By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : There is no law to protect whistle-blowers in Singapore
but a few companies have taken the lead to encourage workers to
come forward and report any breaches.
One of them, OCBC Bank, has even made a whistle-blowing course
compulsory for all employees.
Help is only an e-mail or phone-call away if Edward Chin wants to
report wrongdoing in his company; reporting is extended to the CEO
and chairman of the board.
Mr Chin is one of 8,000 employees who have gone through the
whistle-blowing programme started at OCBC Bank last year.
The half-day training course outlines how and where workers can
report a breach, and the kind of protection they get if they do
so.
Said Mr Chin, who works in credit risk management, "I deal with
suppliers and vendors and consultants. If I spot irregularities in
the process, under the whistle-blowing programme, I would not be
afraid of escalating my concerns accordingly. In fact, we have been
told that there have been instances of reports of whistle-blowing
and they have been followed and investigated accordingly, without
reprisals to any of the people who were whistle-blowers."
Financial breaches aside, employees can also blow the whistle on
other issues like unfair treatment and sexual harassment.
And even though there is no legislation to protect whistle-blowers
in Singapore, the company has put in place a set of measures to do
so.
Said Gilbert Kohnke, chief risk officer at OCBC Bank, "The head of
Human Resources for OCBC has a role as protector and in that role
they can ensure that any individuals who come forward with an
observation are
not mistreated by the process. If there was an
issue that comes up, they have their right to appeal to the audit
committee of the board and make their representations known to
them."
Since the programme's launch, the bank says some cases have been
reported.
They were investigated thoroughly and disciplinary action meted
out.
The bank says, all reports, even anonymous, ones are investigated;
names of both the whistle-blower and the employee under
investigation are kept confidential. - CNA /ct
