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International hotel group, Millennium & Copthorne International Ltd, caused a storm on the Net in March when it put up a discriminatory job advertisement on Jobstreet to hire only “native PRC Chinese” for its Regional Sales Manager position.
In addition to Singaporean netizens, the Minister of State of Manpower Mr Tan Chuan-Jin also condemned the advertisement. Mr Tan wrote on his Facebook: “It is not acceptable. We have spoken to them. They have removed it.” (See: BG Tan Chuan-Jin “promised” to deal with discriminatory hirings).
After getting the rebuke from the netizens and Minister Tan, the VP Human Resources of Asia from Millennium & Copthorne International, Erica Chui, came out to apologize and changed the advertisement. However, she over-reacted and took out all requirements that were connected to the “Chinese-ness” aspect of the job advertisement.
As noted by TR Emeritus (TRE) in earlier articles, if the job is based in Singapore but requires the applicant to do regional sales, say, in China, it is perfectly alright for the job advertisement to list working experience in China and ability to speak English and Mandarin as requirements as long as preference for the nationality of the candidate is not stated. Millennium & Copthorne then rectified the advertisement again to come up with a third version which put back some of the skill requirements such as working experience in China and the ability to speak Mandarin.
According to TRE’s sources, since the incident, Millennium & Copthorne’s VP Human Resources of Asia, Erica Chui is no longer working for the hotel group. It is not known if she resigned on her own accord or was “advised” to leave.
At press time, Millennium & Copthorne’s corporate communication has not responded to TRE’s official enquiry, but TRE has determined that Erica Chui is no longer with the hotel group. Her current whereabouts is unknown.
In a media report last Nov [Link], the government has warned foreign managers that they should not marginalise qualified local candidates in order to hire and promote their own kind.
Minister Tan, who was then speaking at a tripartism forum, stressed that while foreigners are still welcome to work in Singapore, the core of a company’s workforce must remain Singaporean. He advised that the employers on the ground must be watchful over their actions as many Singaporeans have expressed displeasure over discriminatory practices in their workplace.
He said, “Let me emphasise that discriminatory practices have no place in Singapore.” He added that companies have a responsibility “to attract, recruit and develop Singaporeans so that Singaporeans remain at the core of our workforce”.
Those who have encountered workplace discrimination can contact TAFEP (www.fairemployment.sg) for advice and assistance.
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