It's still a struggle for jobless over-40s

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It's still a struggle for jobless over-40s
By Radha Basu


MADAM T. Nalaayini, 58, has been looking for a job since early this year.

The unmarried woman is the primary caregiver to her mother, Madam N. Karrapiah,
87, who has dementia. When the laboratory where Madam Nalaayani worked as an office attendant for the past 23 years decided to outsource some of its functions, she lost her job. She received a retrenchment payout, but she claims that after paying off debts, the money will not last her even a year. She used to earn around $1,200 a month.

She approached the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) for
help to find a job, but there has been no luck yet. 'I think it's my age,' she lamented, sitting in her two-room rental flat at Lengkok Bahru as her mother looked on vacantly. 'I need to take care of my mother. What if I can't find a job again?'

Her fears are not entirely unfounded. The Government has been working hard to
ensure that older workers find jobs, but at least one set of statistics made
available to The Straits Times shows that the efforts have yet to bear fruit.

Despite a booming economy and nearly full employment, the CDCs were able to find
work for only one in four of the 36,000 older job-seekers who sought their help
last year. The figures pertain to workers aged 40 and above. This despite the fact that all five CDCs have extensive job-matching efforts in place, offering career guidance and training to workers and persuading companies to employ them. The obstacles lie with workers and employers, say CDC officers.

The workers are often limited by circumstances, said Ms Charlotte George, who
manages employment assistance operations at Central Singapore CDC. The district
is home to more than 150,000 people aged 60 and above. Many of the vacancies that companies ply CDCs with are for jobs that are 'physically demanding' and unsuitable for older people, she said. These include jobs in warehouses, as crane operators or welders, or in dispatch and courier positions. 'The general perception is that the younger you are, the more fit you are and the older folk lose out, even though some may be very fit,' said Ms George.

Many are hampered by family and caregiving responsibilities that prevent them
from doing shift work. Madam Nalaayini, for instance, said she could not work
the night shift as it would distress her mother. 'She is used to not seeing me during the day, but I worry that if I leave her alone at night, she may not be able to take it.'

To make matters worse, many workers are rigid in their likes and dislikes, said
Mr Vengadesh Naidu, Ms George's counterpart in South East CDC. Some, for instance, want only jobs they are familiar with. Recently, a retrenched 45-yearold who had been a welder all his life asked for help. The CDC offered him jobs as a delivery assistant or gardener but he was not interested. 'He kept wanting a welder's job, saying that is the only thing he knew how to do,' said Mr Naidu.

Not all workers are as choosy. Mr Tay Teck Choon, 71, has been scouring job
advertisements since September last year when the art gallery where he worked
folded. He used to earn about $1,200 per month then, a far cry from the $15,000 he
earned before retiring as training manager of a multinational company in 1994. He knows the Government is encouraging older people to remain employed and he,
for one, is game. 'I have sent out more than 30 applications and have yet to go
for a single interview.' Even those seeking to fill training-related posts, for which he has experience, have turned him down. 'I've been told quite a few times that I am just too old,' said Mr Tay.

Yet, CDC staff such as Mr Naidu say that when approached by their officers, most
companies say they are open to hiring older workers. 'However, their recruitment patterns often show otherwise,' said Mr Naidu. One of his clients, part-time dishwasher Pushpa Rani, 54, was sent to an interview for the job of a laundry assistant with an old folk's home. 'I went for the interview and was told later that the position had already been filled,' said Ms Pushpa. But the CDC found the firm continuing to advertise for the post after that, said Mr Naidu.

Employers such as Mr Gary Haris of KH Security Agency say it is not ageism that
keeps older workers out in the cold. Market dynamics often play a deciding role. Close to 80 per cent of the company's estimated 170 security officers are aged 50 and above, thanks to a deliberate decision to hire older workers. But the policy has come with a price. 'We often find ourselves losing contracts to competitors who have a younger workforce,' said Mr Haris. 'We may want older workers, but our clients don't.'

There are other pitfalls. Last year, after asking for the 'age profile' of its
workers, the company's insurer hiked insurance costs from $10,000 to $70,000. Although the company found another insurer who offered a lower price, Mr Haris
said it was virtually impossible to insure an employee older than 70. 'Exorbitant premiums may thus dissuade companies from hiring older workers.'

Labour MP Halimah Yacob acknowledges that finding jobs for older workers is an
'uphill task', given Singapore's steady supply of cheap foreign labour. Companies that hire substantial numbers of older local workers should be 'more favourably considered' when they apply for work permits for foreign workers, said Madam Halimah, who is deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress. 'That could nudge employers to hire more older workers,' she said.