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It is time to review Singapore’s foreign labor policy and see if the country can become less dependent on foreign workers, said Mr. Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang).
For years, foreign workers have helped drive Singapore’s progress and complete large-scale infrastructure projects. However, two major events have made clear the need for a review, he said.
First is the Covid-19 outbreak in foreign workers’ dormitories, when thousands of foreign workers were infected with the coronavirus, and which highlighted the “unforeseen costs” of Singapore’s dependence on foreign labor, Liang said.
The second event, he added, was the 2013 Little India riot.
Despite the measures taken after the two events, more can still be done to reduce dependence on foreign labor, he said.
On the second day of the debate on the President’s speech in Parliament yesterday, Mr. Liang was among several deputies who focused on Singapore’s foreign labor policies and the issues facing local workers in a tight labor market.
There is a need for foreign labor in sectors such as construction, but more must be done to improve productivity, he said.
For the construction sector, the government can boost productivity, for example by awarding tenders to companies that use productive construction methods and rely less on foreign workers.
Demand for foreign labor can also be lowered by having more “insight” about large construction projects, Liang said.
For example, it is wasteful to demolish buildings that are in good shape only to replace them with similar buildings, as is the case with some crowd-sourced developments, he added.
He also asked whether it was necessary to continue with plans to build Terminal 5 at Changi Airport, especially when air travel is stalled due to the pandemic.
ENCOURAGE SOFT SKILLS
Most companies greatly value the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly, communicate effectively, and demonstrate a willingness to collaborate and work as a team.
MS TIN PEI LING, MP for MacPherson, calling for more focused efforts to foster the social skills of local workers.
Mr. Liang said: “Are the risks now too high to go ahead with this massive investment?
“Can we work within our four existing terminals, regenerate new value propositions, and optimize what we already have with terminals and configuration?”
Mr. Liang said he welcomed the news last week that minimum qualifying wages will be increased for Job Pass (EP) holders.
To complement this, Singapore needs to maximize the potential of its local workforce, he added.
Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) made similar suggestions when calling for more focused efforts to nurture the social skills of local workers.
These include leadership and communication skills, which are “invaluable” compared to paper grades, and more emphasis should be placed on them.
Ms. Tin said, “Most companies highly value the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas clearly, communicate effectively, and demonstrate a willingness to collaborate and work as a team.”
Singapore’s education system must ensure that its citizens remain the preferred choice of employers by cultivating these skills, and the government must formulate a plan to prepare young adults in the local workforce for potential leadership positions, added.
Employers can also do their part by making their expectations of corporate leaders clear and having a framework that identifies key criteria, behaviors and attitudes needed at various levels of management, Ms. Tin said.
In this way, Singaporeans can be clear about what they have to do to get promoted, he added.
Cases in which a local professional is ignored by a foreigner have led to discrimination complaints, said Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC).
He cited an anecdote about one of its residents who was replaced by a foreigner after being fired.
Ms Pereira urged the government to do more to prevent such biases in hiring, saying that while she supported increasing qualifying salaries for EP incumbents, this was not enough. She suggested improving hotlines to make it easier for whistleblowers to report such practices.
The government should also adopt a consultative process to work more closely with employers to find out the difficulties they face in hiring local workers and to address these issues constructively, he said.
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