UWEEI and NTUC to assist workers affected by Dyson Singapore's 1 Oct retrenchment exercise

In a statement, UWEEI expressed disappointment at at being given just one day's notice of the retrenchment exercise, "leaving insufficient time for meaningful discussion between the two parties."

The United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI) has released a statement following Dyson's retrenchment exercise on 1 October 2024 (Tuesday).

In the statement, signed off by Patrick Tay, Executive Secretary, United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries, the union expressed disappointment at being given just one day's notice of the retrenchment exercise, "leaving insufficient time for meaningful discussion between the two parties", adding that it has since escalated the matter to the Ministry of Manpower.

"The union understands that the affected workers fall outside its scope of representation under the Collective Agreement with Dyson. Nonetheless, UWEEI stands ready to support affected workers," the union commented.

In collaboration with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), UWEEI will provide support to affected workers in finding new job opportunities, offering job matching, career coaching, and training as needed. 

In addition, members of UWEEI can utilise the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP1) to subsidise training costs for skill development. UWEEI said it will also extend assistance to members experiencing financial difficulties through its various support programmes.

Finally, UWEEI urged companies to adhere to the guiding principles set forth in ⁠NTUC’s Fair Retrenchment Framework and the ⁠Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.

"Unionised companies should work with their unions in a timely manner to ensure that a fair and equitable process is carried out to safeguard the interests of all workers, especially our Singaporean core."

Affected workers and union members are encouraged to seek assistance from the union when needed, the statement concluded.

Human Resources Online has reached out to Dyson for more details on the roles and number of workers impacted, and will update this story once received.

View UWEEI's video statement on the matter here:

Reported retrenchments at Samsung's Singapore office

Separately, Samsung has reportedly laid off employees in its Singapore office on 1 October, according to media reports. In response to queries by Human Resources Online, a Samsung spokesperson said: "Samsung Electronics Singapore is conducting routine workforce adjustments to improve operational efficiency."

They declined to state the number and types of job roles affected.

READ MORE: Retrenchment as the last resort: How to do it responsibly