JAKARTA - Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower and the International Labour Organization signed a renewed labour partnership in Singapore on June 8, setting up two years of cooperation with ASEAN labour institutions, the ministry said in a June 9 release.
The agreement runs from June 2026 to June 2028. It was developed after consultations with the National Trades Union Congress and the Singapore National Employers Federation.
MOM said the pact will support ASEAN governments, employers’ organisations and workers’ organisations through technical cooperation, policy dialogue and the sharing of labour practices. The focus areas include artificial intelligence, platform work, other non-standard employment, demographic change and older workers’ participation.
The agreement also continues earlier work on occupational safety and health, skills development and social dialogue. Its immediate effect is institutional rather than regulatory: it gives Singapore and the ILO a channel to share labour-policy experience with ASEAN member states, not a new regional rulebook.
“As ASEAN labour markets undergo profound transformation, strong partnerships are essential to ensure that technological change, demographic shifts and new forms of employment create opportunities for all,” said Kaori Nakamura-Osaka, ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
Singapore’s Platform Workers Act took effect on January 1, 2025, giving platform workers new protections covering work injury compensation and representation rights. MOM says platform workers are entitled to the same scope and level of work injury compensation as employees under the Work Injury Compensation Act.
Singapore has also moved on problems raised by workers after the law took effect. Last year on September 11, the Platform Workers Trilateral Group released 10 recommendations on livelihoods, safety and well-being. MOM said the recommendations will be adopted by all platform operators engaged by the group and implemented in phases.
The first ILO-Singapore partnership agreement was signed in June 2011. MOM said the renewed framework builds on more than 15 years of cooperation on human-resource development for ASEAN regional integration.
