I refer to the report “Employment rate of Singapore residents hits new high” (Channel NewsAsia, Nov 30).

Little age discrimination?

It states that “Separately, the labour movement found that most of the 118 unionised companies surveyed re-employed older workers on the same terms they had previously. NTUC says these workers are spread across various sectors, with different wage levels.

NTUC’s deputy secretary-general, Heng Chee How, said: “(What) the labour movement is more concerned about is whether or not the companies are valuing the workers for their experience and for their performance. Based on this preliminary survey that we have recently conducted, in fact we’re gratified to know that the surveyed companies, the clear majority of them (about three in four of them) actually do value the workers.””

When I read the above, it struck me that of late there seems to be quite a lot of remarks and reports along the lines that Singapore generally values older workers and there is little age discrimination against older workers.

Statistics on age discrimination?

So, I decided to try to find statistical evidence to attempt to answer the question that a lot of people may have been asking – Is there age discrimination against older workers in Singapore?

Real wage growth declines with age?

According to the recent Retirement Study (“Retirement Study: High IRR?“, Nov 15) commissioned by the Government, “In contrast to previous studies which assumed constant wage growth, we used data collected by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for the Labour Force Survey (LFS) over 2001 to 2011 to simulate real wage growth paths for individuals”.

“It is a hump-shaped distribution of earnings by age where wage growth is faster when the worker is young and tapers off into the negative as he gets older”.

From the graph in the study, it appears that real earnings start to decline from around age 38, for males at the 50th percentile for earnings.

So, my understanding is that at age 55, which is the age used to compute the Income Replacement Ratio (IRR), the real earnings would be about the same as that at around age 33.

So, does this mean that we are assuming that one would be earning at age 55, the real earnings equivalent of what one earned at around 33?

So, is the above not statistical evidence that there is age discrimination against older workers, since real wage growth declines with age?

Nominal wages decline with age?

According to the MOM’s Occupational Wages 2011, the Median Monthly Gross Wages of Cleaners, Labourers & Related Workers, peaks at $1,416 at age 35 – 39.

It then starts to decline gradually as the workers get older, to just $961 at age 60 – 64.

Similarly, for Service & Sales Workers, wages peak at $2,582 at age 40 – 44, and then declines to $1,493 by age 60 – 64.

So, are the above not also statistical evidence of age discrimination against older workers?

Real wages decline even more?

Actually, the statistics get much worse, because according to the MOM’s Survey Findings on Occupational Wages 2009, the Median Monthly Gross Wage of Workers aged 35 – 39 in the year 2000, for Cleaners, Labourers & Related Workers and Sales & Service Workers was $1,500 and $2,100, respectively.

So, by 2011, the wages of cleaners and service workers at age 35 – 39, had changed to $1,416 and $2,526, respectively.

After adjusting for inflation, I estimate that the wages of cleaners and service workers have declined by about minus 33 and minus 2 per cent, respectively, in the last decade or so.

As i cannot find the data for age 60 – 64 in year 2000, I shudder to think how much in real terms the wages of these workers may have decreased, over the last 10 years.

Value older workers?

In most developed countries, I believe older workers are valued and respected, and may generally get higher if not equal pay to their younger counterparts.

Why and how is it that our society has deteriorated to the current state of widespread age discrimination against older workers?

And I shall not even talk about age discrimination in getting a job, or losing one’s job in the first place, on top of wage discrimination.

Labour movement needs to do more?

What has our labour movement done all these years to protect older workers?

Why did our labour movement allow arguably, the deterioration to and the continuing persistence of the current age discriminatory environment?

Leong Sze Hian