More companies here tapping older workers
- TODAY (21 March 2012) : More companies here tapping older workers
- TODAY (19 March 2012) : Low jobless rate but more older workers are unemployed?
More companies here tapping older workers
- TODAY, 21 March 2012
In his letter ("Low jobless rate but more older workers are unemployed", 19 March 2012), Mr Frank Young said that there was a "61 per cent unemployment rate for workers between the ages of 55 and 64". This is incorrect.
2. It is the employment rate for residents in that age group which achieved 61.2 per cent in 2011. This figure is a new high, up from 59 per cent in 2010, and was reported in the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) "Singapore Workforce, 2011" report released on 30 November 2011.
3. We agree with Mr Young that employers should continue to embrace the value that their older employees bring to the workforce and the contributions they can make with their knowledge and lifetime of experience. We are heartened that other studies also point towards an increasing number of employers here tapping on older workers to meet their manpower needs. MOM's 2011 Survey on Retirement and Re-employment Practices, for instance, found that the proportion of companies that allowed their employees to work past 62 has increased from 77 per cent in 2010 to 79 per cent in 2011.
4. With the Retirement and Re-employment Act now in force since 1 January 2012, employers are required to re-employ older employees who meet basic eligibility criteria. This will help to further enhance the employment opportunities available to our older workers, as businesses play their part for an inclusive Singapore workforce.
Low jobless rate but more older workers are unemployed?
- TODAY, 19 March 2012
It is great that the Government has kept the unemployment rate low (March 16). But too much of a good thing is bad.
Such a low unemployment rate increases the cost of living for everyone as one industry poaches employees from another with increased salaries while the other poaches them back in spiralling effect.
This unsustainable game of musical chairs does not stop, until one of these companies chooses to move to another country.
Furthermore, the euphoria of having a 2 per cent unemployment does not help the fact that there is a 61 per cent unemployment rate for workers between the ages of 55 and 64. Furthermore, those in their 40s to 50s are the first to become retrenched or let go.
Why is there such a disparity? We have tried giving companies incentives and schemes; What did we get? A huge jump in year-on-year unemployment amongst those 55 to 64 years old, while worker shortages remain.
Perhaps, we should shine light on socially-implicit age discrimination. It is time to take this issue seriously. We cannot fix it if we are in denial. This will require a change in attitude in everyone to be a truly inclusive society.