EXTENSION OF RETIREMENT AGE TO 60 YEARS (Employers' response)

Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Labour (a) if he will give his assessment of employers' response so far to the extension of retirement age from 55 years to 60 years old; and (b) what other steps his Ministry will be taking to encourage more employers to employ workers over 55 years of age.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the response by employers to the call to raise the retirement age from 55 to 60 has been mixed. The Singapore National Employers' Federation is supportive. It has been persuading its members to do so. However, employers in general are concerned about the cost implications of retaining older workers who are on long salary scales. Progress in raising the retirement age has therefore been slow initially.

However, there seems to be a better response by employers in recent months. Various hotels, banks and insurance companies have raised their retirement age through negotiations over collective agreements. During the six months from July to December last year, 76 or 35% of the 217 collective agreements registered with the Industrial Arbitration Court extended the retirement age beyond 55. Of these 76 collective agreements, 49 set the new retirement age at 60 years whilst 27 specified retirement ages of 56 to 58. Although progress is being made, some sectors are still lagging behind. This is particularly so among companies in the non-unionized sector.

My Ministry will continue to monitor the progress and assist in the negotiations, if necessary. We would prefer to leave it to the employers and unions to come to their own agreement on setting the new retirement age at 60. However, if the target is not achieved by negotiations within the next three years, the Government may have to resort to legislation. I would therefore like to urge employers who have yet to raise retirement age to work out appropriate arrangements with unions without delay. Employers in the non-unionized sector should also work out their own arrangements to raise the retirement age to 60.

Mr Chng Hee Kok (Tiong Bahru GRC): Sir, will the Minister confirm that the age limit of 55 years has been removed from Government and statutory board tenders? I understand that some of the tenders given out by statutory boards and Government departments specify that the workers must not be above 55 years old. Is this correct?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, I am not aware of such tenders.

Dr S. Vasoo (Tiong Bahru GRC): Sir, in view of the increasing number of retirees, does the Ministry have plans to establish special services to assist retirees?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, that is not the responsibility of my Ministry. Perhaps the Member should direct the question at the Ministry of Community Development.