Singapore tightens worker policy
By Sandar Lwin
May 17 - 23, 2010
This file picture shows the Keppel container terminal port in Singapore. Criticism of the country’s foreign worker policy heightened during a recession that began in the third quarter of 2008. Pic: AFP
WORKING and living conditions for foreign residents in Singapore, long a favoured destination for Myanmar working overseas, seem to be tightening up.
Earlier this year, the government made changes to the employment and immigration system that make it more difficult to get the documents foreign workers need, including work permits and skills passes.
The measures include raising the levy firms employing foreigners must pay, demanding better English-language skills for staff in the service sector and charging foreigners and permanent residents higher university tuition fees.
The Singaporean government has also launched a five-year, S$5.5 billion (US$3.9 billion) project to improve the qualifications of its citizens so they can compete better with foreigners.
The changes have been introduced in response to public criticism of the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) foreign worker policy. Overcrowding on public transport, tougher competition for jobs and declining incomes are leading some Singaporeans to call for restrictions on the number of foreigners working in the country. A petition called “Employ Singaporeans First” has attracted about 500 signatories, while popular online forums have been flooded with comments largely condemning the influx of foreign workers.
However, the restrictions affect certain sectors more than others and some Myanmar living in Singapore said they have had no problem finding or changing jobs and getting the necessary permits.
“A friend of my wife got an accountancy job recently, and got an S-Pass too. Two of my friends, civil engineers, changed their jobs last month. They say it’s hard for foreigners to get a job, but some seem to manage. Maybe it’s a matter of luck,” said Ko Aung Aung Tun, an electrical power engineer.
“But the rules for granting PR (Permanent Resident) status are much stricter than before. Now you need to pass an exam on Singapore history and culture.”
Official statistics show more than 35 percent of Singapore’s population of almost five million are foreigners. This group includes 533,220 foreigners with Permanent Resident status and a further 1.25 million holding a work permit, skills pass (also known as an S-Pass), employment pass or similar.
It is believed as many as 100,000 of these could be from Myanmar, while many more come from Bangladesh, India, China and the Philippines.
Online forums have become a popular place for disenchanted Singaporeans – who say their concerns are not reflected in mainstream media, which is effectively muzzled by the PAP – to vent their frustrations. They point the finger at foreigners and the government for reduced job opportunities, declining wages and a perceived loss of national identity.
“The average wage is enough for foreign workers who come alone from developing countries, but not for citizens who have a family to support,” posted one Singaporean on The Temasek Review, an independent news and comment site.
Singaporeans are also disappointed and frustrated with rising house prices, difficulties dealing with foreign workers in the service sector, having to share services, such as public transport, government schools and public housing, and bad behaviour attributed to foreigners, such as spitting and littering.
Myanmar workers said the local anger at foreigners is largely confined to the online sphere.
“I see some furious posts by Singaporeans online, but my own everyday experience has not changed,” said Ko Phyo Tun Oo, an engineer who has lived in Singapore for three years.
“Personally, I never encounter or hear of bad situations or reactions from locals,” said Ma Chit Myo Aye, an IT analyst at a logistics company.
In the past, the government has justified its foreign worker policy by pointing to the country’s declining birth rate, arguing that Singaporeans will ultimately pay the price if the population does not continue to grow.
According to the Wall Street Journal, between 2005 and 2009, Singapore’s population surged by roughly 150,000 people a year, with at least 75pc of the growth due to foreigners.
And while citizens complain about reduced job opportunities, some employers argue that locals are choosy and often lack the social and communication skills required in the service sector. Lower-paid workers also help to improve profits for Singapore’s small and medium enterprises.
“[Singapore] citizens don’t want to work in tiring and time-consuming jobs like construction,” said Ko Aung Aung Tun. “They know that their country needs qualified foreign workers. Meanwhile, citizens have to compete with foreigners for Skills Pass jobs in administration, account-ancy and IT, while employers are happy to hire foreigners for a salary of S$1400 ($1020) where locals would demand S$2500 ($1820) for the same job.
