SINGAPORE: The number of disgruntled local employees bringing their woes to the Labour Court have dropped, but those who turn up are more aggressive.

There are heated exchanges and quick rebuttals, while threats are sometimes made "to deal with" the other party outside the courtroom, said Assistant Commissioner for Labour (ACL) Dorothy Ling.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has helped more than 900 local workers recover about S$1 million in claims from their bosses in the first six months of this year.

It is not known why - despite the economic crunch - the number of cases has dropped, but MOM said the top two types of employment claims are for salary arrears and notice pay. These usually arise when the employment relationship ceases.

The number of claims submitted by local workers to the administrative tribunal for hearings in the first half of the past two years, as well as for this year, have fallen - from more than 2,100 in 2007 to 1,042 last year. It now stands at 945. The overall figures for 2007 and 2008 were 3,980 and 2,082, respectively.

In turn, employers are now more rigorous in defending their cases. "They are going through a difficult time and every cent matters to them," Ms Ling, 44, told Today. In her three years with MOM, Ms Ling has heard about 1,000 cases.

For example, a hotel valet brought his former employer to the Court over notice, overtime and holiday pay earlier this year. The hotel's case was that the valet was not asked to leave, but had stomped out of a meeting and did not report for work since.

The hotel's HR department produced records to explain leave and overtime claims. The valet, meanwhile, was emotional and "very angry" with his employer, said Ms Ling, who adjudicated over the case.

"You see one side who's calm and presenting the case rather well, and the other side who was venting. We had to really sieve out the emotions, see what they were presenting and not allow all these to cloud our judgment."

In the end, the Court dismissed the valet's claims for overtime and notice pay, while awarding his claims for pay for six days of annual leave and three days of public holiday.

The Labour Court aims to be "a court for the people", stressed Ms Ling. It costs S$3 to lodge a claim for employees, but they must not be earning more than S$2,500 a month.

If they go to the civil courts, the filing fees would be "in the hundreds", excluding legal representation fees.

Legal representation, however, is prohibited in Labour Court proceedings. The decision and orders of the ACLs are deemed to be those of a District Court, and may be reviewed only via an appeal to the High Court.

If the orders issued are not complied with, they can be enforced by a writ of seizure and sale. About three in five Labour Court orders are complied with, said MOM, and recalcitrant employers who persistently flout orders will be prosecuted under the Employment Act.

The Labour Court has 12 ACLs and each hears about two to three cases per day.

Ms Ling's advice for parties who turn to the Court is to come prepared with documents to back up claims. Even though this is stated in the summons notice, some employees still arrive for hearings unprepared, not knowing how much they intend to claim.

"They give ... the impression that they have done very little work and show an apparent indifference... They should come to court prepared because this is their own case," she said.

- TODAY/yb