NTUC's response to TODAY's article on Discrimination against Pregnant Employees
5 April 2005
The News Editor
TODAY
I refer to the TODAY article, “Mum, you’re fired”, dated 5 April 2005, by Ms Jasmine Yin.
2 It is disturbing to hear of employers who continue to discriminate against their pregnant employees. Maternity benefit is recognised in every society as a core and basic entitlement that all employers should provide as a matter of course to their female employees.
3 The majority of employers here complies with the law and established norms of what constitute fair human resource practices in managing their staff and pregnancy-related issues. But the action of the minority, if not curbed, will tarnish the image of other employers and undermine the efficacy of the new laws that accord better maternity benefits to pregnant employees.
3 Your report mentioned that pregnant executive and managerial employees are not protected by the law against pregnancy-related discrimination. This is incorrect. Although the Employment Act does not apply to executive and managerial employees, the recently amended Children Development Co-Savings Act extends the same protection found in the Employment Act for pregnant women to all female employees regardless of the position they hold in a company.
4 To tackle the problem of discrimination against pregnant employees, there is a need for a two-pronged action. Firstly, more stringent enforcement of the laws against those who violate them is needed to send a strong signal to others not to take their legal obligations lightly. Secondly, there is a need to educate employers on their legal obligations and beyond that, on the need to treat their employees decently.
5 No business is sustainable if it were only concerned with the bottom line, particularly in today’s knowledge-based economy where value resides in people. Thus, employers who want fully committed employees should treat them well and in return, the employees will give their best.
Halimah Yacob (Mdm)
Assistant Secretary-General
National Trades Union Congress
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