Employment Relations in Asia

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of how business, labor, and governments deal with plant closings and employee layoffs in Asia. It discusses the impact of plant closings and layoffs on the economy, the role of strategic planning in managing these situations, and the involvement of labor unions and government in addressing the issues. The document also includes case studies of plant closings and layoffs in Singapore and the measures taken by businesses and governments to mitigate the impact on employees.

Running head: EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN ASIA
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN ASIA
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1EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN ASIA
Executive Summary
A plant closing is known as a type of economizing effort companies use or temporarily go out
of business a single service site or even a number of facilities or operating units in one
location, usually referred to as a "campus." Such a type of exercise can take place for
countless reasons including declining financial performance, environmental disquiets or
natural disasters or the employer's judgment to reposition a facility for business competence
purposes. A plant closing is seen as an unchanging or impermanent collapse of a solitary
employment site or working units with single site. Such changeless breakdown of solitary
occupational sites results to employment hardship for huge number of workers within a
period of one month. The report has offered inclusive insights of the way business, labour
and the governments have managed plant closings and layoff of workers.

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Introduction
A slowing business organisation shows certain degree of decline to the extent of the
labour force. Companies nowadays are troubled with the severe influence of reducing
economy in the elevating competitiveness in the sector of manufacturing and dealing with
political repercussion which result to closings of renowned manufacturing plants and massive
layoffs of employees. A plant closing is seen as an unchanging or impermanent collapse of a
solitary employment site or working units with single site. Such changeless breakdown of
solitary occupational sites results to employment hardship for huge number of workers within
a period of one month. According to Hansson, Wigblad and Rydell (2014), layoff is seen as a
falling in drive that leads to severe employment mishap at private business site for over 500
or more number of employees. However, layoffs do not occur to employees who work for not
as much of 20 hours for every week or for 50 to 500 representatives which exclude
individuals who work not more than 20 hours for every week, if the unemployed
representatives comprise of not more than one-third of the managers’ thriving staff (Schmatz,
2014). The paper will evaluate the way business, labour and the governments deal with plant
closings and layoff of workers.
Discussion
Plant closing and layoff issues in Singapore
There can be witnessed a decline in the industrial invention. Due to severe financial
crisis, number of business stakeholders has taken their cash out of nation. Reports of Trevino
and Nelson (2016) have noted that currently traders from the United States and Europe have
been withdrawing their import appeals and demands from various countries. Furthermore,
several manufacturing plants have been misplacing their jobs, typically as a massive number

3EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN ASIA
of unsettled Indonesian labourers have been repaying in the layoff period in neighbouring
countries like Singapore. Studies conducted by Hirsch (2017) have noted that although there
had been witnessed a rise in employment rate in Singapore, number of employees from
manufacturing and service sectors experienced severe rate of unemployment and joblessness.
As per reports of Schaller and Stevens (2015), rate of unemployment increased from 5.6 to
5.9 employees per 1000 employees, in which major proportion have been professionals,
managers, executives and technicians (PMET). The percentage of unemployment has been
around 12%. Schmatz (2014) has cited the example of Walt Disney who has been certain to
close the plant known as game studio LucasArts for increasing unemployment because of
economic downsizing resolution. Reports of Schaller and Stevens (2015) have noted that
Singapore had experienced severe rate of job redundancy when Motorola, the then renowned
mobile manufacturing plant laid-off almost 700 workers from their plant. Drawing relevance
to these factors, it has been noted that Singapore has been suffering from manufacturing
plants leading to unemployment of number of employees due to inconsistent business
restructuring and high cost. Reports of Lim (2019) have mentioned that IBM Singapore,
global tech giant has unwaged huge number of its local workers as vital portion of a
reorganization implementation of its worldwide technology services division. IBM Singapore
supposedly aimed to layoff about 10,000 employees from its international labour-force and
reassigns an additional of 30,000 to new-fangled roles. Recent judgment of collapsing the
Tampines plant and transfer its manufacturing operations to the US is predictable to cost up
to 600 limited jobs, according to TODAY Online (Stolarchuk, 2019). The firm weakened to
share the precise number of employees who will be on jobless in Singapore. Current decision
of IBM is to shut down its Tampines plant and shift its manufacturing plants back to the U.S
is probable to cost up to 600 local jobs. It has been noted that the firm declined to share the
exact number of staff who will be on unemployment in Singapore. The employee benefits of

