January 18, 2010
For some strange reason, it was not the Manpower Minister Gan
Kim Yong, but Law Minister K Shanmugam who has been defending the
ruling party’s pro-foreigner policy, lately a testimony of
Singapore’s “multi-talented” ministers who command the highest
salaries in the world.
During a dialogue session with Yew Tee residents yesterday, Mr
Shanmugam jumped to the defence of foreigners and blamed locals for
being “choosy” about jobs instead.
“Contrary to popular belief, foreigners who take up low-paying
jobs here are not depriving Singaporeans of work. Rather, they are
doing jobs Singaporeans shun,” he said, echoing a view espoused
previously by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who claimed that
foreigners are needed to “build HDB flats and MRT lines”.
A resident had complained that “foreigners were crowding
Singaporeans out of jobs, depriving them from even becoming
cleaners.”
Mr Shanmugam disputed the statement:
“The ‘actual practical reality’ was that employers often
turned to foreigners only as a last resort when they cannot find
local staff. More often than not, employers were even willing to
pay Singaporeans more…..If the foreign worker gets $800, we’ll try
to get the Singaporean $1,300. But you have to work on weekends.
The Singaporean says ‘no’.”
His stance was repeated by several PAP leaders in the past who
refused to acknowledge the problem which is largely caused by their
flawed immigration and labor policies.
During a May Day Rally in 2009, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
claimed that foreign workers were of “value” to Singapore:
‘They are not here to steal our jobs, but to help us enlarge
the economic pie….Foreign workers were of value to Singapore.
Because they are hard-working and willing to work long hours,
coffeeshops can stay open late or even round the clock. The
airport, seaport, factories, offices, hotels, restaurants and
retail outlets here can offer better service and business hours.
Even smaller businesses, such as neighbourhood shops, can reduce
business costs and stay afloat if they hire some foreign workers on
top of locals,” he said.
NTUC Secretary-General and Minister in Prime Minister’s Office
Lim Swee Say added:
“‘Let us be very clear. Foreign workers…are our partners
because they are here working together with us…that makes us the
number one workforce in the world.’”
[Source: Straits Times, 2 May 2009]
Mr Lim’s shameless boast about Singapore being the “number one”
workforce in the world is quite “divorced from reality” as a recent
article by Wall Street Journal revealed that the relentless influx
of foreigners into Singapore over the last few years has decreased
the wages of Singaporeans, lowered labor productivity, increased
the cost of living and led directly to a lower standard of
living.
While in the past, only very highly qualified foreigners or
those doing menial jobs like construction were permitted to work in
Singapore, there are increasingly number of semi-skilled foreigners
who are competing directly with locals for jobs which can otherwise
be taken up by them.
Singapore Courts splashed a full-page job advertisement in the
Malaysian newspaper The Star last weekend seeking Malaysians for
various positions in Singapore such as cashiers, operation
executives, and assistant accountants.
The interview will be held today from 9am to 5pm at The Puteri
Pacific, Johor Bahru.
If foreigners are indeed doing jobs only shunned by
Singaporeans, why is Courts not employing locals for these
positions?
Are Singaporeans not interested in working as cashiers,
operation executives and assistant accountants?
Mr Shanmugam added that “foreigners were not to be blamed for
retrenched workers being unable to get re-employed at their old
pay.” due to “companies still being uncertain about the economy and
workers who may not have the right skills.”
‘So, our problem are people above 40. So NTUC sends them for
job schemes where they get them trained, but individuals also have
to reduce expectations,’ he said.
Ultimately, the problem still lies with Singaporeans – we are
too choosy about jobs and we have too high expectations, and not
the PAP which opens the floodgates to let in too many foreigners in
too short a time.
One thing Singaporeans can be very “clear” about judging from
recent statements made by PAP leaders is that they and the
foreigners are “partners” in Singapore and we are no more than
“sheep” driven around by them, to borrow the words of the second
most senior “lion” in the cabinet Goh Chok Tong.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/01/18/shanmugam-defends-foreign-workers-they-are-doing-jobs-singaporeans-shun/