The trade minister says Singapore is committed to “quality over quantity” in terms of foreign employees
“We are moving towards quality, not quantity,” he said. “We really want to create more space for people at the very top, but for those jobs that Singaporeans can do, it won’t require as many foreigners in the country.”
Singapore announced a rise within the minimum wages for workers and S-pass holders on Thursday, which could make it tougher for firms to rent foreigners as a substitute of Singaporean candidates. Employment card holders now should earn S$4,500 ($3,293) a month, up from S$3,900, and S-pass holders must meet a threshold of S$2,500 as a substitute of S$2,400.
Singapore’s business community is under pressure to keep up the precise balance between local and foreign employees. Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon said last week that MAS would “intensify” its engagement with financial firms on recruitment practices to develop its “Singapore core”.
Chan said officials were “quietly confident” of the town’s economic recovery by the tip of the yr, and that fiscal stimulus would help support domestic consumption and enable businesses and employees to maneuver into recent industries. But he added that the outlook would largely depend upon external demand.
“We are quite pleased with the progress we have made so far,” Chan said. At the identical time, “we cannot replace external demand with domestic stimulus.”
Even because the economy recovers from a record 13.2 percent year-over-year decline within the second quarter, officials warn that job cuts and business closures could proceed to rise. The unemployment rate hit its highest level within the second quarter because the global financial crisis greater than a decade ago.
The article was published within the print edition of the South China Morning Post under the title: “Quality over quantity” for expat employees
