MORE INCENTIVES TO RETAIN WORKERS BEYOND RETIREMENT AGE 5 Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Manpower with the current policy to encourage those reaching 62 years to be offered re-employment (a) what checks are in place to protect those nearing 62 years from being retrenched as some employers may not wish to continue retaining them; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider more incentives to encourage employers to hire and retain older workers. The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Manpower): The Retirement and Re-employment Act, which came into effect in 2012, protects older workers from being dismissed on the grounds of age below age 62, and from unfair denial of re-employment from age 62 to 65. In situations where such workers feel that they have been unfairly treated, they can take up the matter with their union or the Ministry. Nevertheless, we also appreciate that there might be legitimate reasons where businesses need to restructure or are just not able to keep some of their older workers. The Tripartite Guidelines on Re-employment of Older Workers give employers some flexibility in re-employing their older workers. For example, employers can re-employ employees with some modifications on re-negotiated terms. Where employers are unable to offer re-employment to eligible employees, they should offer such employees a one-off Employment Assistance Payment. In the unfortunate event where retrenchments are necessary, employers should carry out retrenchment responsibly and in consultation with the union if the company is unionised. Over the years, the Government has introduced several incentives to encourage the hiring and retention of older workers. We provide generous funding under WorkPro to help employers redesign jobs and the work environment to adapt to the ageing workforce. We also have the Special Employment Credit and Workfare Income Supplement to support employers and employees respectively to raise the employability of older low-wage Singaporeans. We have seen positive outcomes from our efforts. The employment rate of older residents aged 55 to 64 has increased significantly, from 47% in June 2004 to 65% in June 2013. Re-employment rates have been high, with 99% of private sector local employees who turned 62 in the year ending June 2013 offered re-employment. The Government will continue to monitor the situation to consider if further incentives are needed. Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I have two supplementary questions. Recently, I have seen several cases of residents not offered re-employment when they reached 62. I saw that the reason given when I appealed, it is poor performance. I would like to ask: can such cases be referred to the Ministry and what will the Ministry do for such cases? Next, in order to encourage employers to re-employ older workers, would there be more incentives like tax rebate for the companies? Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: Under the Retirement and Re-employment Act, employers are required to offer re-employment to workers turning 62 up to 65, taking into consideration two criteria. The first criterion would be satisfactory work performance, and the second criterion is medical fitness for further employment. There have been some cases, since we implemented the retirement and re-employment legislation in 2012, on re-employment disputes. Most of the re-employment disputes pertain to performance or dispute over re-employment terms. These cases would be referred; they can approach a union, if the company is unionised, or directly to the Ministry. We have about 34 cases so far since the re-employment legislation started. Most of these cases would have been resolved through conciliation. For the remaining cases, they are still undergoing conciliation. With regards to further incentives, as I have said, since the implementation of the re-employment legislation, as at June 2013, 99% of private sector employees who have reached the age of 62 have been offered re-employment. In fact, 96% of those who have taken up the re-employment offers did not have their basic wage cut. So, we think that the implementation of the re-employment legislation has been relatively smooth. In fact, because of the re-employment legislation, as well as the several incentives that we have already implemented in terms of the Special Employment Credit, Workfare Income Supplement, and generous funding to WorkPro, our employment rate for older workers has increased, as I have noted earlier, from 47% in 2004 to 65% as of June 2013. This 65% was the target that we set to achieve for the employment rate for older workers in 2015. So, we have actually achieved the target ahead of the timeframe that we have set ourselves. Now, that does not mean that we will rest on our laurels. I would like to inform Members that this employment rate of 65% for older workers is comparable or even better than in some countries like South Korea and the United States, and quite near to the employment rate of older workers for Japan, which was at 65.4% in 2012. It is still lower than that in Sweden but generally because the employment rate of our female workforce, the older women, is lower. It has improved over time but we need to catch up on that. So, as I have said, we will continue to monitor and see if further incentives are needed.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:27:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015