.

In such a scenario, aside from making sure the union member receives what they are entitled to per the collective agreement, the union makes sure that the employer does the retrenchment in a responsible manner, in line with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.

Essentially, it means making sure that the retrenched worker is treated fairly and respectfully, instead of coming to work and finding they have been laid off because they cannot log in to their computer system.

What if I'm not a union member?

Clearly, the representation and support from a union is not available to non-union members.

However, if you're a non-union member, you can approach the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management directly.

In particular, the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management can help to mediate between you and your employer regarding disputes over contractual retrenchment benefits.

According to NTUC, most cases that the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management sees involve workers who do not have retrenchment benefits specified in their employment contracts.

An understated service

At the heart of it, a union helps to ensure workers are treated fairly and can get back on their feet again after they are laid off, a sorely understated service that we probably don't think of much when our careers are going well. 

But just like insurance policies, a union can be useful for when things go south.

NTUC has a network of 58 affiliated trade unions and they cover a wide array of jobs. There are unions for journalists, and there are unions for teachers and educators. Even statutory board employees have a union.

You can check out tNTUC's network of affiliated trade unions here. Who knows, maybe one of them might be an invaluable source of help in future.

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