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IBM is to offer its employees has collaborated with the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM)
approvals for corporations to pay between 14 days and one month’s income for each year of
provision as economizing reimbursements to employees who are unwaged.
Ways Business Deal with Employee Layoffs and Plant Closure
One of the effective ways for business in dealing with employee payoffs and
industrial plant closures is strategic planning implemented by management team of solitary
businesses. Such a strategic planning has the potential to decrease the number of cases
created and can further reinforce organisation to manage employee wages and prosecution
costs during the collapse of manufacturing plants and employee layoffs (Cook & Burke-
Miller, 2015). Private businesses must shed light on occupational counselling and placement
assistance along with possible work-setting, claim administration contacts, robust handicap
case administration in addition to documentation of manufacturing plant methods, settings,
conditions and exposure as well as maintenance of discriminating records and documentation.
Hofmann, Kreyenfeld and Uhlendorff (2017) have noted that potential strategies mainly
include documenting the workplaces, ensuring implementation of proper therapeutic
investigation and verifying stocks of all chemicals used as vital part of the manufacturing
plant and apprising recording detailing task and occupation images essentials and efficiently
guaranteeing occupational pharmaceutical accounts and remuneration documents which are
effortlessly attainable. Kang and Kim (2014) have noted that one way to content the faltering
business exception is by efficiently presenting that the funding or business source would not
indicate to do business with a concerned business or with a company whose employees would
be considering for other jobs. This exclusion will be observed in a companywide perspective,
so a company with admission to financing or with cash reserves may not use it solitarily on
the basis of monetary condition of the manufacturing plants which are on the verge of being
collapsed.

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Role of Labour in Dealing Employee Layoffs and Plant Closure
Typically employees are the major targets of unemployment because of sudden
industrial plant closure. As a result they tend to suffer from severe depression, anxiety and
illness because of lack of enthusiasm and motivation. In the view of Hansson, Wigblad and
Rydell (2014), since unemployment cannot always be regulated, it is highly vital for
unemployed workers to comprehend the circumstances and conditions of the organisations as
well as the underlying factors of plant closure and layoffs. Comprehensive studies of Trevino
and Nelson (2016) have noted that effective reframing techniques can be implemented to
decrease degree of unconstructive circumstances within industrial plants. Prudent workers
typically develop a plant or downsizing team which commonly involves Human Resource
Units to direct the process of plant closure from initial stage to the end. This process
primarily include analysing the employee base in order to determine which employees will be
terminated by using performance-related criteria, analysing agreements, documented policies
and procedures in order to guarantee compliance, processing employee termination benefits
related to post-employment healthcare as well as retirement pay plans as well as examining
post-plant closure risks to the company. Drawing relevance to these factors, Brand (2015) has
noted that HR personnel often work integrally with both internal and external employment
counsel in order to resolve if manufacturing plant closing will show any propensity to disrupt
protections and early report requirements of federal WARN Act or associated state
legislation. Furthermore, at this juncture, HR personnel can serve the role of preparing reports
and guaranteeing that current employees receive them within the statutory warning period.
Role of Government in dealing with layoffs and plant closures
Hansson, Wigblad and Rydell (2014) have noted that under the legislation of
Industrial Relations Act, business organizations should provide due recognition to companies
and negotiate with labour force. Datta and Basuil (2015) have mentioned that in France,

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employees in Peugeot have protested against layoffs by causing disruptions to the production
when the French government refused to compensate regarding remuneration package after
the closing of manufacturing plants and redundancies. In such situations, management or
government must serve a role of a mediator where agreements take place specifically when
administration refuses to deal with issues with employees or pressurizing employers in order
to comply with the state law or prosecute the company for cases of nonconformity.
Furthermore, primarily role of government is to provide financial assistance and concentrated
form of service during plant closures. Kang and Kim (2014) have cited example of Ford who
has received substantial amount of financial resources to continue its production till 2016.
Although it failed to explain the unresolved closure of plants and job dismissals, federal
governments have promised millions to aid and source new avenues for the societies and
labour in incorporation in order to establish new work environment for affected employees
and relations. Through these strategies, the contribution could facilitate business enterprises
to delay plant cessations, reduce rate of unemployment and offer improved compensation pay
or remunerations. On the other hand, Hofmann, Kreyenfeld and Uhlendorff (2017) have
noted that for companies like the Seagate and the Motorola, the Singapore administration
interfered into the issue very efficiently. However, in the case of Seagate, the Singapore
government refused to permit Seagate’s reimbursement plan of Seagate for its employee base
of almost 2000 through proscription of the bankruptcy of the plant property. Reports of
Trevino and Nelson (2016) have revealed that at the juncture of the conciliation, the labour
unification with the administration extended to the trade that primarily business enterprise
requires to offer the proper payment subsequent to the Singapore’s Industrial Relations Act
then the government would permit the liquidation. Private investment in majority of Asian
nations shows resilience. However, drawing relevance to the current situation following to
the current downturn, corporate situation of Asian trade has undergone significant changes.

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Such a substantial change has led Asian market to develop as most influential and decisive
market in the world.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that although IBM
Singapore is aiming for plant closure and shifting its manufacturing plant of its laptop
computers IBM Z to Poughkeepsie in New York, the company has ensured that Singapore
will remain one of the best strategic location for the company. Also, Singapore government
has accepted Industrial Relations Act for the directive of the associations of companies and
workers in order to circumvent and deliver payment of trade disagreements by shared
negotiations, reconciliation and arbitration or having multilateral intercession.

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