By Koh Hui Theng

WHEN technical consultant, Mr Chester Cheng, saw the online advertisement for a hotel sales executive, he was upset.

The clause, "Filipinos need not apply", made him see red.

He said: "Being a Filipino, I find this very offensive and discriminating. I am sure there is no labour law in Singapore that prohibits a specific nationality from a specific position."

The Singapore permanent resident, 27, had been helping a friend look for a job when he stumbled on the ad last week.

my paper understood from the company that placed the advertisement that it was a "genuine oversight".

When my paper checked two days after Mr Cheng wrote in, the phrase in the ad had been changed to "Position open to Singaporeans and Singapore PRs only".

However, the company's spokesman declined to comment when contacted.

my paper checked with local recruitment firm, Xcellink, on how it conveys potentially sensitive requirements.

For positions that are open only to specific groups, its HR manager, Ms Gina Tan, said the company would use the clause "Singaporeans and PRs preferred".

A check with the Ministry of Manpower showed that there are employment guidelines on age, gender and race.

But nationality appeared to be a grey area, as there are no specific guidelines on this issue.

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices - a council set up in 2006 to promote fair employment in Singapore - makes several recommendations in its online publication, Tripartite Guidelines On Fair Employment Practices.

The first stated that employers should "recruit and select employees on the basis of merit (such as skills, experience or ability to perform the job), and regardless of age, race, gender, religion, family status or disability".

Guidelines aside, online job websites say that employers retain ownership over their advertisements.

At JobStreet.com, incoming advertisements are filtered according to certain specified criteria, such as educational qualifications.

It leaves the contents, including the phrasing of such criteria, to the individual companies that placed the ads.
Told about the company's response, Mr Chester Cheng said he remained "unconvinced" that it was an oversight because "the company has gone too far by targeting a specific nationality".

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