Singapore — Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng addressed the “false allegations” and “misconceptions” regarding free trade agreements (FTAs) and the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 6).
Mr Ong refuted allegations by opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP) that CECA allowed for a “free-flow” of Indian PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), thus taking the share from local talents.
Mr Ong clarified it was through globalisation that created more jobs for local professionals.
His response came after PSP Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leong Mun Wai claimed in a social media post last month that PMETs and FTAs have affected the jobs and livelihoods of Singaporeans.
Mr Ong, who was a former trade negotiator, felt the need to correct the falsehoods.
In his ministerial statement, Dr Tan also noted, “How do we as a small country, devoid of any natural resources, remain open to global talent…for us to continue to create opportunities for our fellow Singaporeans while at the same time managing the repercussions.
He noted that Singaporeans “are pragmatic” and understand the need to remain open to global talent.
Dr Tan expounded on the three challenges Singaporeans are concerned about regarding the issue.
The first is that the growth of EP (Employment Pass) holders has come at the expense of local PMEs.
Secondly, he highlighted the concern that some workplaces are becoming more concentrated with a single nationality.
Lastly, he mentioned the issue of discrimination against local jobseekers and employees.
Coming from the private sector, Dr Tan empathised with such concerns. He also addressed each one and “laid out the facts” regarding them.
“The simple point is that while we have a good Singaporean talent pool, our pool is not large enough to fulfil all of the needs, the breadth and the depth of these enterprises,” he said.
“The misconception is that if we say ‘no’ to the foreigners coming in… these jobs they would have taken would therefore all go to Singaporeans.”
Dr Tan, who is also Second Minister for Trade and Industry, said that there are currently about 22,000 vacant PME positions.
“Companies are desperate to fill these jobs. They would love to take in Singaporeans if they could because Singaporeans are more productive.”
Dr Tan gave Mr Leong the opportunity to consider the situation and to “offer some advice.”
“If we tell companies which want to invest in Singapore that they can only employ Singaporeans, or first employ Singaporeans who have been displaced, regardless of skills, I think the answer will be quite stark. They, I think, would opt not to come into Singapore to invest,” he added.
Dr Tan also highlighted that there are work pass controls such as quotas and levies in place to ensure fair employment practices and avoid foreign manpower from coming to Singapore just because they are cheaper to hire than local professionals.
“A quota would be a hard cap that would limit our ability to compete at the high end of the global economy, while for a levy to have any effect at all on EP numbers, it would have to be set very high and would substantially increase business costs.”
Dr Tan also touched on a point made by Mr Leong regarding employers of foreign EP holders not being required to make Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions.
He did not see the need to extend the benefit to those not employed in the country permanently.
“As foreign PMEs who are not working in Singapore on a permanent basis, I don’t think we should be responsible for their retirement adequacy or homeownership needs. Hence I don’t think it makes sense for us to extend our CPF benefits and coverage to them,” said Dr Tan.
“Instead, when reviewing qualifying salary to maintain a level playing field, we take into account CPF contributions as part of the cost to employers.”
In line with the changing workplace environment and rise of remote work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Tan mentioned that companies would find more reason not to site manpower in Singapore.
“In fact, we may find more businesses simply choosing to move entire business functions offshore if it becomes too difficult, onerous or expensive to operate here,” Dr Tan warned. “Singaporeans will end up with the shorter end of the stick as well, by losing some jobs too.”
Building on his point, Dr Tan called for businesses, workers, unions, trade associations and chambers to work together to create a “win-win” situation for all. He noted a “golden opportunity” at hand for Singapore to pull ahead as more businesses are eyeing the country for investments.
However, such companies would only proceed if they can get enough foreign workers to supplement the local workforce, added Dr Tan.
“We are at a critical inflexion point in our economic development. The pandemic has caused significant economic damage the world over. We face many challenges in the post-pandemic era, but there are also abundant opportunities if we play our cards right.”
“If we can bring them in, we can continue to grow our economy for another five to 10 years,” added Dr Tan. “But if we lose this opportunity, we will not only take longer to recover, the impact will be borne by our older workers, and also by our youth who will graduate into the workforce over the next few years.” /TISG
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