Discriminatory practices by the PAP government

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Forum: Retirees still need more help to be re-employed​

JAN 06, 2024

I refer to the reply by the Ministry of Manpower (Steps taken to support senior workers on re-employment, Jan 3).
Kudos to the Manpower Ministry for the schemes it has put in place to extend the employment of seniors, and its encouragement of employers to do so.
However, the ministry did not address the point made by Mr Tristan Gwee (Tap older workers’ wealth of experience, Dec 11) and Mr Ong Kim Bock (Do more to get retirees back in workforce, Dec 14), that is, to tap seniors who have left the workforce, and would like to, and can potentially, be re-employed.
In my interactions with other retired seniors, I have found that many of us would like to be re-employed.
I have applied to the ministry, other government bodies and tripartite organisations, but with no success.
Other seniors have had similar experiences, and we have come to the same conclusion that ageism played a role in why we were not employed.
The Government has called for employers to engage seniors as part of the workforce. But can we expect the private sector to overlook ageism and employ seniors, when government bodies do not seem to walk the talk?

There is a group of retired but capable seniors who have been sidelined. With their efforts to rejoin the workforce not bearing fruit, they are resigned to spending their time at coffee shops or binge-watching TV shows instead of contributing to the nation.

Lai Tuck Kee