Agoda admits inhibiting staff from approaching unions, govt agencies is inappropriate: NTUC

Online travel platform Agoda has acknowledged that employers should not discourage employees from seeking help from trade unions and government agencies, said the labour movement.

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In a joint statement on the evening of Sept 19, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU) said they have held several discussions with Agoda.

"Through the discussions... Agoda has acknowledged that it was inappropriate for employers to include provisions that discourage or inhibit employees from approaching trade unions, government agencies or statutory bodies for all situations," they said.

In a separate statement on Sept 19, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said employers should not prevent their retrenched workers with genuine concerns from contacting unions and the authorities.

The statements follow Agoda's retrenchment exercise in Singapore earlier in September, which saw about 50 employees laid off.

The job cuts were part of a larger global restructuring by the travel booking platform, which has its headquarters here.

In a severance document circulated on social media, affected staff were instructed not to report the retrenchment to MOM, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep), government agencies, statutory bodies and trade unions.