Overview

Head of State is President S.R. Nathan, who took office for a six-year term on 1 September 1999. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) is likely to call an early general election in 2001.

Population consists of Chinese, Malay and Indian. Ethnic issues have been of concern since the race riots which directly preceded independence. The governement has been trying to ease racial tensions. Education in Singapore is highly efficient. The examination system is based upon the UK one. The government has encouraged the establishment of a private university. Addition linkages with foreign universities are also likely.

Rapid economic growth has led to apparent improvement in the labour market. In 2000 employment increased by 5.4 percent GDP growth in 2000 was estimated at 9.9 percent, characterized by high rates of private and public consumption growth and a rise in external demand. But growth is forecast to slow to 4.5 percent in 2001, as a result of a dip in the cycle of the electronics industry worldwide and an overall deterioration in the external environment. Export volume growth will slow considerably as demand for electronics products falls. Much will depend on the success and competitiveness of Singapore's industrial diversification of recent years, such as in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries, to fill the gap in export growth caused by a decline in the expert sin electronics and electrical goods.

Singapore is anxious to promote free trade in the region through the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). It maintains good bilateral commercial relations with the established Western economies. It is also pursuing bilateral free-trade agreements with several countries, including Japan, New Zealand and the United States.

From the mid-1980s the government has offered its citizens financial incentives to have more children, for fear of future labour shortages, and increasing aged-dependency ratios. There has also been an increasing emphasis on encouraging inward migration of skilled foreign workers.

ILO Constituents

The Ministry of labour was restructured into the current Ministry of manpower as of 1 April 1998 and the Minister is Mr Lee Boon Yong. The Ministry has formed close ties with both the National Employers' Federation and the National Trade Union congress to ensure the sound economic and social development of the country. It has also maintained good relations with the ILO.

The Singapore national Employers' Federation (SNEF) is the leading employers' organization. Like the Ministry of manpower, it has considerable expertise in labour legislation, skill development, wages and benefits. SNEF has cooperated with the ILO and has shared its expertise with other employers' organizations in the region.

Workers

The National Trades Union congress (NTUC) is the main workers' organization in Singapore. Nearly 99 percent of unionized workers are affiliated with the NTUC. It promotes a non-confrontational, amicable disputes - resolution approach, and participates in the formulation of policies affecting workers.

Major activities including Technical cooperation

Being an advanced country, there has been no ILO technical cooperation project in Singapore since 1992. Singapore has been host to many ILO meetings and fellowship programmes covering a wide range of activities in the labour and social matters.

Promotion of International Labour Standards and Tripartism

Singapore has ratified 22 Conventions, 3 of which are Core Conventions (C.29 Forced Labour, 1930; and C.98 Rights Organize and Collective Bargaining, 1949).

In Singapore, all bodies dealing with public services are tripartite in nature. The few industrial disputes which arise are dealt with the Industrial Arbitration Court through a process of mediation. There have been no major strikes since 1978.