Leong Sze Hian -
“Singapore Airlines (SIA), SIAEC (SIA Engineering) and all other SIA-affiliated companies practise 10 per cent across-the-board pay cut for all employees the moment they turn 60 years old,” Ms Jennifer Tan wrote to the Straits Times in May this year. “When queries are made to the human resource department about such cuts,” Ms Tan wrote, “especially in relation to the new government push to extend the working life of experienced older workers, the reply given is that it is ‘company policy’.” (Asia One)
Captain P James, president of the Airline Pilots Association (Singapore), had also expressed similar sentiments in his letter to the Straits Times a week earlier. Referring to Singapore Airline’s cutting wages of older workers the moment they turn 60, he wrote: “It was really a case of no cut, no job. This was despite the fact that there was no change other than the pilot turning 60 years old.” (See here) Legally, pilots are allowed to work up to age 65. Captain James thus could not understand why SIA needed to cut the wages of pilots who turn 60. “Here is a company that has been struggling to stay above water, and yet it is willing to hire the more expensive expatriate pilot on a longer contract term, with the attendant costs such as housing and child allowances,” he said.
“Why are they denying the national pilot, who helped build up the national icon, the same opportunity of a job until the end of his useful working life?”
Given that SIA is a government-linked company (GLC) and that the government itself has been encouraging older Singaporeans to work longer, it is puzzling that GLCs themselves would resort to penalizing older workers by cutting their wages for no other reason than that these workers have turned 60.
The Ministry of Manpower’s reply to these questions was: “Some wage adjustment is necessary in order to maintain the employability of workers as they age.” With regards to the specific question of employers cutting – or as MOM put it – “adjusting” wages of workers “as they reach 60”, MOM says:
“The Retirement Age Act does allow wage reduction of up to 10 per cent. However, the Act also makes it clear that if there is any reduction, it should be based on “reasonable factors” like the employee’s productivity, performance, duties and responsibilities, and the market value of the job. It is worth noting that age does not qualify as a reasonable factor in the Retirement Age Act.”
It also said:
“[Wage] reduction at 60 should not be “automatic”. We like to emphasise that it should only be based on the reasonable factors as stated clearly in the Retirement Age Act.” (MOM)
The government has announced that it will introduce the Retirement Age Act (RAA) in 2012 – five years after it was first proposed in 2007.
Even before the Retirement Act’s expected enactment in 2012, many older workers may already have been terminated from their jobs or have had their pay cut substantially even before they reach 60 or 62. Employers may simply avoid the requirement to offer re-employment under the RAA, by letting go or cutting the wages of those approaching or who turn 62-years old, before the RAA takes effect in 2012.
Although the proposed Retirement Age Act is clear that a pay cut should be based on “reasonable factors” and age is not one such factor, employers can get around this simply by citing these “reasonable factors” as the reason for terminating a 62-year old from his job or cutting his pay – even though the real reason may be his age!
How do we effectively address issues of age discrimination like those highlighted by the Air Line Pilots Association?
From past experience, getting employers to heed guidelines have not have been an easy task.
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In Part Two, we ask: How many companies cut wages at 62?
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Picture from dianhasan blog.
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Harry Lee banned trade unions. Is that NTUC of any use in these times?
Tell ministers to work for less pay once they turn 60 too please.
Cough cough LKY
if your owe gahmen money and if you die
they will dig your grave and make you stand in court of law. if you fail to turn up in court within 14days from the day you died then warrant of arrest will be issue against you. you will be charge in court and face imprisonment not less then lifetime in jail sentence. you will then be reburied after you serve the jail term if only you PAY FOR YOUR GRAVE!
singapore new law.
@ Ryvyan 2 July 2010
how can you ask lky to accept low wages???
how about his 3meals a day??
how about his medical care??
no no no. he should get a pay rise again.
1 billion a month should be ok for him for a normal living.
Our ministers should also eat their own policy. Their salary should be cut when they reach 60.
they have suffer day and night to make what is singapore today and what do singapore want? want them to help you?
they earn billions they spend billions. they work hard they deserve hard pay cheque.
so vote them and have a bright future
“Getting employers to heed guidelines have not have been an easy task.” Simple really. Employers can heed guidelines easily – it is whether they choose to. Government can get employers to toe the line – it is whether they choose to.
My my…LKY must be working for free then…
but i am sure someone said he’s pulling in 3 mil per year.
Or maybe, he’s giving it away to charity without my knowledge.
PAP…PAP…what a policy…without practice.
If they are working less after 60, then it is reasonable, if not why the cut.
It is not cheap out there.
