The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has responded to retrenchment exercises carried out by Yahoo and Ninja Van, saying it was "dismayed" at the timing of these exercises.

NTUC said the two companies had initiated retrenchment exercises on Apr. 29 and 30, "just before May Day", and pointed out that the holiday is "meant to celebrate the contributions of workers towards Singapore’s economy".

NTUC also highlighted that both companies are not unionised.

"We understand that companies do need to undergo restructuring exercises from time to time," said NTUC, which called for companies to be "considerate" about the timing of such exercises, and to "avoid doing exercises during such periods".

Retrenchment this year

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)'s Labour Market Advance Release for the first quarter of 2024, retrenchments declined for the second consecutive quarter.

3,000 workers were retrenched in the first quarter of 2024, compared with 3,460 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 4,110 in the third quarter of 2023.

Secretary General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), Ng Chee Meng, said in February 2024 that retrenchment numbers can be expected to increase this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in the 2024 Budget that retrenched workers will get financial support under a temporary financial support scheme for those who are involuntarily unemployed.

Further details are expected to be announced later this year.

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Top photo via Yahoo and Ninja Van on Facebook

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