NEF issues advisory on grievance handling procedures to employers

The Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) has released its advisory on employee grievance handling. 

This follows the illegal strike by a group of bus drivers from China, employed by transport operator, SMRT. 

In a statement, the federation said it has emailed the advisory to nearly 20,000 employers. 

Together, they cover nearly 2 million employees or 63 per cent of the Singapore workforce. 

The federation has strongly urged employers - both large and small - to put in place grievance handling procedures or to renew them, to ensure that they're relevant to the needs of workers.

It added employers should ensure the procedures are easy to understand and have easy accessible contact points.

There should be timelines for resolution, avenues for appeals, and alternative third party channels for advice, conciliation, mediation or arbitration. 

It added employers must ensure that all involved, especially HR supervisors and line managers, are trained adequately to deal with employee grievances. 

The federation said it's mindful that building good employee and employer relations would require more than just proper grievance handling procedures, which it said are part of responsible employment practices.

It said it will monitor how employers respond to the advisory over the next few months. 

And added it's confident that employers will rise to the challenge of improving their engagement process with their workers, in the light of an increasingly diverse workforce. 

On the strike by the China bus drivers, on 26 and 27 Nov 2012 the federation said it was distressed by the incident and seriously concerned over the issues that have surfaced. 

It said it has also taken heed of the call by Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin, for employers to ensure that lines of communications are kept open and proper grievance handing procedures are in place.