“Foreigners seldom complain about having to do overtime, but locals don’t want to,” he said.
Economists say the negative views about foreign workers gained momentum during a severe economic slump that began in the third quarter of 2008, when trade-reliant Singapore became the first Asian economy to slip into recession.
“Singaporeans import large numbers of foreigners to take jobs they don’t want to do themselves. When the economy takes a downturn, employers prefer foreigners in many respects. That’s why locals are unemployed and have a negative view about foreigners,” said engineer Ko Phyo Tun Oo.
While the government is standing by its position that foreigners are needed to maintain population growth, officials last year began publicly acknowledg-ing that the interests and concerns of citizens also need to be addressed.
In January, Singapore’s founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew told The Straits Times that Singapore had “grown in the last five years by just importing labour” and the government planned to scale back the country’s dependency on foreign workers over the next five years.
“Now, the people feel uncomfortable, there are too many foreigners,” said Mr Lee, who advises the cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “Trains are overcrowded with foreigners, buses too, property prices have gone up because foreigners with permanent residence are buying into the market.”
“The answer is simple: We check the flow of foreigners, raise your productivity, do the job better, so that instead of two workers, eventually you’ll do it with one worker, like the Japanese do.”
With an election due by 2012, analysts say the recent moves by the PAP government are designed to create the perception that it is listening to and acting on the concerns of Singaporeans.
Political commentator Seah Chiang Nee told news agency AFP: “I think it is shaping up to be one of the hottest issues in Singapore today.”
AFP quoted economist Song Seng Wun of CIMB-GK Research as saying that apart from helping local companies rise up the value chain, the new measures would also address potential election issues.
“The government has to be seen to be doing something in areas that are potential flashpoints,” Song said.
Ko Aung Aung Tun said he expected the PAP, which won every seat at the 2006 election and has ruled the country since independence, would continue to make life difficult for foreign workers until after the election.
“Many people think the government will stay tough on the foreign labour issue until the election is over,” he said.
Until then, Myanmar workers say they plan to keep their head down and try not to create any trouble that will attract the attention of policymakers.
A Myanmar technician who has been living in Singapore for more than 20 years said: “This is about the election. Besides, when you live in a foreign country you should avoid doing things that may cause the extra or unnecessary problems with the locals.”
“As long as you are living and working here, you should fit in with the country’s policies and try your best to survive here,” agreed Ma Chit Myo Aye.
Author: 
interviews into an office position. This ultra-pragmatism is pervasive in Chinese society today; people are less concerned with abstract notions of right and wrong than with getting things done. In economic terms, this fosters a business climate in which companies copy each others’ products, steal employees and business plans, and compete ruthlessly over tiny profit margins. But with little trust or sense of long-term planning and investment, they find it hard to grow and develop their businesses.”
Posted in Opinion
Judge it!
god, height of frustration and bitterness…turning into racism n what not…pathetic…just spreading hatred…
ERR maybe this is what MM wants: ability to lie and not be afraid of getting caught.
人ä¸�为己，天诛地ç�
That’s how they become
2 power countries.
Most of these Foreign Trashes from PRC and India are not even semi-skilled as claimed to be, like a hired electrician who don’t even know how to fix an electrical plug.
They rob Singaporeans of their jobs, take the salaries and just start learning on the job training.
((While the Singapore businesses thought they’ve got a good deal by hiring FTs (whether it’s due to cost or for the sake of diversity))
Foreign Talent is euphemism for Lee Kuan Yew’s racist policy For every 10 foreigners allowed in, eight of them have to be of Chinese origin, according to Singapore’s immigration policy supervised by minister Wong Kan Seng.
The population is said to be five million and is expected to go up to 6.5 million. In this, racial composition plays a major part. Eight out of ten in Singapore have to be Chinese to maintain, in the words of Lee Kuan Yew, “racial balance”. Why do we need this bigotry?
@fcx: Actually, there is some truth to this. When I was working at NTU, we had a real concern with the credentials of foreign students, and would spend more time checking up on them than on local students or foreign students with local degrees.
