MPs raise concerns over indirect discrimination and ageism

Legislation seeks to preserve workplace norms, guard against divisions: Minister

- Sharon Salim

Job seekers and employees will have greater protection against discrimination on grounds like age and nationality through a proposed law to ensure fairness in the workplace, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng told Parliament on Jan 7.

At the same time, the Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) will retain the flexibility for employers to hire workers based on skills that support their business needs, he added.

"Even as we take this next step in our workplace fairness journey, please also let me emphasise upfront that the WFL is not a panacea," he said.

"It is a measured approach that seeks to preserve our current workplace norms, and guard against divisions in our workplaces and society," he added.

Over the four-hour-long debate on the first Bill in the legislation, 14 MPs raised concerns such as documenting evidence of bias, the economic impact of ageism, and the lack of coverage of indirect discrimination.

Several People's Action Party MPs, including Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), Mr Heng Chee How (Jalan Besar GRC) and Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang), spoke about the need to tackle age discrimination in the workplace.

Ms Yeo recounted speaking to a retrenched 62-year-old worker, who told her how, during a job interview, the interviewer made a comment that he was the same age as her father.

This gave the impression that he was too senior both in age and experience, for the role.

Mr Yip noted that many senior workers still experience overt discrimination and remarks about being too old for the job, and being offered fewer training opportunities.

"The real challenge lies in detection and resolution," he said, adding that many senior workers hesitated to approach human resources departments, fearing they would be labelled "troublemakers".