PTTC releases employment guidelines for public transport industry

SINGAPORE — The Public Transport Tripartite Committee (PTTC) announced guidelines on good employment practices in the public transport industry today (Sept 16).

Under the guidelines, all employees affected by each new tender or change in bus services contracts must be offered a job by an incoming operator at least 6 months before the contracted commencement date of the bus service operations.

The incoming operator must also provide at least one month for the affected employee to consider and accept the offer.

Affected employees must be offered employment terms which are not worse-off than what they have been enjoying before transition.

This means that terms and conditions of employment given to affected workers of the outgoing operator, as well as wages and allowances, at the point of offer of employment, should continue to be honoured in full.

Incoming operators must also fully recognise the length of service of affected employees with the outgoing operator as part of their period of employment with the incoming operator. A driver who served the outgoing operator for 20 years, for example, will be given entitlements and benefits based on the driver’s 20 years of service.

According to the guidelines, all terms and conditions offered by the incoming operator should remain in force for at least one year.

These guidelines were created as Singapore moves towards a Government Contracting Model for the public bus industry in 2016. The guidelines aim to safeguard the welfare of affected bus workers and facilitate a smooth transition whenever there is a new tender or when contracts are awarded to a different operator, said PTTC.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will tender three packages of bus services with service commencement from the second half of 2016. Employee aspects in the guidelines will be included in LTA’s tender specifications and subsequent contracts.