FCBC backs down in battle

Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) has backed down from its bid to get the courts to review the Manpower Minister’s order for it to compensate a pregnant worker it had sacked for adultery.

In a statement sent to members which it also posted on its Facebook page, FCBC said it is withdrawing its bid for a judicial review, now that it has “come to understand and recognise the rationale/basis for the Minister’s decision based on the specific facts of this case”. “We accept that every decision of the Minister would depend on the unique facts of each case,” the church said.

The withdrawal, which was confirmed by FCBC’s lawyer Adrian Wee today (May 18), came after it had pressed on in bringing the matter before the courts. In September last year, it succeeded in getting the courts to strike out the Attorney-General’s appeal against an earlier court decision giving the church the green light to pursue the case.

The Attorney-General’s (AG) appeal was pending with the court when FCBC withdrew its case on Monday (18 May 2015), as the AG had – in October 2014 – successfully obtained permission to appeal against the earlier High Court decision which allowed Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) to pursue judicial review.

Mr Wee told TODAY the withdrawal of the application will not affect the compensation order, which has already been paid to the woman.

Despite dropping the case, FCBC today maintained it has a different stance from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), regarding terms of employment. The ministry had told the church that an organisation’s terms of employment should be “reasonable” and “should relate to the job and position held, and should not govern the private lives of their employees, unless it relates to the performance of the job”.

But FCBC said that, as a religious body, it “would take the view that moral conduct can, in appropriate circumstances, be governed by the terms of employment, where such conduct would affect the moral authority required in the performance of a job”.

FCBC also gave its reasons for starting the judicial review process — it was “concerned” and wanted clarity on the boundaries within which religious bodies are able to conduct their internal affairs in managing their organisations. It added: “FCBC remains committed to the well-being of our nation, more so as she celebrates the year of Jubilee.”

In response to TODAY’s queries, an MOM spokesperson said since the church had accepted the Minister’s decision, the ministry considers the matter closed.

“We welcome FBCB’s decision ... MOM wishes to remind all employers of the importance of clearly communicating upfront to a prospective employee on his or her obligations under the contract, which must be reasonable and relevant to the requirements of the job,” the spokesperson said.

The matter arose in July 2013, after then-Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin ordered FCBC to pay an administrative worker it had sacked on grounds of adultery about S$7,000 in salary and maternity benefits.

The woman, who was fired in 2012, had complained to the MOM that she had been dismissed without notice or compensation.

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