By Ramesh Subbaraman
A recent survey by the Labour Movement on the re-employment of older workers among more than 700 unionised companies has shown positive results.
NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Heng Chee How said 85 per cent of the 730 companies re-employed their workers above the age of 65 either on an ad hoc or on-going basis.
On 1 December 2015, both the Finance and Manpower Ministries announced in a joint statement that the Government will be extending the 3 per cent wage offset till the new re-employment age of 67 comes into effect.
Tripartite Discussions
Tripartite partners are currently in discussion on the effective date to put into law the new re-employment age of 67.
During Budget 2015, the Government introduced an additional wage offset of up to 3 per cent of wages for one year from January to December 2015, for employers who hire workers aged 65 and above earning up to $4,000 a month.
“When the law kicks in in 2017, Singapore is ready, companies are ready and workers are ready and then the coming of the law would be a non- issue,” said DSG Heng, who is at the forefront of championing NTUC’s efforts in the area of re-employment of older workers.
Source: NTUC This Week
