Singapore goals to plug the shortage of foreign staff over the following few months by step by step easing border restrictions, in line with Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
Wong told parliament on Wednesday that priority can be given to staff in the development, maritime and processing sectors, referring to issues raised within the February budget presentation.
Labor availability is “a key issue for a lot of firms,” Wong said. “We should be able to make up the shortfall in the next few months.”
As the city-state eases Covid-19 restrictions and activity picks up, firms are warning of labor shortages, which translates into rising consumer costs.
Last week, Singapore’s central bank warned that “the domestic labor market is anticipated to proceed to tighten and result in intensifying wage pressures all year long”, saying its measure of core inflation had hit its highest level since September 2012.
Singapore’s dependence on foreign staff in all sectors, from laborers to executives, is a recurring point of political and economic pressure. It was a hot-button issue throughout the 2020 election because of perceptions of hiring practices that were unfair to residents and low wages for blue-collar staff combating the rising cost of living.
As cases rise in Hong Kong, look to lockdowns in Asia from Singapore to India
As cases rise in Hong Kong, look to lockdowns in Asia from Singapore to India
Meanwhile, public discomfort with job competition from foreigners throughout the worst economic hit of the pandemic has put the federal government on the defensive because it tries to clarify the necessity for open borders.
“We must never allow anti-foreigner sentiment to take root here or give the impression that we are looking more and more inward,” Wong also said Wednesday, warning that some lawmakers “have been shrewd on this issue.”
Singapore has tightened requirements for foreign staff in recent times, most recently raising minimum wages again to “make sure that incoming staff are of the precise caliber” to assist grow the economy, Wong said. He warned that Singapore appears in media reports as less friendly to foreigners.
“If global investors come to the conclusion that this is the case, Singapore will become less attractive to them,” he said, “and ordinary Singaporeans will suffer the most.”
