Ng, stepping up his campaign to rein in the Air Line Pilots Association of Singapore after they sacked all their 20 officials last week over controversial wage cuts, warned the union he would not allow its internal troubles to have national ramifications.

"I am sounding a cautionary note: Please stop. Please take some time, think of what you are doing and be careful," the Straits Times quoted Ng as saying at a community event on Sunday.

"I won't allow you to destroy the tripartite relationship."

The tripartite relationship is the city-state's term for co-operation between the government, employers and unions. Under this arrangement, unions rarely openly challenge the government and industrial action is very rare.

Singapore has been strike free since 1978 except for two days in 1986, according to the government's official year book.

Ng's recent campaign against the union's membership began after they voted out their leadership for giving in too easily to wage cut and no pay leave demands made by SIA, which is majority government owned, earlier this year.

SIA suffered its first ever financial loss in the June quarter as travel was decimated by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, triggering the wage cuts and the sacking of 26 pilots and 156 cabin crew.

The pilots dissatisfaction intensified after the airline announced a S$306-million (US$178-million) net profit for the September quarter and said this month it had begun hiring again.

Ng said the union's decision to replace its leaders showed its membership to be "self-serving" and "confrontational".

"One union can disrupt the type of relationship we have spent years in building," Ng said.

"So the pilots union must learn not to be the odd one out. Look at the history, they have always chosen a more aggressive tone."

Ng had already said on Friday the union's actions could affect Singapore's status as a top aviation hub.

Singapore Airlines is majority owned by the government through its investment vehicle, Temasek Holdings.
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