THE skills and contributions of workers, rather than their age or gender, are the deciding factors when companies retrench.

This practice by most companies was praised by labour officials who said they were fair. However, they worry that some groups of workers could be unfairly targeted in a downturn.

BOOST FOR BOTTOM LINE 'When we take care of our people, they in turn deliver outstanding service and they will deliver profits. We've been through ups and downs and we've never changed our philosophy.' FedEx managing director for Singapore Ramesh Kumar Singam Squaring meritocracy with saving Singaporeans' jobs AT A conference on fair employment practices yesterday, unionist K. Thanaletchimi asked a panel how it would reconcile the retaining of workers based on merit with moves to save jobs for Singaporeans. Here are the responses from panel members: Government ... more

They include older workers, and women who are pregnant or have young children or a baby, said Madam Halimah Yacob, deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

She made the point yesterday at an inaugural conference on fair employment practices.

Similarly, Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong also expressed his concern that some companies may be inclined to put fair employment on the backburner.

'I urge employers not to lose sight of our long-term goal of making fair employment an integral part of our corporate culture,' he said when he opened the conference.

It was attended by about 500 people, including business leaders, human resource directors and unionists.

The one-day meeting included a discussion with business, union and government leaders.

In his speech, Mr Gan cited several reasons for pressing ahead with fair employment efforts.

First, employers who put in place fair hiring practices now will be more attractive to job seekers when the economy recovers and the job market tightens.

Promoting fair employment even during a downturn will also build up mutual trust between bosses and workers.

Conversely, the failure to manage staff fairly in a recession could result in 'negative spillovers that may lower staff morale, tarnish the firm's reputation, and ultimately impact the firm's bottom line in the long term', he said.

Mr Gan also gave an update on the progress made in promoting fair employment.

The proportion of job advertisements that could have been perceived as discriminatory has fallen, from 19.7 per cent in 2006 to 1.7 per cent last year.

This was based on a survey of print advertisements for jobs over a week.

More companies have also pledged their commitment to be fair employers, with express transport company FedEx being the 1,000th.

Employers such as FedEx and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel said fair employment practices were integral to their company's values and, ultimately, they boost their bottom lines.

Said FedEx managing director for Singapore Ramesh Kumar Singam: 'When we take care of our people, they in turn deliver outstanding service and they will deliver profits. We've been through ups and downs and we've never changed our philosophy.'

Mr Gan noted that while most employers are fair, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) continues to receive about 70 complaints a year from workers alleging job discrimination.

He cited one complaint last year in which an executive was initially offered a job, but was discouraged from starting work when her supervisor discovered she was pregnant.

Tafep staff convinced the management of the importance of fair employment, and the company made good its job offer, said Mr Gan.

Later, Madam Halimah told reporters that she expects complaints about unfair practices to escalate in the downturn, as was the case in previous recessions.

Sometimes, the unfairness may be perceived rather than real, and the problem lies more with the company's lack of communication and transparency about how it decides on job cuts, she said.

Where there are issues of bad faith or discrimination in layoffs, workers can get help from Tafep, she added.

Tafep's Tripartite Centre for Fair Employment can be reached on 6838-0969.

chinlian@sph.com.sg