It is widening its Legal Assistance Panel to also support members in filing a magistrate’s complaint, among others
[SINGAPORE] The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) on Friday (Dec 19) said it will expand the scope of its Legal Assistance Panel (LAP) from 2026 to broaden union members’ access to legal support.
The move comes after the August layoffs by online travel booking platform Agoda, which affected 50 employees in Singapore. NTUC was “appalled” that Agoda had allegedly warned its retrenched workers that they would not get their severance compensation if they reported their retrenchments to government agencies.
The enhanced initiative will include three new service areas, such as the enforcement of judgments and orders. It will also widen existing service areas by including support in filing a magistrate’s complaint, among others.
Since LAP was launched in 2023, NTUC said it has been receiving more requests from union leaders and members for legal support in areas beyond the scheme’s original scope.
That scope covered complex employment issues, as well as affairs related to wills, estates and probate, on top of matrimonial, criminal, commercial and general corporate matters.
NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay noted: “NTUC’s experience through LAP since early 2023 shows clearly that union members are turning to us for a wider spectrum of legal support as their needs and expectations evolve.”
In November, the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union, an affiliated union of NTUC, pledged to assist members and workers with salary-related claims and job-assistance support after bakery chain Twelve Cupcakes’ sudden closure left about 80 workers in the lurch.
Three new service areas
From Jan 1, three “significant” service areas will be introduced to LAP, said NTUC. They are the enforcement of judgments and orders; general advisory and general litigation; and protection from harassment.
Union members who need to enforce orders from the Small Claims or Employment Claims tribunals are set to benefit from the inclusion of dedicated support for the enforcement of judgments and orders.
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Meanwhile, the introduction of general advisory and general litigation will widen the scope of legal matters “considerably”, said NTUC. The new service area will cover cases such as receiving a letter of demand or sending such a document for personal legal matters.
Lastly, protection from harassment will provide members with access to advice and representation for harassment-related issues.
In all, the enhanced initiative will support union members across eight broad categories of legal issues, covering a wider and more complex range of affairs.
Existing service areas to be expanded
The purview of LAP’s existing service areas will also be widened.
The enhanced scheme will support the filing of a magistrate’s complaint for criminal and private prosecution matters, granting union members a formal avenue to address grievances that may amount to criminal wrongdoing, NTUC noted.
The family matters service area will be broadened to include maintenance summons proceedings and enforcement of existing divorce and maintenance orders.
Additionally, employment support will be updated in anticipation of the Workplace Fairness Act coming into effect at the end of 2027, NTUC said.
Union members can apply for the additional LAP service from Jan 1 through the NTUC website.
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