Job matching session to be held on Sep. 17 for affected ex-staff of True Fitness & True Yoga - Mothership

Union members and workers can receive support on job matching assistance, guidance and advice on workplace matters.

A job matching session will be held on Sep. 17 for former employees of True Fitness and True Yoga centres after operations ceased across all outlets on Sep. 10.

Although True Fitness and True Yoga are not unionised, a session will be organised by the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union (SMMWU), and the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA).

According to a Sep. 14 statement by Andy Lim, secretary-general of the SMMWU, the session will see union members and workers receiving support on job matching assistance, guidance and advice on workplace matters.

Additionally, its membership team will be present at the event to support members.

SMMWU will also provide further assistance and resources to affected union members and workers.

Lim noted that NTUC's e2i stands ready to support affected Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) with job matching services, career coaching and skills upgrading advisory.

Members of the public may visit this website for more information.

Eligible workers who are Singaporeans or PRs can also receive more employment support through the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support (JS) scheme by participating in e2i's job search activities.

According to Lim, the JS scheme provides temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 over six months for involuntarily unemployed individuals.

The scheme serves to increase the chances of finding a job that makes better use of jobseekers’ skills and experiences.

It allows eligible individuals to receive corresponding payouts when they meet the minimum points required for each month.

Members of the public may visit this website for more information.

Eligible union members who require skills upgrading can also tap into the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) to offset training costs.

Union members requiring assistance may contact SMMWU at [email protected] or 6294 2481 from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Friday.

Earlier reports mentioned that following the closure of both companies, customers reported losses of more than S$609,000 in unutilised memberships, packages, and services to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE).

That was the figure as of Sep. 11, CASE President Melvin Yong shared in a Facebook post.

At the time, CASE had received 241 complaints from consumers affected by the closure.

The True Singapore Group operates 10 fitness and yoga outlets in Singapore under three brands: True Fitness, TFX and Yoga Edition.

Mothership estimated that about 100 of its former staff showed up at the company's headquarters at 8 Claymore Hill on the afternoon of Sep. 11, where provisional liquidators were to explain the next steps.

According to former employees at the meeting, the liquidators said they would try to recover as much funds as they can to pay the staff's salaries and refund members who bought packages.

A few ex-staff told Mothership that they believed they were owed salary for the days they worked in September thus far, and had reportedly not received any compensation or promise of one.

One employee said he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask the HR department.

But no one from HR was apparently there, leaving him disappointed.

Some staff had been with the company for years, with many still processing the sudden loss of their jobs.