NTUC Family reveals Employee Age Profile to encourage more companies to adopt Age-Friendly Employment Practices
19 November 2007
Media Release
1 As Singaporeans live longer and need to work longer to save up for their remaining non-working years, there is an imperative push for the employment and re-employment of workers across the board, including older workers and women, as the robust economy drives the need for more workers.
2 The labour movement is all for age-friendly employment practices that help to enhance the employability and re-employment of all workers, including older workers and women who form a significant potential source of labour supply. To show its commitment towards age-friendly employment practices, the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) family has taken the lead in disclosing its employee age profile on NTUC’s website www.ntuc.org.sg/ageprofile (Please see ANNEX A for the organisations listed under the NTUC family).
3 In September 2007, NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say had called on companies to disclose their workforce’s age profile on their websites to demonstrate their commitment towards age-friendly employment practices, ahead of the re-employment legislation that will take effect in 2012. The disclosure also aims to better recognise companies that practise age-friendly and fair employment.
4 In strong support of NTUC SG Lim’s call, the NTUC family announced this morning, at the Singapore Tripartism Forum[1] 2007 with the theme “Strengthening Tripartism for a Competitive and Inclusive Workforce”, that it is disclosing its employee age profile as a group on NTUC’s website to give greater transparency on its employment practices. As of 31 October 2007, the NTUC family has a total of 10,521 employees and their average age is 42 years old; 106 employees aged 61; and 184 employees aged 62 and above.
5 Compared to the national average figures extracted from the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Force Survey of Singapore published in June 2006, the NTUC family has a higher proportion (45.7%) of employees within the age range of 45 to 59. On the whole, about 64% of the NTUC family workforce is above 40 years old. Looking ahead, the NTUC family remains committed to promoting and supporting age-friendly employment practices to maintain a healthy balance of employees across all age groups (Please refer to ANNEX A for more information).
6 With the NTUC family’s employee age profile disclosure, NTUC hopes that more companies, especially the bigger ones, would come onboard and adopt similar disclosure of their employee age profile, so that they can be more aware of the need to employ workers in an age-friendly manner, conduct self-checks and implement fair employment practices. As different sectors have different jobs and requirements for the types of employees to hire, companies need not be too concerned if their employee age profile is not comparable to industry or national average figures. This is because the act of disclosure alone shows their support and intention towards age-friendly and fair employment – and that is what matters.
7 As we help workers shape their mindsets about the types of work and salaries to expect during employment and re-employment, we have to do our part as employers to implement age-friendly employment practices that support workers’ employment and re-employment, businesses and ultimately, Singapore’s economy.
Heng Chee How
Deputy Secretary-General, NTUC and
Leader, NTUC Re-employment Expert Group
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About National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is a national confederation of trade unions in the industrial, service and public sectors representing 500,000 workers in Singapore. NTUC comprises 63 affiliated unions, 6 affiliated taxi associations, 12 social enterprises and 3 related organisations. NTUC’s objectives are to help Singapore stay competitive and workers remain employable for life; to enhance the social status and well-being of workers; and to build a strong, responsible and caring labour movement. NTUC's vision is to be an inclusive labour movement for all collars, all ages and all nationalities. For more details on NTUC, please visit our website at www.ntuc.org.sg
[1] The Singapore Tripartism Forum (STF) is jointly organised by the National Trades Union Congress, Ministry of Manpower, Singapore National Employers Federation and Singapore Business Federation. It serves as a platform for discussing and exchanging of views among the tripartite partners on employment issues and challenges, and social interaction among the tripartite partners so as to strengthen the spirit of tripartism and institutionalise tripartite practices in Singapore.
