The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) held a conference on April 7^th, 2010 on the challenges and opportunities faced while practicing fair and inclusive treatment for all employees.

Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Teo Chee Hean, delivered the opening message, and commended that an open dialogue as such will give stakeholders a chance to exchange views and learn from one another. It is known that long gone are the days where an employee would choose to stay in the same organization for a long period of time, and that a career is established from numerous jobs put together.

Ensuring that all employees benefit and have equal opportunities is an imperative strategy for a conducive work environment. This will help to lower turnover rates, producing a more driven and efficient workforce, emphasized PM Teo. The issue of the aging population and mature workers was also addressed. Sustaining and appreciating the experienced and older workers will result in an organization having greater access to manpower in the long run.

Group Executive Director of Standard Chartered Asia, Mr Jaspal Singh Bindra , also touched on driving diversity through inclusion of employees. He touched on gender diversities across organizations, and how the bank takes time out for projects to encourage and train women who want to re-enter the workforce after child-birth or long-time unemployment.

Overall, the conference made clear that “walking the talk” and ensuring that employees in all organizations are given an equal share of voice, regardless of their position or influence, should be practised to meet everyone’s needs as best as possible.