OLDER WORKERS

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower, with an aging workforce emerging, if his Ministry will promote and facilitate the job redesign programme to enhance job security of older workers.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: My Ministry considers job redesign as one of the adjustments needed to cope with an ageing workforce. In job redesign, we aim to get employers to make work and the workplace more accommodating for older workers. It may be necessary, for instance, to modify the actual duties to reduce physical stress which may exact a greater toll on older persons. Working hours and even the location of the workplace may need to be reviewed in order to accommodate the needs of older persons. New work arrangements such as job sharing and telecommuting should also be considered.

We are working with the Productivity and Standards Board (PSB) to promote job redesign at the company level. A pilot programme with several companies to redesign jobs to suit older workers has been initiated. These companies will serve as models to demonstrate how work arrangements could be adjusted to suit the needs of older workers. PSB will help more companies to embark on job redesign programmes, and develop blue-prints to be shared with other companies so as to achieve optimal labour utilisation and productivity.

I would also like to point out that the success of initiatives such as job redesign would depend on changing mindsets regarding the employment of older workers. On the part of the employer, older workers should be considered as valuable human resources to be properly managed and retained for as long as possible. Employers will have to accept the reality of a labour force with a growing proportion of older workers in the workforce. On the part of the older worker, he may need to be more realistic about the nature of his job and the expected remuneration.

The issues of an ageing population and workforce are also being studied comprehensively by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Ageing Population. The Committee has set up six working groups, one of which is on Employment and Employability. This working group will look at increasing the productive lifespan of older persons, including promoting flexible and part-time work as well as elderly-friendly employment policies and practices. My Ministry will consider the outcome of their study in due course.