SINGAPORE: Employees who lose their jobs in Singapore are considered to have been retrenched even if new or similar roles in their organisations are available overseas which they successfully apply for, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) and National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) have told CNA.

Responding to queries, NTUC said it was concerned about “practices where workers are asked to reapply for roles locally or for roles that have moved overseas but (are) presented as new opportunities” amid business restructuring.

“If the outcome of these practices is that a worker’s role in Singapore is made redundant, such arrangements are recognised and treated as retrenchment,” the union said.

“To elaborate, when a worker’s employment is with a local company, and if that position or employment is lost due to redundancy, the worker’s relationship with the local entity ends.”

Responding to CNA, MOM said: “Should an employee lose his job as the role has been made redundant in Singapore – for example, where the role no longer exists or has been shifted overseas – this would constitute a retrenchment.

“This applies regardless of whether the employee has applied for an overseas role and the outcome of that application.”

NTUC and MOM’s responses came after H&M informed staff members on May 11 that it will carry out a restructuring exercise to move its Southeast Asia headquarters from Singapore to Malaysia.

The Swedish fashion retailer asked its employees across East Asia, which includes Singapore, to reapply for 178 jobs around the region as part of the restructuring, according to several staff members who spoke to CNA.

Employees can nominate themselves for up to two roles, many of which have moved from Singapore to other countries. They must pass interviews and evaluations to secure the positions.

Those who are unsuccessful face “mutual separation” in line with local labour laws, according to staff members.

On Tuesday (Jun 2), MOM confirmed that it had received a mandatory retrenchment notification from H&M, and that it was within the required window of five working d...