I refer to the report, “Government not ruling out anti-discrimination laws at workplaces” (May 20).
It is encouraging that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is now open to the idea of introducing anti-discrimination laws given that many job-seekers, both young and old, are finding it so hard to secure jobs.
The current job application form needs to be re-designed so that fair employment practices are put in place that allow every citizen to have equal employment opportunities, as well as have fair chances of moving up the corporate ladder.
The Government has been making efforts to unite Singaporeans, so it is only proper that the current race declaration on job application forms be removed.
This is to avoid favouritism or discrimination of a particular race. Only nationality needs to be declared: Singaporean or non-Singaporean.
The Civil Service, which is the biggest employer, can lead by example. Once it does this, the private sector will follow suit. To save on cost, we could manually delete the race declaration on existing job application forms, for a start.
Also, there have been cases where supervisors or managers have shown favouritism to employees or are biased against those who fall out of their favour.
To ensure that every worker gets fair assessments, I propose that the MOM introduce a two-way appraisal system where the bosses are ranked just as they rank their staff. For example, if 10 employees give a poor ranking of any one particular supervisor, there could be cause for investigation.
RAYMOND ANTHONY FERNANDO