Complaints of Job Discrimination

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Manpower (a) how many complaints of discrimination faced by job-seekers were received each year from 2006 to 2010; (b) what were the main reasons cited by the complainants; and (c) what is the breakdown by numbers for each of these reasons.

The Minister of State for Manpower (BG [NS] Tan Chuan-Jin) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Manpower): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Member for the question. In Singapore, discriminatory employment practices are addressed by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP). TAFEP was set up in 2006 by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) with the support of the Ministry of Manpower. Recognising that the key to dealing with discrimination issues is to change employers' mindsets, TAFEP takes a promotional and educational approach to encourage fair employment practices.

With increasing awareness of TAFEP's role, 50 discrimination complaints from job seekers were received in 2008, 72 in 2009 and 119 in 2010. During these years, the main complaints reported by job seekers were those relating to language/race and age. The other complaints were related to gender, family status, religion and others. Towards the end of 2010, TAFEP started to see more complaints centred on Singaporeans' concern over employment opportunities and career development in relation to the recruitment of foreign manpower and talent.

So far, employers approached by TAFEP where it believes that there may be a basis to a complaint, have heeded TAFEP's advice and made adjustments to their employment practices, for example in recruitment. Any job seeker who encounters employment discrimination may approach TAFEP for advice and assistance.

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