SUHAKAM’s REPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN application of appeal to the decision was filed in the Court of Appeal. However, in June 2013, the Government withdrew its appeal application and SUHAKAM applauds this decision. 3.8.6 Age of Retirement (i) The recent move to increase the retirement age of employees in the private sector employees to 60 is very much applauded. The Minimum Retirement Age Act which was gazetted on 16 August 2012, increases the compulsory retirement age of private sector employees to 60. This Act came into effect on 1 July 2013. However, employers are allowed to apply to Ministry of Human Resource to defer the implementation until 31 December 2013. The Act also provides that an employer shall not prematurely retire an employee before he attains the minimum retirement age. The Act also strikes down any retirement age in any contract of service or collective agreement signed before the coming into effect of the Act, which is below the minimum retirement age of 60; such clause shall be deemed to be void. However, the new Act does not prevent an employee from retiring upon attaining the age of optional retirement which may be agreed upon between the employer and employee. The new Act will give equality to women especially in the private sector who need to continue working to support the family and also to receive extra pension allocations and contributions to the Employee Contribution Fund (EPF). However, there is nothing in the Act to prevent any employer from prescribing different retirement ages for male and female workers by maintaining the minimum retirement age for one group but a higher one for another. (ii) The Commission would like to highlight a decision by the Court of Appeal on 21 March 2012 which dismissed a judicial review application by eight (8) female workers claiming gender discrimination when forced to retire earlier than their male colleagues. A three-man bench led by Justice Datuk K.N. Segara upheld a 2010 High Court ruling,26 which had overturned the Industrial Court’s 2008 decision that it was discriminatory and unconstitutional for the company to provide for different retirement ages for men and women. A subsequent application to the 26 Gan Soh Eng & 8 others v. Guppy Plastic Industries Sdn. Bhd. (W-02-1194-2010). 12