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SINGAPORE – Labor MP Patrick Tay on Monday (Aug 31) urged the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to do more to protect Singapore’s professionals, managers and executives (PMEs).
“Strengthening the core of Singapore is an important principle in nation-building. It is important during good times when our economy is growing rapidly and doubly important during bad times such as during this recession where we see numerous layoffs and where many Singaporeans, especially SMEs, are affected, ”Tay said.
During the debate on the president’s speech, Tay, who is undersecretary general of the National Congress of Trade Unions, said that at least 20 PMEs have written to him in the last month, “sharing with me their loss of opportunities to take on jobs and in our workplaces, to the point of feeling discriminated against “.
Tay said: “I can’t help but wonder if, as a result of uncontrolled conscious and unconscious biases, there may still be instances of nationality bias in recruitment and promotion and, in the current context, downsizing.
“The reality is that, if left unchecked, this would exacerbate the glass ceiling effect and job opportunity issues for our Singapore SMEs,” added Tay, who is MP for Pioneer SMC.
Last week, MOM made several policy announcements, including raising the monthly salary threshold for foreign SMEs holding Employment Passes (EPs) to $ 4,500. The ministry also said that for the first time it will set higher qualifying salaries for a specific sector, with the monthly salary threshold for PE applicants in the financial services sector raised to at least $ 5,000 as of December 1.
The Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertisement requirement will also be extended to S Pass applications starting October 1.
Strengthening the core of Singapore
In his speech in Parliament on Monday, Tay gave some suggestions on how to strengthen Singapore’s core, including raising the bar for sectors on MOM’s watch list.
He said: “While we increased the qualification salary of EP holders, I am pleased that MOM has put in place a differentiation of EP qualification salaries for sectors such as the financial services sector. Along the same lines, MOM should also consider raising the bar for sectors such as Infocomm’s technology and professional services, where there are generally more companies on the Fair Consideration Framework watchlist. “
Tay also said union leaders and SMEs have expressed concern that some employers may increase wages or repackage compensation and benefits for their foreign PME staff to stay within the limits of the rules. Meanwhile, Singaporean SMEs may not get a similar wage increase resulting in parity problems. Unions will closely monitor the actions of employers, Tay said.
He also called for stricter enforcement against companies that treat the FCF as a “mere facade.” The app can take the form of disclosing or publishing the MOM watch list “so that potential repetitive loss serves as a deterrent,” he suggested.
“Similarly, we can also impose mandatory audits and sanctions, such as the elimination of preferential taxes and other benefits, including restricting the award of public sector contracts to companies with discriminatory hiring practices and a high proportion of claims cases if no improvements are made within a stipulated time period. ”He added.
On the other hand, West Coast GRC MP Ang Wei Neng suggested the creation of a National Human Resources Committee to strengthen the core of Singapore. In his speech, Ang recounted feeling “like a foreigner in my own country” when he visited Changi Business Park before the pandemic.
Ang suggested that the NHRC can work with companies to share best practices to develop a Singapore core at the middle and upper management levels.
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