WOMEN AND RETIREES (Rejoining workforce)

Mr Yeo Toon Chia asked the Minister for Labour, in view of the tight labour market, what plans his Ministry has to encourage more married women and medically fit retirees to rejoin the work force and whether it is necessary to set up a unit in the Employment Service Department to help this group of people to return to work.

The Minister for Labour (Mr Lee Yock Suan): Mr Speaker, Sir, my Ministry has identified part-time work as one of the key areas to promote if we want more married women to rejoin the workforce. In a survey conducted in June 1987, 45% of the 19,800 housewives who would be looking for work said they would do so only if part-time work was available. My Ministry is presently studying what other measures are needed to encourage more employers to provide part-time work. This may include changes to the Employment Act to make it more flexible for employers and job seekers to agree on appropriate terms and conditions of part-time employment, whilst providing basic protection to the workers.

The attractiveness of part-time work to married women highlights the nature of this particular problem - how to make it easier for married women to reconcile their home and work responsibilities.

The Government has played an active part in this respect. For example, it has promoted and subsidized the establishment of child care centres, making it cheaper and more convenient for women to leave their children at these centres while they are at work.

Employers in the private sector have to play their part. They need to step up their own efforts to attract and retain married women in the workforce by taking account of their needs. Those who are able to offer attractive employment and work arrangements including part-time work will be more successful than others.

It is important, however, for us to look at the entry of married women into the workforce in perspective. Over the years, because of better education and job opportunities, more of them have entered the workforce. The proportion of married women who are economically active increased from 22% in 1974 to 36% in 1987. This trend is expected to continue in the future.

For retirees, I announced last year our intention to reduce CPF contributions to those above 55 years old. This should provide some incentive for employers to recruit retirees.

However, the more critical need is to ensure that our workers do not have to retire at an age when they are still physically and mentally able to work. Today, many of our companies retire their workers at age 55. This is too young an age for our population to stop working as many can expect to live for another 20 years or more. The Government has therefore called for the retirement age to be raised to 60 years. My Ministry has urged employers and unions to discuss the raising of the retirement age during negotiations for renewal of collective agreements. The reduced CPF contribution rate for those above 55 years old will also provide some incentive for companies to do so. We will monitor closely the effect of these measures. If progress is slow, we may have to think of other measures.

The services of the Employment Service Department are open to all unemployed persons, including retirees and married women. There is, in my opinion, no need to set up a special unit just to help this group. As I have explained earlier, the more critical need is for employers to devise attractive schemes to meet the needs of housewives and retirees and to raise the retirement age.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon (Alexandra): Sir, when can we expect the changes to be made to the Employment Act to facilitate the part-time employment of married women?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, my Ministry is in consultation with the NTUC and the SNEF on this matter. It is a complex issue because there are no standard models to follow. So it may take some time for us to study the problem thoroughly, debate it thoroughly before we come to a final decision on how to make the changes.