Things we did included checking with supposed supervisors, or degree granting institutions to verify degrees, and cold calling prospects (no announced interview time) to verify their abilities. The unannounced interviews were done, because some prospects actually hired others to do their interviews for them.
We also had a couple of cases of out and out plagiarism (i.e., copying someone else’s article word for word), where the foreign student just didn’t see what was wrong with doing that. In contrast, when I dealt with a Singaporean group involved in a copying case, they KNEW it was wrong… but did it anyway.
Its not so much that people in other countries are bad, but that what is considered bad in Singapore isn’t considered bad elsewhere. I could list examples of friends of mine who have studied in other countries, where cheating on exams is accepted. Unfortunately, to do that, I’d have to name the countries.
I can give these as examples though: In Japan, pornography is sold openly in newsstands. In China and Korea, dogs are raised and slaughtered for meat. What would be offensive and morally wrong in Singapore aren’t morally wrong to those people.
In fact, the notion of copyright and that copying others is bad is a relatively modern idea that evolved around the notion of intellectual property rights. In many countries of the world, the notion of intellectual property rights is relatively new.
In the 70s, many Asians wanted to work in Europe because of what we saw in TV. Many girls became sex slaves.
Asian is forever searching for a better place to earn a living.
Chinese and Indians had always been slaves to everyone…!
Can only talk about culture this and culture that! Like to boast about, we have longest tradition and all, but never admitted that they love this slavery mentality!
Can never stand on its own two feet!
Always must serve others! Cursed nations!
The leaders realized that if they are act like westerners, many of these slave workers will surly come to do their cursed obligations!
What is new here – when such practice is even resorted to by the leading movie stars in the Chinese movie industry ? [See below]
.
.
Ref 1 – Academic frauds in Show Business – add to star quality
http://yellowcranestower.blogspot.com/2010/07/academic-frauds-in-show-business.html
Ref 2 – Replicating success
http://www.economist.com/blogs/asiaview/2010/07/academic_fraud_china?page=2
Since 1995, all these skills already required to be an elite in S’pore and to rise up in YPAP and PAP.
TIME FOR CHANGE, VOTE OPPOSITION!!
We Singaporean are truly Blessed. Those who are not blessed yet be patient soon we will all be living like the Swiss,. All our dirty jobs will be done by the PR Citizens. We true blue Singaporeans will rule them!
They(PR Citizens) will be waiting to serve us and their children too!
All this is not because of the Papies, but because of GOD! The Act of God!
The most audacious incident that I experienced was in 1999. As a matter of policy, my employer required all job applicants to be tested prior to any job offer. I offered a role to an Indian national who had passsed the technical test. While the person who reported for work bore a close resemblance to the person that passed the test, intuition told me that something was amissed. So I decided to ask new employee to take the same test again. Guessed what, he failed, and he confessed that it was his twin brother that came for the interview and test.
Hey guys!Come to think of it,did those sholar-miws fake their HARVARD or whatever ivy-leage degrees?
if not,i simply can’t understand why they are acting so daft.
now,they are even letting in doctors from countries whose people can buy degrees;it’s kind of scary to go to the polyclinics nowadays.
it seems the quality of treatment fo common citizens are getting to be worse and worse.
next time you visit your doctor,make he is not just a vet?
@KNN. Fat hope. Singaporean are going to vote PAP. You just see.
walau,these foreigners are really talented indeed.
it’s not easy to fake degrees leh.
I don’t think singaporeans know how to fake degrees leh.
Think maybe these foreign talents will soon be very rich if they use also use their talents to ‘fake’ money.
who;s at fault here really?
Is it the MOM ?
I think I better learn how to fake degrees too,maybe fake two or three plus a PHD as recently some miws said we are short of PHDs here.
@Cecil Chua
i am not saying there is no truth in this article…there are few instances… but the way you are branding Indians/Chinese as cheats is hurtful…the whole intention of sites like these is find obscure data and do foreigner bashing…probably, it offers singaporeans some consolation in tough times…anyways, if branding indians and chinese as cheats make you feel superior, then enjoy ur superiority complex…
Opposition will also do the same as what this rats are doing!
