Re: Retail Operations Manager wanted - for S'pore PR holders only, S'porean go fuck o
"...For many years you can see "Speak Chinese Only. Chinese Speaking Environment." No fuss....":oIo:
"...He quoted what an Indian woman grassroots leader told him: 'Last
time, they say we older workers are too expensive. They say cut
our pay, so we got pay cut.
'Then, the Government says reduce CPF to keep our jobs, so we
reduce employer CPF.
'Then employer says not good enough, must improve performance,
must retrain. So every night, we go home late because we go for
upgrading and retraining.
'Now we come back, they say, must have Mandarin.' ..." 147th Singapore Prostitute Press 1 March 2006
********
Full Article
********
MP calls for study of Mandarin-only job ads
147th Singapore Prostitute Press 1 March 2006
It will determine if firms discriminate or failed job seekers useit as an excuse
DO A proper study to find out once and for all if employers discriminate against non-Mandarin speakers, suggested Mr Ahmad Khalis Abdul Ghani (Hong Kah GRC).
He then shared with the House the results of an experiment by his staff, in which they applied for jobs. They pored over a few days' worth of classified advertisements and found that 30 of 100 job vacancies for O- or N-level holders required the applicant to know Mandarin.
One staff member rang four of the 70 employers who did not require Mandarin, saying he was a male Malay aged 30.
While three confirmed they had no Chinese language requirement, one said someone literate in Mandarin was needed because of its 'Mandarin client base'. Mr Ahmad's staff e-mailed 15 others but have yet to receive replies.
Mr Ahmad's conclusion: 'It seems there are reasonably sufficient jobs that do not require Mandarin compared to those that do.'
But he still wonders if the frustration non-Mandarin-speaking job seekers express has any basis.
The Ministry of Manpower has urged employers not to be so 'blase' about including Mandarin in their job advertisements unless it is really necessary, he noted.
Could it be, he asked, that these job seekers cry foul over the Mandarin requirement every time their application is rejected because they are unwilling to admit their other shortcomings?
He said: 'At present, we can only speculate, which we should not do on an issue such as this. There should be a more honest and more verifiable study on the matter.'
He wanted the issue looked at thoroughly, in the same way the issue of low-wage and older workers has been studied.
Mr Ahmad was the last of 23 speakers during yesterday's debate on the Budget. While he lauded help schemes for low-wage workers, he said unnecessary obstacles exist that prevent workers benefiting from such schemes.
Discrimination against non-Mandarin speakers, he said, is one such possible obstacle that prevents some Singaporeans from getting better jobs.
He quoted what an Indian woman grassroots leader told him: 'Last time, they say we older workers are too expensive. They say cut our pay, so we got pay cut.
'Then, the Government says reduce CPF to keep our jobs, so we reduce employer CPF.
'Then employer says not good enough, must improve performance, must retrain. So every night, we go home late because we go for upgrading and retraining.
'Now we come back, they say, must have Mandarin.' Calling for a study to ascertain if job applicants face language discrimination, Mr Ahmad said: 'At stake are more than mere economic issues. There are also highly sensitive issues involving language and race. There's an urgent need to prevent the current angst from spreading.'
