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StanChart’s Singapore entity is unionised under the BFSU, which is an affiliated union of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).<\/p>\n
The bank was also one of the first seven union branches of BFSU’s sister union, the Singapore Bank Employees’ Union (SBEU), when it was founded in 1954.<\/p>\n
StanChart and FairPrice Group, which is under NTUC Enterprise, jointly established Trust Bank in 2022 after the government issued new banking licences in 2019.<\/p>\n
Responding to CNA’s queries on whether StanChart’s staff cuts affect Trust’s workforce, a spokesperson for Trust said its focus is on “hiring and developing future-ready skills that support innovation and long-term growth”.<\/p>\n
“Trust Bank operates on a fully digital, cloud-native model and is designed from the ground up to be highly automated and technology-driven. As a result, our business model and workforce structure are fundamentally different from traditional banks,” said the spokesperson.<\/p>\n
BFSU’s Ms Cho said the union was monitoring the situation in Singapore closely, as she noted StanChart’s “close working relationships” with BFSU over the years.<\/p>\n
“We recognise that AI will inevitably change the nature of work in (the) banking and financial sector. Some roles will evolve, while others may be restructured,” she said.<\/p>\n
“The pace and management of such transition matter to our workers. Employers have a responsibility to invest in reskilling and redeployment as first resort, rather than letting workers go.<\/p>\n
“Where roles are eventually displaced by AI, workers must be given every fair opportunity to transition, with adequate notice, support and pathways forward. BFSU will stand by its members every step of the way.”<\/p>\n
Ms Cho said that in view of recent trends in global restructuring, BFSU has proactively worked with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore to support StanChart employees.<\/p>\n
This includes providing access to career coaches, job fairs and NTUC’s Union Training Assistance Programme to offset training costs for skills upgrading.<\/p>\n
“BFSU will provide further assistance and resources to affected members and employees where needed, including connecting them to the labour movement’s network such as NTUC’s e2i,” she added.<\/p>\n
She also pointed to the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme for affected workers.<\/p>\n
The scheme provides up to S$6,000 (US$4,700) in unemployment payouts over six months for workers who have lost their jobs involuntarily.<\/p>\n
Eligible workers must have been earning under S$5,000 in gross monthly income and be Singaporeans or permanent residents, among other criteria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n