The use of a foreign workforce in Singapore stems from 2 main
factors:
1. Lack of local expertise
2. Cost of employing locals
The argument that foreigners are employed because Singaporeans do
not want to do the job is a straw man argument. We have all seen
Singaporeans who are willing to work as toilet cleaners, road
sweepers and refuse collectors. The majority of Singaporeans are
not a haughty lot. The truth is some jobs now pay too little as to
make it impossible for Singaporeans to cover the costs of living in
public housing, feeding themselves modestly and commuting to work.
Foreign workers who are housed and fed by employers and whose only
consideration is to send money back to their families are more open
to these low paying jobs. Hence, the "unwanted jobs issue" is
actually a misdirection of point 2.
To address point 1, let it first be acknowledged that a foreign
education is often inferior to a local education. A Singapore
educated polytechnic student is superior to a China educated
graduate student both in terms of work attitude and in terms of
exposure to industry wide practises. The problem is that employers
are too fixated on paper certification and do not give enough
credit to the quality of graduates from our world class educational
system. As Singapore invests more in training local talent we will
see more and more of this gap between capability and employabilty.
Some foreign workers are indeed leaders in their field and possess
training which cannot be easily replicated in local workers but
these do not make up to 50% or more of the workers in an industry.
If the interests of Singapore citizens are to be given equitable
measure, MOM should at the very least, look into recommending a
point based systems to HR managers as a guideline for employment.
What is so bad about a basic assumption that employing Singaporeans
are better than employing foreigners, especially in at a time where
a long term financial crisis are staring us point blank in the
face?
To address point 2, I have observed that talented foreign workers
are not at all paid less that local workers of similar calibre and
so the argument that locals professionals are paid more is moot. In
fact, sometimes foreign talents are paid more because there is a
prestige factor that goes with employing a foreign "talent".
Therefore the issue of costs among the professional classes do not
exist and this leaves the issue of foreign workers who are employed
in low paying industries where there is a ceiling to the amount an
employer can pay in order for the business model to work. In such a
case, reduction of local living costs like reduction of transport
charges do help but more can be done to creatively address these
problems. For example, government can introduce tax breaks for
companies who organize transport for their workers and who employ
more Singaporeans. Other creative measures can be put in place if
only one were to take the time to look into the various factors
that increase the costs of employing citizens. This is a better
approach to helping Singaporeans than just simply give handouts. As
it stands the Foreign Talent/Worker situation has evolved from a
situation that sacrifices national interests for expediency and
cronyism. To do this at a time of plenty is excusable, to continue
to do so going into a long term crisis that warrants early
elections is dangerous.
Going into the elections, I believe whoever can address these
points effectively and cogently will manage to gain more popular
support.
Well you made your points, i will deliver my opinion of what you
said.
What i feel is that you failed to see the connection on how
these low paying jobs are ultimately connected to the cost of
living. If the costs of these jobs are increased, their employers
would have to increase the cost of their services/goods to avoid
affecting the quality or output . ( Say, 1 local cleaner compared
to employing 2-3 foreign cleaners)
This would create a wave effect where salaries would have to be
increased across all levels (Well, except for the CEO and minister
levels) in order to afford the increase in cost of goods and
services. Which, ultimately affects the decision of whether
corporations(Both local and foreign) are willing to stay here or
outsource.
While personally i don't mind having the cost of living
increased in order for business to afford more local employees for
base level work I do not think the majority of the people would be
generous enough to accept that. They want both increased local
employment rate and reduced cost of living, that's wanting to eat
the cake without paying for it in my opinion.
While i have little actual knowledge of how good foreign
education is(I'm assuming you're referring to
China/India/Vietnam..etc) I disagree on the opinion that they are
anywhere inferior to local graduates. I have foreign colleagues
from Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Vietnam, i am quite impressed
by their dedication to their work and the quality that they
deliver. I am also quite pressured by the need to match their
quality everyday.
Do not forget that it takes a certain level of skill and good
attitude to leave the country of your birth to pursue jobs in
foreign lands. Perhaps the overall quality really is quite bad in
their original country, perhaps 1 in 10 really produce world class
work. But those who chose to come out to work and are able to get
employment is going to be the cream of the crop.
You are correct in point 2.
Employers aren't stupid, paying the foreign employee less than
their local peers is going to create resentment. Why should the
foreign employee deliver quality work if he/she are not treated as
equals with their local peers?
But i think the prestige factor comes from applying Westerners,
not from Asians.
But your suggestions for tax breaks sound like a workable idea.
I would appreciate it greatly if you can split up the paragraphs
for point 2 because it's a little hard to read it in detail.
