Singapore - Ageism led to Employment discrimination

An increase ageing population in Singapore has led to ageism in the workforce. It has unfortunately contributed to the rise of employment discrimination. However, Singapore government has come out with solutions to reduce the discrimination.
A report has highlighted a recent survey by staffing solutions firm Kelly Services. That survey found that out of the 1,500 respondents polled in Singapore, two thirds of them complained of having experienced prejudice of some sort when applying for a job in the last five years. Age was cited as the top reason for discrimination (29 per cent), followed by race (19 per cent), gender (11 per cent) and disability (2 per cent). Age was posed as the largest factor to the discrimination.

Furthermore, Singapore also faces the issue of the quality of jobs for older workers. There are concerns that the increase in employment of older workers had been mainly in low-skilled jobs. In 2006, 68% of workers aged 50 and above were employed in lower skilled jobs.

To tackle this problem, the government has taken the first tentative steps towards stemming this discrimination. It has collaborated the NTUC and SNEF (the Singapore National Employers’ Federation) to set up a “tripartite” committee to look into discrimination issues, known as the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Fair Employment Practices (or TAFEP)The committee has come up with revised guidelines on non-discriminatory job advertisements and a seminar, where a number of public and private sector employers pledged to adhere to non-discriminatory practices. Advertisements on bus stops around the island extolling the virtues of hiring older people were also being carried out.

They have made progress in raising the employment rate for older workers by giving employment opportunities to all Singaporeans. In 2006, 61% of those aged 55 to 59 were employed, a 5 percentage point improvement from year 2004. For those aged 60 to 64, the improvement is even more marked – up 8 percentage points to 42% in 2006. Increasingly, older workers are being employed as professionals, managers, executives and technicians as well and the trend would continue as the educational profile of the older workers improves.

By giving more acceptance towards the elderlys in Singapore, it would ensure that they would be active and continue to contribute to the society.