Ministry Of Manpower (MOM) should be renamed as National Human Resource (NHR), to reflect its role more accurately.
does MOM set specific laws to protect the welfare of workers vis-a-vis 1st world standards? does it pro-actively seek to update labour laws to keep up with times to promote work-life-balance (to ultimately increase birthrates)? does it seek to balance workers’ rights to that of employers?
or is MOM’s role reduce to that of a rubber stamp issuing work permits to the demands of big companies? companies that set-up shop here refusing to tap into local talent/workforce? when govt agencies bend too far back for them, its hard not to let rumours of “cosy relations” spread. afterall, money & power go hand-in-hand most of the time rite?…
yeah money and power is their way.
so this coming election we show them the citizen power hand in hand.
vote them out completely. i hope singaporeans be it old or young will never never get their hand on the pap check box.
that check box cost your life and your child future don’t gamble it to try and see cox you can never see no more after that last tick
just look at brunei and their citizen there. their citizen are well taken care by the government. hard to get the citizen there if you apply coz the government don’t want to abuse his own citizen by promises after promises. and he did what he said.
but singapore?? lky sell our land whole sale and now sell us to foregners whole sale.
we have become the laughing stock by the foreigners for being fear of the government even we are right but we still lick lky feet and get stamped
we will strike this election. you want to bring in your army??!! we will bring in our singaporeans to shed blood on the street.
like ya ya papaya only.hahaha
singaporeans will sit at home and watch tv election news and get angry then they will slam the pillow on the wall till they happy and go to sleep then next day all back to normal and work work work pay pay pay. lol
stupid singaporeans. good to be slap on the face by us
i fuLLEE wholehearteLEE DEMAND and agreed
older worker above 60 to hav their pay CUT…..
subject to…………..
as usual……………….
please refer to leekuanyew and ministers!
is their overpaid monthLEE salaries bein CUT? if not? why not? maybe they can fly a jumbo plane as well?
they are flying gold plane full of trillions in it. how can cut their pay? our cpf all in the plane you know. haiz…pls la as lky say. use your brain when talk.
go pap go. we will support you till we die
What talking about working beyond 60 ?
They can sack you anytime they want. Even strip you of your PR. Remember the Malaysian pilot whose only fault was to represent their union.
They can be as vicious and spiteful if they want. Just like the old man.
What can you do? The power is on the side of the employer in negotiations.
how many times have i said you singaporeans have been
“BRAINWASHED AND SOILED”
you still haven’t got it ???
you fly 747, but foreign pilots fly rockets, space crafts, much faster and more talented.
union’s, better ask that donkey, lim boon heng, he killed all….
This shows the contradictory policy of the govt and the NTUC.On one hand older workers are told to stay employ to subsist for themselves and on the other hand to accept pay cut.With the costs of living escalating everyday,how do you expect the people to live a decent life with a meagre pay.Futhermore some older workers are doing the same amount of work as their younger peers.All these policy makers are living in their ivory towers and are wide apart from the common people aspirations.They are haughty and arrogant without any feelings for the good of the poor peasants.They are good at shouting slogans,side-step problems,pushing blame to the people,sheming tactics for their continiuity of power .
//Legally, pilots are allowed to work up to age 65. Captain James thus could not understand why SIA needed to cut the wages of pilots who turn 60.//
Even a pilot, supposedly with much better intelligence, could not understand why he could fly a very complex machine but not being able to comprehend the rationale of a pay cut after 60.
Anyone able to solve this logic defying decision (or company policy) will probably result in him being nominated for the running of the Nobel prize in economics.
Mind you, this is a GLC some more.
“Why are they denying the national pilot, who helped build up the national icon, the same opportunity of a job until the end of his useful working life?”
Simply because it is a stupid policy. Why bother to be diplomatic about all this nonsense.
Cutting pay at 60 is cutting your flesh sending U to your grave yard. Is is what U have vote for PAP.Serve U right.
Company policy says to cut the wages of the old worker by 10%. Who makes the company policy? If its GLC, then, most of the higher management are singaporeanswho have worked with GLC for years, if these people also wont support employing old worker, who will want to support the sort of “government policy” of employing old workers? It will just be another “white elephant”, and we end up having more FTs
so, the old man taking a pay cut, by how much, 110%?
erm, i no no about the exact meaning of GLC.
SMRT is GLC right?
In what way, if any, is G responsible if not accountable for such business unit performance be it in terms of organization-wide Security , operationally or revenue wise?
Who knows? which smart one knows? singaproean very smart wan. so who knows?
The political class support aged employment? Hypocritical wolves and whores I would say.
wILL THE AUTORITY CUT OUT ALL THESE CRAB ABOUT REAPPPOINTMENTOF OLDER WORKERS
TO ME THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN PRETENDING TO DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE OLDER FOLKS, WAIT TILL THEY GROW OLD AND WE SEE WHAT HAPPEN
This is AGE DISCRIMINATION. The Singapore I knew had no discrimination. That was one big reason why one bunch of us did not migrate.
I think singaporeans should die young. Don’t have to worry about earning enough and living in a stressful life. Don’t need to be a burden to your family when u are old. I guess in future only the millionairs(LKY) can afford to live comfortably in sg and the rest are “slaves”(us)
Even the public service is cutting older workers’ pay, so why would GLCs surprise you?