by Tan Weizhen, TODAY, 10 Nov 2012
They gathered last night to make a plea for help, citing an urgent shortage of manpower and pressure from the tightened foreign worker quotas.
But Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu stood firm as she addressed the group of business owners - many of them running small and medium enterprises - at a dialogue organised by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), urging them to consider flexible work arrangements to attract more workers and improve productivity.
The dialogue, attended by more than 150 businessmen representing various associations, saw the latest of several calls by employers to raise the foreign worker quota for SMEs, as some professions are shunned by Singaporeans. Even workers from China have become fussy about job types, avoiding jobs like cleaning toilets, said an audience member.
Another member suggested that the quota for big companies could be reduced while raising that for SMEs.
Ms Fu said in response that every company faces manpower problems, especially for jobs young workers are unwilling to take on.
She conceded that with more employment opportunities in China now, some workers would rather remain in China if Singapore employers did not offer terms like overtime pay.
Given the labour shortage, Ms Fu said employers must consider flexible work solutions, such as allowing employees to choose their working hours and part-time arrangements.
She also suggested that companies can tap technology, such as cloud computing, instead of hiring workers.
Speaking to reporters after the dialogue, Ms Fu stressed the need for businesses to innovate to improve productivity, "rather than just try to solve a current problem of labour shortage".
In her speech earlier, Ms Fu said that the Government will soon release a paper on manpower needs, noting that an ageing society requires more healthcare and foreign domestic workers, and there may be a need to expand public housing, healthcare and transport infrastructure.
MNCs want more clarity on foreign worker policy
SICC CEO says changes to law make it hard for firms to plan for next four to five years
by Saifulbahri Ismail, TODAY, 12 Nov 2012
As pleas for help from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) get louder, multinational corporations (MNCs) here are also increasingly worried over recent moves by the authorities to tighten the foreign worker inflow - so much so that their representative body has publicly urged the Government to provide more clarity on its foreign manpower policies.
According to the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC), which represents over 700 global companies based here, the frequent changes in these policies have not helped their Singapore operations.
SICC Chief Executive Phillip Overmyer said: "What I really want to know, though, is not where you're going next month or next year. What's very important to a company is what the rules are going to be for the next five years."
In response, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told Channel NewsAsia that the decision to slow down foreign manpower growth was made two years ago, based on the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) report.
It added that changes introduced had been gradual, with transition time given for affected workers and companies to adapt.
The phased tightening of foreign manpower supply includes raising foreign worker levies and stricter criteria for S-Passes and Employment Passes, most recently the Personalised Employment Passes. Its holders must soon have a minimum annual fixed salary of S$144,000, up from the existing S$34,000.
Measures to further calibrate the numbers of S-Pass holders may also be introduced soon, and MNCs are concerned with all these adjustments.
Mr Overmyer said: "When the law is sort of changed for this group ... and then a while later (for) another group, it becomes very hard for corporations to make a plan on how to produce a product for the next four to five years."
The SICC's call for greater clarity on foreign manpower policies comes as SMEs face an urgent shortage of manpower and pressure from the tightened foreign worker quotas.
At a dialogue last Friday, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) members urged the Government to raise the foreign worker quota for SMEs, as some professions are shunned by Singaporeans and even foreigners.
And when Parliament sits today, one motion on the agenda is the "Voice of Small and Medium Enterprises", tabled by SCCCI President and Nominated Member of Parliament Teo Siong Seng.
The MOM stressed that foreign workers remain valuable to Singapore's workforce and economy but overdependence should be avoided, to encourage companies to raise productivity for a more sustainable growth.
The danger, though, is that companies may move out if supply is over-tightened, said Barclays regional economist Leong Wai Ho. "Viable operations may decide to decamp and move to Johor for example, or to China to further afield," he said.
So far, there has not been an exodus.
"Let's see what happens when the Government sorts all these out. In the meantime, we'll struggle along a little bit as best as we can," Mr Overmyer said.
"The real issue will come up when, the companies finally sit down ... (and) have to decide: Can I live with this new situation, or is it time to move on?"
The SICC had suggested that an Advisory Business Council, comprising business leaders across various industries who can provide regular feedback, be set up so that the MOM is better informed when re-calibrating foreign manpower numbers.
The ministry had said that this was a useful idea it would consider.
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