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Article from Today, 04 May 2007
Fair defence, before axe falls
Friday May 4, 2007
Lee U-Wen
u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg
YOU'RE fired. Words every employee dreads to hear - but now a set of new guidelines aim to ensure that if a worker has to be given the axe, it will at least be done in a fair and responsible manner.
Recommendations on how to conduct dismissals and retrenchments were announced yesterday, as part of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices.
Among the suggestions: Companies should keep detailed records of all their staff's performance and conduct, and use these to justify their decision to dismiss an employee.
The affected worker, too, should have the chance to defend himself, with the final verdict assessed by an impartial and independent panel - comprising, for example, staff from the company's HR department.
If such measures are taken up by Singapore employers - more than 420 of which, including the civil service, have signed the Pledge of Fair Employment Practices - it would spell good news for groups such as mature workers and would-be mums, who have complained of being unfairly dismissed on unsubstantiated claims of poor performance.
As part of the fight against discrimination at the workplace, a 13-page booklet has been produced by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment. The guidelines replace the five-year-old Code of Responsible Employment Practices, and introduce vital new elements.
Among them, as this newspaper first reported on Wednesday, is the call for employers to look at how job application forms are structured. The alliance says they should refrain from asking for information such as age, race, gender, religion and marital status, all of which it deems "irrelevant" in determining whether the applicant is suitable for the job.
There is also a section on remuneration, where the onus is placed on employers to ensure wages paid match the value of the job. Age, religion or family status should not affect how a worker is rewarded for work done.
Co-chairperson Bob Tan said the alliance had briefly discussed the pros and cons of having a minimum wage. The consensus was that it did not truly help, he said. "In fact, the minimum could end up being the maximum (that employers would pay). Also if you have to employ people at a fixed rate that is high, your business may not be sustainable," he told Today.
Also new is a guide on how employees' grievances should be handled - companies are advised to set up proper channels.
Co-chair Madam HalimahYacob hoped the guidelines would help reduce the average of 70 discrimination-related complaints received each year by the Ministry of Manpower. But some recruiters warned that, without legislation, it would be unrealistic to expect companies to comply.
"It's a milestone for labour laws in Singapore, and it's timely, given our ageing population and a tight labour market. But whether or not employers are going to treat the guidelines like a bible is up in the air. Let's hope that a small percentage, at least, will seriously practise these suggestions," said Mr Paul Heng, managing director of Next Career Consulting.
The alliance hopes to see more recourse given, in particular, to pregnant workers who lose their jobs unfairly. Mdm Halimah wondered if there was "a correlation" in the increased number of complaints she has observed since maternity leave was extended from two to three months.
Mums-to-be such as planning director Delphinia Tam-Lower, 31, said: "Now it's a lot clearer as to how pregnant job-seekers should be evaluated. It will impart confidence and hope to those who have been shunned before."
Meanwhile, the new tripartite centre for fair employment is likely to open its doors by the year's end. Both employers and workers can attend training courses, and seek advice on discrimination-related issues.
Plans are underway to hire staff, who will also be sent to companies - starting with those that have signed the pledge - to conduct surveys and educate them on the guidelines. The new tripartite guidelines are at www.mom.gov.sg.
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