15 firms punished for posting discriminatory job advertisements

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has taken action against 15 companies after they were found to have posted discriminatory job advertisements, the ministry said yesterday.

These advertisements listed discriminatory attributes pertaining to age, gender and nationality, and restricted their recruitment to exclusive groups — for example, one said applicants “must be Filipino” — but the companies could not provide valid justifications for doing so.

The errant companies posted public apologies online for 30 days between July and this month as part of the penalty. They were also barred from hiring new foreign workers during this 30-day period, as well as for six months following the publication of their apologies.

Ten of the 15 companies are employment agencies. One such agency, Imag Global Resources, had advertised for the position of Guest Relation Officer asking for “Filipino male candidates”, “Indian candidate in FNB” and “cleaner — Malaysian male”.

Another, RGF HR Agent, had advertised for the position of “PMO Consultant in Financial Sector”, indicating “age: 28-37” and “one position prefers Vietnamese nationality” as a requirement.

Since March, the MOM has taken action against 27 companies for discriminatory hiring practices and investigations into companies highlighted as having discriminatory practices or advertisements are ongoing.

In September, the ministry announced a new rule requiring firms to list job openings on a new job bank for 14 days, starting next August, as a precondition for Employment Pass applications. The new rule — applicable to jobs paying up to S$12,000 — is aimed at ensuring Singaporeans are fairly considered for jobs following complaints in recent years from local professionals that employers unfairly favoured skilled foreigners for vacancies.

Yesterday, it reiterated that companies’ job advertisements are expected to align with the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices.

Under the guidelines, employers who advertise a position requiring a specific attribute should ensure that it is indeed a requirement of the job and state the reason for it in the advertisement.