POLICY ON JOB ADVERTISEMENTS

POLICY ON JOB ADVERTISEMENTS

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(Stated preference for foreigners): **

9.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Manpower what is the Ministry's policy on job advertisements which expressly indicate a preference for foreigners to fill posts.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Employers should select candidates based on merit and not on extraneous factors, such as age, race, gender, nationality, religion, or marital status.

By and large, this has been the case, although from time to time, cases of discriminatory job advertisements have cropped up. To raise awareness and promote fair employment practices, the tripartite partners set up the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP).

The tripartite partners have also formulated Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. For job advertisements, the Guidelines specify that only job-relevant requirements should be included. If specific attributes are necessary, the reasons should be explained.

MOM and TAFEP monitor job advertisements, and where inappropriate advertisements are spotted, appropriate action is taken. In most cases, the employers concerned acknowledge the error and rectify the problem. TAFEP also takes the opportunity to strengthen employers' awareness of fair employment issues. For example, a Singapore-based electronics company recently posted an advertisement on an Internet job board on 19th September 2009, indicating a preference for foreign nationals. This is not in line with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices. The online site, upon detecting the advertisement, removed it promptly. MOM issued the company a warning on 5th October 2009. TAFEP has also contacted the company after the incident and advised them to adopt the Tripartite Guidelines. The company has apologised online over the incident and clarified that they had no intention of discriminating against hiring Singaporeans. In fact, the company disclosed that more than 80% of its employees were Singaporeans.

Companies should adopt fair employment practices including non-discriminatory job advertisements. Members of the public can bring to MOM's and TAFEP's attention of any discriminatory job advertisement so that they could be addressed.

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