THREE in four unionised companies here are already hiring workers after they hit retirement age, even before new re-employment guidelines kick in.

More than 750 companies have done so, up from about 50 companies that had such policies in place in 2005.

The re-employment guidelines will be made part of the proposed amendments to the Employment Act, which will be introduced in Parliament in 2012, said National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) secretary- general Lim Swee Say.

Among other things, the guidelines will encourage companies to re-hire a certain proportion of older or retired workers.

Such measures are vital if Singapore is to have a more inclusive workforce and a 'cheaper, better and faster' economy in the years ahead, Mr Lim said.

Re-hiring older men and women is one way of helping companies remain competitive and grow, he added, speaking on the last day of the three-day NTUC Ordinary Delegates' Conference 2009 yesterday.

Mr Lim added that, as part of the new guidelines, the labour movement was also pushing for companies to stop the practice of cutting a worker's wages when he turns 60.

In 1999, the Government had raised the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62 and passed a law that let companies cut older workers' pay by up to 10 per cent. About eight in 10 firms here currently do so.

But as businesses move from a seniority-based wage system, in which pay is determined by the length of service, to a performance- based system, it was timely to review the ruling, Mr Lim said yesterday.

'We have to deal with this on a company level. What the labour movement can do is highlight the issue and build consensus with our partners,' he said.

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