VIOLATIONS OF RETIREMENT AGE ACT

VIOLATIONS OF RETIREMENT AGE ACT: 13.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what was the total number of complaints made against employers in 2009 for violations of the Retirement Age Act; (b) what were these complaints about; and (c) how were these complaints resolved.

The Minister for Manpower (Mr Gan Kim Yong): Sir, under the Retirement Age Act, it is an offence for an employer to dismiss an employee who is below the statutory retirement age of 62 years on the ground of age. An employee who is so dismissed can make an appeal to the Minister for Manpower. If the employer is found to have unlawfully dismissed the

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employee on the ground of age, the Minister may order the employer to reinstate the employee in his former employment or pay compensation.

Employers generally comply with the law and will not dismiss an employee on the ground of age. Hence, complaints of violations of such nature are very few. In the past three years, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) received a total of six complaints of such a nature. Of the six complaints received, three were resolved amicably following conciliation by MOM, with the complainants either being reinstated or granted payment by their employers. For the remaining three cases, two had no valid grounds and were rejected, and in one case, the employer was ordered to compensate the employee.

Employees who experience age discrimination at the workplace can also seek advice and assistance from the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP), of which Mdm Halimah is a co-chair. TAFEP will advise the employers on the appropriate practices and employers approached by TAFEP generally accept its advice and change their practices. TAFEP has also been proactively engaging employers to promote employment practices that are fair and merit-based, including age-friendly practices. Resources available to employers include training programmes for supervisors on managing mature workers and publications on companies’ best practices. I would like to encourage employers to tap on the resources and work with TAFEP to build inclusive workplaces for employees of all ages.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: Sir, I have two questions for the Minister. One of the concerns about the Retirement Age Act is that there is a provision which exempts those employed on fixed-term contracts from the ambit of the Act. I would like to ask the Minister's comments whether this is indeed a loophole which would allow employers to circumvent the Act, without

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actually violating it. My second question is: as termination of contracts to service is allowed under section 10 of the Employment Act, whether this is yet another avenue for employers to circumvent the Retirement Age Act without actually violating it? That is why we have six violations over the period of three years.

My second point is that as termination of contracts of service are legally allowed under section 10 of the Employment Act, whether this is another mechanism which some employers may be able to use without having to invoke age as the basis. There is another mechanism for circumventing the Act without violating it. Therefore, you have so few cases of alleged violations under the Act.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, the nature of work in the labour market is quite varied. There will be occasions where certain employees and workers were engaged for a fixed term of employment, related to certain specific projects. When the projects are completed, employers will have to release the workers because these workers were employed for specific purposes. So the Act does exempt contracts of shorter duration of up to two years. But at the same time, when complaints are received by the Ministry, we will look at the nature of the complaints. We will also examine the practices of the employer to detect whether there are signs of discrimination. We will also look at the circumstances surrounding the dismissal or the termination of contract, whether it is based on age, or a valid reason for the termination, such as performance or upon completion of a project, or disciplinary action. We do take into account various factors to ensure that these older workers are fairly treated. The objective is to ensure that there are opportunities for older workers to continue to work. We will encourage employers to work with us through our tripartite efforts and TAFEP.

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We will provide assistance and advise employers when they are unsure if their practices are deemed to be acceptable or discriminatory. If we continue to educate the employers, over the long term, the employers will be able to benefit from this pool of workers that is available as our manpower resources. From our experience during the recession, we have seen that the employment rate of older workers has been maintained at 57.2%, despite the general slowdown in economy and rise in unemployment rate. This speaks well of our employers who are able to appreciate the value of experienced workers. They have retained them, to retain the experience and expertise within the companies. There are employers who are errant and we will deal with them jointly with our tripartite partners. As I explained, there are cases that we actually would insist on a reinstatement or compensation to be paid to the affected workers.