SINGAPORE, Sept. 21 -- Online travel platform Agoda has issued an apology in Singapore after it emerged that some of its severance agreements included clauses discouraging retrenched employees from contacting trade unions, government agencies, or statutory bodies.

The apology follows discussions between Agoda and Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the NTUC-affiliated Singapore Industrial and Services Employees' Union (SISEU).

In a statement on Friday, Agoda said: "We acknowledge that it is inappropriate for employers to include provisions that discourage or inhibit employees from approaching the authorities ...