Sept 16, 2005
Govt is not doing what it preaches to hire older workers
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally message mentioned that society had to give older workers aged 50 years and above a second chance to keep them working and employable.
But it seems the Government does not practise what it preaches.
I am in my early fifties, still very fit and keen to work. I have a Class 2 and 3 driving licence with 30 years working experience as a clerk, executive, co-ordinator, customer sevice staff and field worker on contract basis.
For the past two years I have applied to various organisations, including SingPost, the Civil Defence Force, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and recently the National Environment Agency, which I also wrote to last year but never got a response.
In all my job applications, I submitted my resume and even mentioned that my salary was negotiable.
I stated that my last drawn basic salary was $1,200. When they saw my age, they gave me negative replies. Sometimes they do not even bother to reply.
The fact is that we older workers want to be employed not just for the money but also to be useful to society. But society has refused to accept us. Where do we go from here?
Soh Jin Hoe