Older PMEs may take a longer time to secure a new job
Singapore’s main labour union yesterday proposed that the country offered unemployment benefits to older professionals, managers and executives (PME) as they may take a longer time to secure a new job. They may also have “heavier financial commitments” and require additional support, said Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general at NTUC. Tay added that monetary payouts can help workers tide through their difficulties in the short term, while supporting them with retraining opportunities. The leader hoped that introducing the new scheme can help people who “fall through the gaps”.
According to a recent poll in the city-state, PMEs said that they most desired help in three areas:
- Support for employment opportunities (76%)
- Protection against job losses (61%)
- Support for job-related training (55%)
From NTUC’s survey, individuals who had the greatest concerns about job security were those aged 40 to 61 years old. Two in three (63%) believed that they are “easily replaceable” due to their age. An overwhelming 71% felt that it’s difficult to find a job as companies were not open to hiring older workers. Another two-thirds (67%) were optimistic, however, and believe that there are career opportunities available for them.
Read more: How to combat ageism at work
Tay understands that implementing unemployment benefits won’t be a “simple exercise”, reported Channel NewsAsia. “There are a lot of considerations like: What’s a trigger event, how much to give, how long to give, when to start giving,” he told local media. He hoped that the new sheme would help push “a bit at the boundaries”. “Currently there are already various financial support schemes, but we thought, moving ahead, particularly with all these disruptions and all these uncertainties, that we have some sort of a scheme to help,” he said.
