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SINGAPORE – More employers are being investigated for possible discriminatory hiring practices, according to a report on employment practices released on Thursday (November 19).
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep), the national watchdog on fair employment, investigated around 260 cases of such practices in the first half of this year, 60 percent more than the 160 cases in the same period last year.
About 90 employers finally had their job pass privileges suspended due to discriminatory hiring practices in August this year, up from 35 for the full year of 2019.
This means that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prohibited them from hiring new foreigners or renewing the work passes of existing foreign staff for a period of time.
About 43 percent of them were identified through data analysis as part of MOM’s proactive research efforts. The remaining 57 percent identified themselves based on complaints received by the ministry and Tafep, a MOM spokesperson said in response to media inquiries.
Errant employers who violate the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Labor Practices will be barred from hiring new foreign workers or renewing existing ones for a period of 12 to 24 months, under more severe penalties for discriminatory hiring starting this year.
The report by MOM, Tafep and the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management says that perceptions of discrimination appear to have increased, according to a survey by the ministry in 2018.
The percentage of those who felt there was discrimination during their job search process increased to 15% in 2018, up from 10% in 2014. Age-related discrimination continued to be the most commonly perceived form, while the largest increase in points Percentage of perceived discrimination was based on personal characteristics of gender and number of children.
This despite the fact that the same survey found that seven out of 10 private sector companies have structured HR processes and objective criteria in their evaluation of job applicants.
MOM also received around 580 complaints between May and August this year related to cost-saving measures taken by about 470 employers, according to the report. The vast majority were able to resolve their disputes amicably after the ministry assessed the fairness of the measures.
Tafep separately hired about 900 employers whose pay cuts affecting about 52,000 employees appeared to be excessive, and about 330 of them agreed to review their measures. The rest could justify the need for the measures for business survival.
Since March, employers with 10 or more employees have had to notify MOM if they take savings measures that affect employees’ monthly wages by more than 25 percent.
At the end of September, MOM received close to 7,300 notifications from some 5,000 employers, affecting some 250,000 employees.
Overall, one in five employers where MOM intervened improved their practices and better supported their employees. To date, no employer has been found intentionally refusing to channel government support for proper use, the report says.
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