Jobs: MOM announces Fair Consideration
Framework
It will give S'poreans fair
chance
REPORT: FOO JIE
YING
COMPANIES like scrap
metal firm Kim Hock Corporation prefer to hire Singaporeans, but
end up hiring more foreigners instead.
It could be due to a poor qualification fit or
different expectations of salary.
Or it could be that certain positions are just not
popular with locals, said Joyce Lim, the human resources
administrative manager at Kim Hock Corporation.
"There's a certain stigma attached to some of these
jobs, like welders and mechanics," she said.
"Even for positions like engineers, we receive
twice as many applications from foreigners than Singaporeans."
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday announced
the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF).
This comes after feedback from Singaporeans during
the MOM's Our Singapore Conversation.
The FCF aims to allay the concerns of Singaporeans
who have shared anecdotes of companies favouring foreigners over
locals for various reasons.
Explaining the context of the FCF, which will come in
effect in August next year, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin
said: "What we are doing is to put in place measures to nudge
employers to give Singaporeans, especially our young graduates and
professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs), a fair chance at
both job and development opportunities."
In a blog entry, Mr Tan acknowledged that the FCF
is not a "silver bullet" to solve the problem.
Industry experts point out that the lack of
legislation may mean that companies can still get away without
giving much thought to hiring locals.
But at the end of the day, the whole idea of the
FCF is "really to tell the employers not to be biased", said Mr
Chan Chong Beng, the president of the Association of Small and
Medium Enterprises.
Priority
"The FCF is to tell employers to give
(Singaporeans) the priority. And if you really cannot get it, the
ministry will try to help you out," he said.
Mr Ho Meng Kit, the chief executive officer of the
Singapore Business Federation, agreed, adding that the
effectiveness of the framework will be "very small".
"The FCF is merely the Government's way of
signalling to employers, to remind them to consider hiring
Singaporeans instead of taking the easy way out and hiring
foreigners," Mr Ho said.
He added that the framework is part of the
Government's baby steps towards a long-term plan.
"The PMEs will grow to make up two-thirds of the
workforce in less than 20 years' time.
"The Government thus wants to use this FCF to
signal to companies that you need to put in effort to create a
Singaporean core in the workforce."
A negative impact that could spin off from the FCF
is that Singaporean may think that the Government is trying to
protect them, Mr Ho pointed out.
But Mr Tan emphasised that the FCF is not about
"hiring Singaporeans first" or "hiring them only".
"What the Government is doing is to help them get a
fair opportunity. Singaporeans must still prove themselves able and
competitive to take on the higher jobs that they aspire to," he
said.
What is FCF?
THE Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) is a set of rules that
requires employers to consider Singaporeans fairly before hiring
Employment Pass (EP) holders.
Under FCF, firms will have to put up job vacancies
on a national jobs bank for at least 14 calendar days before making
an application for an EP, which is for foreign professionals
working in managerial, executive or specialised jobs.
The jobs bank, which will be in place by the middle
of next year, will be administered by the Workforce Development
Agency.
Companies with 25 or fewer employees, or are hiring
for jobs paying $12,000 and above a month, will be exempted.
Besides the advertising rule, firms will come under
greater scrutiny by the Manpower Ministry if:
• they have fewer Singaporeans holding professional, managerial
and executives jobs compared to others in the industry, or
• they have had repeated complaints of discriminatory hiring
practices.
Companies can also expect a longer review period
for EP applications and may have work pass privileges
curtailed.
News, The New Paper, Tuesday, September 24 2013, Pg 6
