SINGAPORE: Singapore is putting focus on “quality, rather than quantity” with the latest increases to the qualifying salaries of foreigners on Employment Passes and S Passes, said Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing on Saturday (Aug 29).
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Manpower announced that the minimum salaries for new Employment Pass candidates will be raised by S$600 to S$4,500 from September. Holders of the S Passes will have to meet a S$2,500 threshold, instead of S$2,400, from October.
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A higher salary requirement for Employment Pass holders in the financial services sector was also introduced.
READ: Minimum qualifying salary to rise by S$600 for Employment Passes and S$100 for S Passes, higher requirement for financial services
In an interview with CNA on Saturday, Mr Chan said: “The way to interpret the recent changes is this, we are making a move towards quality, rather than quantity … and this is what we have done progressively over the years.
“Whenever the economic conditions require it, we will progressively adjust the qualifying salaries for the foreign employees coming into Singapore because in doing this, we raise the headroom for Singaporeans to compete while at the same time, it doesnt affect the really top tier of talent that we want to attract from the world.”
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He added: “But for those jobs that are somewhere in the middle where fellow Singaporeans are more than able to do so, then theres less need for us to attract so many (foreigners) into Singapore.”
Mr Chan acknowledged that the changes will hit businesses in the area of cost and the ability to hire foreigners.
It may also impact how Singapore is being perceived in terms of its openness to businesses and talent from the world – to which the minister stressed that Singapore is “not closing (its) doors". "We will never disconnect ourselves from the world," he added.
However, the country has “to strike a fine balance", he said.
READ: Adjustments to Employment Pass and S Pass criteria 'timely' to help businesses retain local employment: Josephine Teo
The minister also touched on the need for Singapore to diversify its economy, to avoid being vulnerable to external shocks and be able to provide its current and future generations with diverse opportunities.
Given how Singapore is a small country with a finite labour pool, it will “need some portion of foreign complement in the different sectors” that it seeks to grow and diversify into, he added.
Noting observations of a “concentration of certain nationalities” in sectors such as finance and information and communication technology (ICT), he said this challenge is not unique to Singapore given the global competition for talent in these high-growth areas.
“This is a global challenge and that is ultimately because the whole world is not producing enough people in some of these fields. It is a very uneven production of such people and everybody wants the best,” said Mr Chan.
The Governments goal is for Singaporeans to secure jobs in these fast-growing industries, and it is doing so by investing in these sectors and building up its own capabilities. This was also a strategy that the country adopted in the past when it was seeking to build up its petrochemical and manufacturing sectors, said Mr Chan.
“While we accept that we don't yet have enough … talent in these (high-growth) sectors, we will do what we can to ramp up the production and training of our people as fast as we can,” said Mr Chan, noting that this includes the retraining of middle-aged workers to help them transition into burgeoning industries.
“It will take us some time to ramp up the production and training of our people, but we will get there,” he said.
“FULLY” UNDERSTAND ANXIETY ABOUT JOB COMPETITION
With Singapore bracing for its worst recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government “fully” understands the anxiety over competition for jobs with foreigners.
“So the real challenge is not the number of foreigners in Singapore per se; the real challenge is how we help Singaporeans succeed in a hyper-competitive world,” said Mr Chan.
READ: Job competition from work pass holders could become a 'divisive issue', will be addressed, says President Halimah
The Government will “go all out” to do so, he added, by pulling in investments to create good jobs for Singaporeans and ensuring a “fair-level playing field”.
On the latter, he stressed that Singapore has “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind”, adding that companies that have done so will be investigated and penalised in the form of having their foreign work passes curtailed.
Among other plans, policymakers are also enhancing job matching efforts with training and apprenticeship opportunities, especially for middle-aged workers.
“We want to assure all Singaporeans, regardless of whether you still have a job or whether you are out of a job, we are going to go all out to take care of Singaporeans through this difficult moment.”
“MISPERCEPTIONS” ABOUT CECA
Mr Chan also said he wants to “clear the air” about misperceptions surrounding the Comprehensive Economic Cooporation Agreement (CECA) – a free trade agreement between Singapore and India that entered into force in 2005.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) issued a statement noting that the pact does not automatically grant Indian nationals access to Singapore citizenship, permanent residence or employment.
It is also not true that CECA requires Singapore authorities to automatically grant Employment Passes to professionals, managers and executives from India who want to work here, the statement added.
READ: CECA does not give Indian nationals automatic access to citizenship, PR status, employment: MTI
Mr Chan had also made Read More – Source
