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SINGAPORE – Less than a week after it was announced that qualifying minimum wages will be increased for Employment Pass (EP) holders, Labor MP Patrick Tay urged the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday (31 May August) to consider increasing this minimum further. pay for two sectors: information and communications technology (ICT) and professional services.
These sectors generally have more companies on the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) watch list for potentially discriminatory hiring practices, said Tay, who is deputy general secretary of the National Trade Union Congress.
This was one of several suggestions he made on strengthening Singapore’s core in his opening speech to the parliamentary debate on the President’s speech.
“The disruption caused by Covid-19 and the resulting economic recession have raised concerns about increased competition for jobs and employment. In this regard, we must defend our pillar of meritocracy. There must be justice and equal treatment. and evaluation of workers, which is also a fundamental commitment of the International Labor Organization, “he said.
Singapore has already announced two increases this year in the salary threshold for EP incumbents.
The second was announced last Thursday by the MOM and will take effect from September 1 for new applications. The payment requirement will rise to $ 4,500, up from $ 3,900.
For the first time, the ministry has set a higher bar for the financial services sector, where the minimum qualifying salary for new applicants will increase to $ 5,000 as of December 1.
New S Pass applicants will also need to receive a payment of $ 2,500 starting October 1, up from $ 2,400 today. The change affects pass renewals starting in May next year.
Tay said that since the announcement of the changes, union and professional leaders, managers and executives (PMEs) with whom he has spoken have expressed concern that employers would simply increase wages or refund professionals’ compensation and benefits, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) to comply with the rules and retain them.
Singaporean staff doing similar or equal work to foreign PMETs may not get a similar pay increase, creating “serious parity problems,” he said.
He said unions will closely monitor the actions of unionized companies and encouraged workers in non-union companies to join unions so they can be better protected.
[[nid:494363]]At a more general level, strengthening the Singapore PMET core needs to be addressed at all hierarchical levels, Mr Tay said.
Some large corporations with deep pockets may hire more Singaporeans at younger levels so that companies look better in terms of the proportion of locals they employ, he noted.
The hiring culture and mindset need to be changed across the board, from CEOs and hiring managers to hiring managers and everyone involved in various HR processes, he said.
Multinational corporations need to be more intentional in offering regional and global opportunities to Singaporean SMEs, even when foreign SMEs are employed here.
At the same time, Singaporean SMEs must easily step up and accept such opportunities to take on leadership roles in other parts of the world for regional and international exposure and opportunities.
Tay also called for more transparency about the intra-company transfers that multinationals want to bring to Singapore.
Such foreign professionals are exempt from the FCF advertising requirement, according to which jobs must be posted on the MyCareersFuture.sg portal for at least 14 days (up to 28 days from October 1) before they can request a pass from job.
He said companies on FCF’s watch list should be disclosed if they have remained on the list for a period of time, such as a year, and have failed to improve or show concerted efforts to strengthen Singapore’s core.
[[nid:499789]]The government 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 not improvements are made within a specified period. of time.
“We need to reconsider the ingrained notion of being deemed ‘not investment friendly’ with legislation. The world has moved to adopt sustainability and related environmental, social and governance legislation, which encompasses fair employment. Likewise, the Fair employment legislation has not stopped London and New York from being vibrant financial centers.
“I propose that we should explore and consider the usefulness and feasibility of fair employment or anti-discrimination legislation in Singapore,” Tay said.
He also reiterated the suggestion of the labor movement to consider restricting the number of foreign SMEs that are allowed to work here, through a two-tier quota in high and medium-skilled SMEs.
This tiered format would allow companies to hire foreign talent with specialized skill sets to drive technology-based initiatives, he said.
This article was first published in The times of the strait. Permission is required for reproduction.
