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Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 8) passed a Bill to protect workers against discrimination following a debate that spanned two days. Manpower minister Tan See Leng said in his opening speech on Tuesday that the Workplace Fairness Bill covers jobseekers and emplMPs raise concern about LGBT community's exclusion in Workplace Fairness Bill
Parliament on Wednesday (Jan 8) passed a Bill to protect workers against discrimination following a debate that spanned two days. Manpower minister Tan See Leng said in his opening speech on Tuesday that the Workplace Fairness Bill covers jobseekers and employers under five «protected characteristics». These are: age; nationality; sex, marital status, pregnancy status and caregiving responsibilities; race, religion and language; and disability and mental health conditions. But over the course of two days, several MPs, who supported the Bill, questioned why discrimination against workers on the grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation was excluded. «What message are we sending? Are we telling the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) people that they are not protected from workplace discrimination?» asked People's Action Party MP Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC). «Are we telling employers that it is okay to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation and gender identity?» Read more