This came about when I spoke to a friend recently saying Gov measures are tightening foreigner inflow…I am here to debunk that myth. Feel free to post/edit as you see fit.
Alot of folks are under the misconception that the inflow of foreigners are slowing down. They are correct to a certain extent, the Government is scrutising work pass applications but there is no slowing down. For the last 4 years there have been a 57% in S Pass numbers from 113K to 178K.
The last time I checked 1 year ago I believe total population is 5.4 million, now is 5.7 million already.
Data is publicly available on MOM website. May I also add that the increase happened after the 2011 watershed elections. Goes to show the Gov doesn’t care about what the 39.9% is concerned with about foreigner inflows!
http://www.mom.gov.sg/documents-and-publications/foreign-workforce-numbers
Look at the potential income of these 65K S passes in terms of levies, levies come in tiers but for simplicity I am just going to use Tier 1.
65000 X 330 X 12 months = S$257 million per annum more income for our Gov…
The schedule to the levies is appended here; I will not touch on work permit jobs since they dont affect Singaporeans but S Passes – the salary range is typically S$2,200 to S$5,500 on average. I am very sure we can hire some Singaporeans here!
http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/data/budget_2016/download/annexa3.pdf
Now that I am done with S Passes, I will talk about the EP now.
Also the Jobsbank and TAFEP is one big joke, posting an advertisement for 14 days does not stop corporations from hiring foreigners. They just wait it out.
Market practice is to post the job advert AFTER having the foreign candidate, do you really think Singaporeans are hired? WDA should post statistics of Singaporeans hired from the wayang Jobsbank! It is the worse recruitment portal I have seen.
There are also so many exemptions from advertising, you want to implement then do it properly like Australia lar…
For practical reasons, you are exempted from the Jobs Bank advertising requirement in any of these cases:
- Your company has 25 or fewer employees.
- The job position is paying a fixed monthly salary of $12,000 and above.
- The job is to be filled by an intra-corporate transferee (ICTs). Under the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO GATS), ICTs refer to those holding senior positions in the organisation or have an advanced level of expertise.
- The job is necessary for short-term contingencies (i.e. period of employment in Singapore for not more than one month).
I want to highlight on the intra-corporate transferee (ICTs). The requirement is so easy to fullfill, just need to work 1 year in country of origin then can come already… wah lau this is as good as open-door policy.
I know a famous IT firm (with HR friends inside) that tell the foreigner – local ratio is 10 foreigners to 1. They hire all the Indians on ICT on $8-10K salary – can you imagine coming from India with a 2K salary and then getting $8K in SG. Don’t come is idiot!
Don’t even get me started on the India-Singapore CECA!! I am astounded our millionaire scholars can agree to something like this.
Also per the Fair Consideration Framework, TAFEP is suppose to do this:
From 1 October 2015, MOM will also require the company to submit more information when applying for an EP, to assess whether Singaporeans were considered fairly. This includes information on:
- The number of applications submitted by Singaporeans.
- Whether Singaporeans were interviewed for the vacancy.
- The firm’s current share of Singaporeans in PME positions.
Then in practice is this done? If yes, why haven’t catch any errand company in the news?
http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/fair-consideration-framework
I just feel so screwed over by the Gov, I did my NS (MRed), my monies stuck in CPF and I realise my SA and Medisave combined have $80K! That can more than repay my debt!
Just a late night rant from a sleepless Singaporean worried about his future.
Regards,
Jobless Millenial
*Letter first appeared on www.transitioning.org, a support site for the unemployed managed by prominent labour activist Gilbert Goh