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The union said it was "deeply disappointed" that the exercise was initiated without notifying and consulting the Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union, under which Lazada is unionised.
Singapore's National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has addressed Lazada Singapore's recent retrenchment exercise, brought to attention in the media between 3 and 4 January 2024.
In a statement on Friday (5 January 2024), the Union said: "The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and our affiliated union, Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union (FDAWU) are deeply disappointed that Lazada Singapore (Lazada) have initiated a retrenchment exercise without notifying and consulting FDAWU, given that Lazada is unionised under FDAWU."
Following this, the FDAWU has written to Lazada to express this disappointment, stating that "such a move is unacceptable." The matter has also been escalated to the Ministry of Manpower, NTUC added.
"NTUC stands by FDAWU and affected workers. We too are extremely disappointed in this move by Lazada."
NTUC further reiterated that it is critical for companies to work with their union to ensure that a fair and equitable process was carried out to safeguard the interests of all workers. While retrenchments may be inevitable, the union cautions that it should only be used as a last resort — companies are to exhaust all other options before making the call to retrench employees. It also appeals to companies "to be considerate about the timing of such exercises and to avoid doing such exercises during festive periods, as far as possible."
In the event of retrenchment, companies must ensure openness, transparency and consultation with unions and workers, and observe the guiding principles outlined in NTUC’s Fair Retrenchment Framework (24 July 2020) and the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment.
HRO has reached out to Lazada for a statement on the exercise, and will update this story once further details are received.
Lead image / 123rf
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