MOM on church's court bid: Employment laws apply to all

The Government breached the rules of natural justice and acted unfairly, one of Singapore's mega-churches claimed on Wednesday as it sought a legal review to quash a decision involving a sacked employee.

The claim earned a response from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) - that employment laws must apply to all regardless of religion.

It added in a statement to The Straits Times: "Our laws are applied to safeguard employees' rights... and not to undermine religious beliefs nor to restrict the practices of religious organisations."

In documents filed with the High Court on Wednesday, Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) charged that it was not allowed to explain its actions before the Acting Minister for Manpower ordered it to compensate one of its workers.

It added in the 11-page court document that "none of the plaintiff's senior leaders or management, nor the chief operating officer, was called upon to give a statement to the MOM or participate in any way in the MOM's inquiry". The minister also acted unconstitutionally, FCBC said.

The matter revolves around an FCBC administrative staff member being dismissed a year ago without compensation, after she committed adultery and became pregnant.

The Employment Act protects an expectant mother from her fourth month of pregnancy. The church member, who was then about seven months pregnant, complained to MOM.

In August, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin decided that she was dismissed "without sufficient cause" within six months of her delivery date. He ordered FCBC to pay the woman $7,647 in salary and maternity benefits.

Under the law, the minister can order an employer to pay maternity benefits, and those who refuse can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to a year.

The MOM stressed on Wednesday its role was to protect employees' rights in their workplaces.

The lack of compensation for the woman, it added, deprived her of her statutory benefits, as the law provides.

In court documents however, FCBC charged that Mr Tan's decision was made on "grounds of illegality, irrationality and/or procedural impropriety".

Represented by lawyers Daniel Goh, Adrian Wee and Dominic Chan, it added that the ministry "failed to take into account or misunderstood" certain facts of the case. This included FCBC's values, and the "implied terms" of the woman's employment contract where sexual sin is grounds for termination.

But in its statement last night, MOM said that Singapore's system of governance is secular and "everyone has to abide by the laws of the land regardless of race, language or religion". Employment laws are one such area, it added.

"This was strictly a dispute between an employer and an employee, and MOM treated it as such. All organisations, whether they are religious or not, must abide by the same laws."

tohyc@sph.com.sg

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