‘
Everybody also wants to lay their hands on the wealth here!
So far had any oppositions promised the exodus of FT/FW/PR if the are elected to Power!
So what are they(oppositions) saying?
Yes, you can buy University Cerification in China
Yes, you can print University Cerification in India
In the course of my work, I met an Indian ‘electrical’ engineer who doesn’t even know ohm’s laws…that’s good it got. After he was exposed, it was discovered, he got the job thru a telephone interview, where he got panels of people helping answer questions..and that’s how he got hired..
Sorry, I personally think he is better off selling snake oil somewhere…
So what else is new? Guys from these countries don’t just have a bad reputation for lying and forging degrees and resumes in Singapore, they have a bad reputation for such antics ALL OVER THE WORLD. I am a member of an international engineering forum (http://cr4.globalspec.com/) and a frequent complaint from the highly-qualified professionals there is that so-called professionals from these countries are no better than a poorly trained apprentice in terms of job skill.
Who says there is foreign talents when this is happening like a visit to a public toilet?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8004911.stm
Dubious migration practices won’t like to read this accounting truths of degree scams involving hundreds of students. And in Australia, post-graduate foreign students in one university went on hunger strike to protest a fail in their taxation law examination – collective threats and blackmail.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/foreign-students-threaten-hunger-strike/200
I have seen so much of FTs that today I can tell you that only 20% of these can deliver. 80% are not even close.
Case 1. An accounts assitant in my company who had a Diploma and had worked for 17 years with the company. She was laid off and replaced by a PRC ACCA graduate who was given a similar pay which was around 4,000. Her proposed probation of 3 months ended 9 instead and finally she was fired. Reason: she had serious problems balancing the accounts and filling financial statements for the company causing investors to irked and SGX to fine the company twice.
Case 2. An Indian FT who was suppose to be a genius in IT widzardry turned out to be a flop. Armed with all kinds of Microsoft certifications, ERP Specialist Diplomas, he couldn’t even solve a exception report problem for more than 6 months even when the Global IT extended all resources to him. Although we expected him to be paid less, he’s got enough salary to buy a Toyota Altis only after 3 months of work. The grapevine was, all his certifications were real, but apparently he didn’t earn them himself. He was relieved and replace by a Singaporean who was paid 10% less than the FT because he didn’t have so many certificates. However, eversince the Singaporean manager took over, IT was never a real problem to its users.
If you wondered how come there’re so many PRC and Indian graduates everywhere, don’t be. Ot of curiousity, my ex-colleague ‘attended’ a course that would cost SGD 18,000 in Singapore for SGD 2,000 in India without even stepping foot in India or taking any exams. He got his certificate mailed to him 9 months later. A check with the accredited UK university proved that the certificate was real.
So how did it happen? Apparently, the school will do whatever it can to make its student pass, even if it means that the lecturer will ’sit’ for the exams for his students on their behalf.
So the point is, we got a bunch of fake FTs who are actually trash. Look around in your workplace right now. What makes them more deserving than Singaporean employees?
When you flood the market with con-man employees from PRC & India, not just it screws up the productivity of the company. With new expectations, it depresses and deprive Singaporeans of their fair wages.
PAP knows that in order to be richer, someone has to be poorer. And that someone is you, the Citizens of Singapore.
We don’t need an academic to explain how capitalism brings out the greatest atrocities, especially from a body who is suppose to look after you.
40 years of persecution, punishment and perversion and Singaporeans think that it’s alright- I mean the 66%.
Please don’t chase all this FT away, we need them to do our dirty work. We also need their blood, soon there will be a law that they must donate blood 4 times a year!
Also we can buy their kidneys and other spare parts!
Hope they are not reading this!
