Oral Answer to PQ on Age discrimination complaints and WFA effective date

NOTICE PAPER NO. 39 OF 2025 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 23 SEPTEMBER 2025
QUESTION NO. *288 FOR ORAL ANSWER

MP: Dr Charlene Chen

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in the past two years, how many complaints of age discrimination have been lodged with the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) and the Ministry; (b) how many of such cases are detected beyond formal complaints received; (c) which sectors are most frequently implicated; and (d) when is the Workplace Fairness Act expected to take effect.

Answer:

1. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) received an annual average of 61 complaints of age discrimination in 2023 and 2024. The top three sectors with the most number of complaints were administrative and support service activities; wholesale and retail trade; and accommodation and food service activities.

2. In addition to the complaints received, TAFEP partners Workforce Singapore (WSG) to proactively review job advertisements posted on MyCareersFuture (MCF) portal to detect potentially discriminatory job advertisements. In 2023 and 2024, TAFEP identified an annual average of 90 job advertisements containing words or phrases that were potentially discriminatory on the basis of age.

3. TAFEP had engaged the employers that posted these job advertisements to make the necessary amendments to ensure alignment with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP). To further assist employers to better understand their obligations under the TGFEP and build merit-based and fair workplaces, TAFEP has also provided the employers with resources, such as guides and clinics.

4. We plan to table the second Workplace Fairness Bill in Parliament by the end of the year. If passed, we intend to implement the Workplace Fairness Act sometime in 2026 or 2027.