Alleged discrimination based on nationality continued to top the list of complaints received last year by a top Singapore body looking into fair employment.
These cases, covering foreigners and Singaporeans, made up half of about 300 complaints in total which were received by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP), according to a report by Today newspaper.
The banking and information technology sectors saw the most number of complaints, a trend which was also witnessed in the year 2013.
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However, TAFEP General Manager Roslyn Ten said many cases stem from misunderstanding and not from genuine bias, and urged companies to improve communication with job seekers or existing employees by explaining why, for example, foreigners instead of Singaporeans were hired or promoted.
"Could they better explain that it's really about the skills? Because when they hire, they just hire. They don't really communicate why (they) hire A and not B, and why (they) promote A and not B. It's because of the domain knowledge... that the employers require, and somehow they couldn't find them in locals," Today quoted Mrs Ten as saying.
In some cases, Singaporean jobseekers may have commitments at home, and are reluctant to take up overseas postings or jobs which require frequent travelling, she pointed out.
"It's quite difficult for them (Singaporeans) to take up (these) and (they're) not as versatile as their foreign colleagues, in terms of being very open to being relocated or just to travel," she added.
Overall, the number of complaints about discriminatory hiring practices received by TAFEP last year fell sharply, compared to 2013 when there were 475 complaints. But the 2013 figure was considered a blip, as it was the year when the Fair Consideration Framework was introduced.
The framework requires employers to consider Singaporeans first for job openings. In 2012, there were 303 cases, according to Today.
Apart from alleged discrimination based on nationality, one in five complaints was bias linked to age - a similar proportion to alleged discrimination related to language or race.
On the number of complaints from the banking and IT sectors, Ten felt this was because "people in these sectors are more vocal."
"They're the PMEs (professionals, managers and executives), so they know where to bring their complaints to. It's because of people's awareness, rather than because these sectors are more discriminative of the Singaporeans," she said.
Reiterating that many unfair employment practices were largely due to miscommunication, she said clear-cut cases of discrimination against Singaporeans are rare. "It's really more of perception," she said to Today.
In cases where companies do not adhere to fair employment practices, TAFEP offers suggestions to boost their human resource (HR) systems, such as refining job application forms or training recruiters in interviewing techniques.
It also educates companies on a sectorial level - through union talks, seminars and campaigns.
Ten said TAFEP will step up efforts in promoting work-life harmony and the hiring of older workers, through sharing case studies and commissioning more studies.