@ah beng: August 2, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Yes, you can buy fake university diploma or certificate in china, very cheap, 5-10 yuan or S$1-2 each. this is of course dishonest. but if you damned interviewer fails to identify such kind of fake applicants,and still gives them jobs; or if you damned interviewee fails to grab a job offer from what you so called foreign trash, doesn’t this give a strong footprint to your strong man who said some S’preans were daft?!
can you,a punch of kiasi,kiasu,loser do anything really useful instead of complaining,muckraking and masturbating(bashing foreign inferiors to get some little consolation and cover your own incompetence and disability).
when you say someone a trash, you are a trash too!
Trust me,
Try interviewing a Pinoy for any executive level jobs …
worse. although, hmmm the girls do put up a good “show”. Half ball that they let lah, make up they put on lah, knows how to compliment their interviewer lah …
sighhhh … sometimes we wonder we are hiring their skills or their body.
I can tell u most of these Pinoys have no ACTUAL JOB experience. And one of the common trick they pull is “family issues back home” OR “landlord give problems” si beh sian one after hiring them.
I think hor, good ole Malaysians still the best.
Ask around your local friends, colleagues and family, if you had the choice, which group of the 3 main influx of foreign labour would you deport first out of Singapore. Consistently, here’s the results;
1) Indians, especially white collar (always get Instant response to this group)
2) Mainland Chinese
3) Cheap Ang Mos / Pinoys
4) Miscellaneous
Lim Pei Say Swee Swee:
u shd be ashamed of urself for conducting such surveys…shows ur xenophobic mentality…i guess firstly half of u singaporeans need to be deported to Africa and Antarctica…
å�ªè¦�是PAPå–œæ¡çš„就是好的，PAPä¸�å–œæ¡çš„就是壞的.怪ä¸�得我們的貨架日益沒è�½!
@fcx: I think I see what you are trying to get at.
For example, the author wrote “Dishonesty at work and at job interviews are a norm in thrid world countries like China and India.” I would reject that statement based on insufficient evidence.
I would accept a proposition that “a significant and observable subpopulation of individuals from those two countries attempt to secure positions based on false credentials.” I would also note that Singaporeans, Americans, etc. have done these things in the past. In my original response to you, I tried to emphasize that I have caught SINGAPOREANS engaged in plagiarism.
The key difference is that the Singaporeans viewed this as wrong and recognized that what they did was a punishable offense. In contrast, there exist places in India and China where the local population do not see securing positions based on false credentials as morally wrong.
See for example:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/88997/India/State+board+exams+marred+by+rampant+cheating.html
http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/29/china.rent.white.people/index.html
Also, I would disagree with your use of the word “you.” didn’t write the article.
So far this is THE best new name for them, suggested by someone in TR………….Pro Alien Party.
World highest paid pro alien politican but when there are problems, is either a freak incident or act of god or simply say no amount of engineering can solve.
Uniquely Singapore.
This is a real case from my friend. A lecher cucasian boss in a mnc hired a female filipino to be a department manager for $4K/mth. She does nothing in the office accept assigning her jobs to her subordinates. This filipino goes to work late and knock off early. She often went MIA when everyone were looking for her. She does not has similar prior working experience. When people emailed her questions, she took very long time to reply or doesn’t reply at all. This woman brought in more of her own kind by hiring them as office executives.
Ridiculous!!!!!
Cecil Chua:
August 2, 2010 at 9:44 pm
I am having difficulty understanding your definition, yet undisclosed, of “sufficient evidence” in your quote below.
“I would reject that statement based on insufficient evidence”
But I also implore that I do find it hard to understand if honesty is a cultural trait of one nationality – after reading the EVIDENCE in the official document of their own government which reads as follows
” The answer is very simple, Chinese (generally) are very conceited, with just cause, and most would find our antics abd behavior, banal, inane, profane and sometime grossly offensive”
You find these words in the page “Green Tea or Coca Cola” from the link below – of an OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OF A GUIDE FOR FOREIGNERS WORKING IN CHINA.
http://www.china4u2.com/Guide_to_Jobs___Working_in_China__preview_.pdf
So if their Government knows their culture, can I deny that it is sufficient (???) for us to be concerned of their alien cultural traits less agreeable to other societies. I have seen incrediblly disportionate legal cases involving Chinese national on immigration lawsuits in Australian courts.