UNION’S RESPONSE
In response to CNA’s queries, the Supply Chain Employees’ Union (SCEU) said that Ninja Van had informed it of the layoffs in advance.
While the company is not unionised, some of the affected employees are members of SCEU, which is a National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) affiliated union.
In retrenchment exercises where there are union members working in non-unionised companies, NTUC’s affiliated unions or associations will offer to help these members should they be affected.
“Ninja Van has assured SCEU that all alternative options have been explored, resulting in some workers being redeployed to other suitable positions within the company,” said Mr Andy Ang, assistant executive secretary of the SCEU.
“For the other affected workers, SCEU engaged in discussions with Ninja Van to ensure fair compensation packages were provided, in line with the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.”
Mr Ang added that SCEU is ready to provide its affected members with assistance and resources where needed.
These include connecting them to the labour movement’s network, such as NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).
Career coaches were deployed to Ninja Van’s premises to provide career advisory support, said Mr Ang.
“For affected workers who opted for further assistance, e2i career coaches will continue to follow up with them post-exercise, offering personalised guidance and support.”
Mr Ang added that pro-bono counselling was also provided by the College of Allied Educators to support the general well-being of affected workers.
“Affected workers who are Singaporeans can also receive more employment support through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme by participating in e2i’s job search activities.”
The scheme provides temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 (US$4,600) over six months for involuntarily unemployed individuals. Individuals will receive corresponding payouts when they meet the minimum points required for each month.
“Eligible union members can also tap into the Union Training Assistance Programme to offset training costs should they require skills upgrading,” said Mr Ang.
