Singapur - Need to update labour laws (2011)

The government’s tight rein on industrial action, the tradition of non-confrontational industrial relations and the adequate dispute resolution mechanisms have meant that there have been only two officially recorded days of strike action since 1978. There were no strikes in 2010. However, practice suggests that many of Singapore’s labour laws are outdated, as in reality many of the potential restrictions on trade union rights are not applied. The unions have called for these outdated restrictions to be removed from the country’s legislation.