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Trade Unions as Agents for Skill Formation: The Case of Singapore
Author(s) -
Goh Esther,
Green Francis
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of training and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.558
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1468-2419
pISSN - 1360-3736
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2419.00023
Subject(s) - workforce , context (archaeology) , quality (philosophy) , labour economics , public relations , business , training (meteorology) , trade union , state (computer science) , political science , economic growth , economics , paleontology , philosophy , physics , epistemology , algorithm , meteorology , computer science , biology
Trade unions can influence the quality and quantity of training provided to workers. This article delineates the role played by unions in Singapore’s skill formation system, during the 1980s and 1990s. This role is framed by the context of the developmental state and of a collaborationist union movement. Singapore unions act to support the state’s drive to upgrade the skills of the workforce. They put pressure on employers to sign up to collective agreements including statements about training, and they act as both agents and providers of training and education for basic and core skills. They also devote considerable resources to persuading their members to take up training opportunities. What evidence there is suggests that these various strategies have had some success. The unions’ role in Singapore is contrasted with their role in some other countries.