BritCham Supports SBF Pledge of 29 TACs to Promote Fair Employment Practices in Singapore
This week the British Chamber in Singapore joined our fellow Trade Associations and Chambers in pledging our support towards fair hiring and employment practices.
The changing nature of employment and workplaces and equality are intrinsic to our values, highlighted in our Future of Work theme. Most recently, we engaged in direct conversations with the Minister of Manpower following the results of our Manpower Survey and showcased member companies leading the way in this area through a special video which you can watch here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92dRfEgQdI&t=4s.
Yesterday's statement from the Singapore Business Federation and TACs has been covered extensively in the media:
The statement in full
Under the aegis of the Singapore Business Federation, 29 Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs) under the TAC Alliance joined forces today (19 January 2021) in a show of solidarity to collectively pledge support for a joint statement on fair hiring and employment practices.
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented time of economic disruption for businesses and their workforce. As businesses welcome the new year and prepare for recovery and growth, the joint statement is an important call by the TACs to encourage their member companies to remain committed to recruiting candidates fairly based on merit and to developing their workforce.
The Joint Statement is aligned with the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) and the Tripartite Guidelines for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TGFEP), which underline employers’ commitment to preventing discrimination at the workplace and encouraging businesses to adopt progressive human resource (HR) practices, provide guidance for TACs and their members companies to abide by the principles of fair and equitable hiring of employees, so as to develop a strong Singaporean core.
Together, the 29 TACs represent the diversity of Singapore’s business community, across different industry sectors and spanning Multinational Companies (MNCs), Large Local Enterprises (LLEs) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
The 29 TACs have come together to declare their belief in the following core principles:
• Promote Positive Workplace Relations: Work is a collaboration between employers and employees, and among teams of employees, and diversity of employees is important for businesses. Both employers and employees have a role to play in co-creating a positive workplace environment, where diversity is celebrated and individuals are respected, trained and developed on an equal opportunity basis.
• Practise Fair Hiring: Be committed to fair hiring in compliance with the FCF and TGFEP and hire the best-fit candidate for every job based on merit. Candidates may be qualified employees within the company, external candidates based in Singapore, or international candidates if there are no suitable local candidates. Ensure that there is diversity within the global talent hired, in order to bring the best perspectives, experiences and support for long-term success.
• Provide Development Opportunities: Employers should support the learning and development of employees to acquire relevant attributes and skills, facilitate the transfer of niche or business-critical skills to local employees to develop local talent, and consider suitably qualified current employees when seeking candidates for leadership roles in the company. On their part, employees should actively undertake development opportunities offered by employers, including overseas work assignments to broaden experience and acquire new skills.
The full joint statement and list of supporting TACs are in the Annex A
Mr Lim Ming Yan, Chairman of SBF, said,
“The Singapore business community plays a vital role in our economy in fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce. This joint statement underlines the importance for businesses to embrace fair hiring and employment practices and provides sustainable pathways to building a strong workforce for successful business in Singapore. We encourage more TACs to come on board and push forth these practices as valued aggregators and multipliers in our business eco-system.”