NTUC urges bosses not to wait for laws on employing older workers
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 May 2007 1426 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Singapore's labour movement says it supports the idea of having legislative changes within the next five years to enhance the employability of older workers beyond the age of 62.

But it also urges employers not to wait for the legislation to achieve this objective.

NTUC says that since January last year, it has garnered the commitment of 235 companies to re-employ older workers.

As a result 2,913 older workers have been able to find jobs by the end of April this year.

The Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) says it supports the approach of Japan whereby employers are given some flexibility to re-employ workers beyond 62.

This would give room for market practices that are sound and make economic sense to develop.

The idea of having legislative changes within the next five years to enhance the employability of older workers was one of the recommendations made by the Tripartite Committee on Older Workers.

The committee released its final report on Thursday.

Accepting the report, Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen noted that the next phase of the Tripartite Committee's work would be even more challenging.

He said there is no single solution to increasing the employability of an ageing workforce and thus a multi-faceted approach is needed. - CNA/ir