Debated in Parliament on 4 Oct 2021.
Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the current status of the four complaints that have been lodged with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment (TAFEP) against the property management company of Hillview Heights; (b) what are the findings; and (c) whether there has been an increase in the number of complaints received by the Ministry since the complaints were made public.
There have been a total of four complaints lodged this year at TAFEP against the property management firm of Hillview Heights. They relate to clauses in tender documents that discriminate against the age and language of security officers. For the first three complaints, TAFEP engaged the firm, which then took steps to rectify. Following the third complaint, TAFEP assessed that the occurrences were not isolated, and advised the firm to review their system. The fourth complaint, which arose from the tender for Hillview Heights, indicated that TAFEP’s advice had not been followed. TAFEP thus referred the case to MOM for further investigation which is ongoing.
We would like to assure Ms Cheng Li Hui and also Mr Edward Chia, who has filed a similar question stemming from this incident, that MOM and TAFEP take a serious view of workplace discrimination, including the use of age as a selection criteria. Other than requiring employers to attend corrective workshops conducted by TAFEP, MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against discriminatory employers, such as curtailing their work pass privileges. While we have not observed an increase in the number of workplace discrimination complaints received arising from this episode, we urge workers who face any form of workplace discrimination to approach TAFEP or MOM for assistance.
PAPERCUTS