OPINION
There are three myths propagated by PAP leaders and perpetuated
by the Singapore media about foreign workers which need to be
corrected here:
1. Foreign workers are employed only in sectors shunned
by Singaporeans.
2. Singaporeans are “fussy” and employers have a hard
time recruiting them.
3. The government cannot shield Singaporeans from global
competition.
By now, we should already know that foreigners are
employed across all industries in Singapore and they are allowed to
compete directly with Singapore citizens for jobs which
can otherwise be taken up by them.
The influx and easy availability of foreign workers
depress the wages of Singaporeans who need a minimal wage to enjoy
a decent standard of living in Singapore.
For example, the inflow of large number of foreign engineers and
technicians from China and India has kept the starting pay of
Singapore engineers stagnant for the last few years while the cost
of living has ballooned.
PAP leaders have always insisted that the search for talent is a
“global phenomenon” and Singaporeans have no choice but to compete
directly with them.
PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew told National Geographic magazine in
a recent interview that it is a “good” thing that Singapore has
welcomed so many Chinese immigrants (from China) as they are more
“hard-driving” and “hard-striving” than Singaporeans.
It is the duty of the elected government of the day to take care
of its citizens first and NOT foreigners. In other countries like
Australia, New Zealand and Canada, measures are put in place to
safeguard the interests of locals. Not only did the PAP government
not do so, it is introducing lop-sided labor policies to make life
difficult for Singaporeans instead.
If a Singaporean wants to apply to work overseas in any country,
he or she must obtain a work visa or permit to even set foot there
in the first place.
Singapore has a unique scheme not heard anywhere else in
the world where foreigners are given a year to stay in Singapore to
look for jobs here:
[Source: Manpower Ministry]
The Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC) allows
foreigners who are i) holders of selected university
qualifications, or ii) current or former holders of selected
skilled migrant visas to stay in Singapore for up to one year to
facilitate their job search in Singapore. The EPEC is issued on a
one-time basis and is non-renewable.
Now, let us look at some universities which are accepted by MOM
from China and India, the two largest source of foreigners to
Singapore:
China:
BeiHang University
Beijing Institute of Technology
Beijing Normal University
Central South University
Central University For Nationalities
China Agricultural University
India:
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
Anna University, Madras
Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Bangalore University, Bangalore
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani
Graduates from these unknown universities are allowed to
stay in Singapore for a year to compete directly with Singaporeans
for job in an already saturated job market.
Is the PAP helping Singaporeans or foreigners find jobs? Or are
these universities better than NUS, NTU or SMU?
Obviously if a China or India graduate comes to Singapore and is
willing to accept lower than market-rate wages which will translate
to a bounty back home, it is impossible to expect cost-conscious
employers to recruit more expensive Singapore graduates.
How can the PAP expect Singaporeans to compete with the
foreigners when the odds are stacked against them? The playing
field is tilted in favor of the foreign workers.
The most amazing thing is that these foreign graduates
are able to step foot onto Singapore to find a job without having
to pass a mandatory English proficiency test like the
internationally accepted IELTS which explained why there are so
many foreigners in the service industry who cannot utter a single
word of English at all.
Are we still a cosmopolitan city with English as its lingua
franca or have we been turned into some third-tier city in inner
China unwittingly by the PAP?
With discriminatory manpower schemes like EPEC, E and
S-passes still operating under the auspices of the Manpower
Ministry, can Singaporeans trust the PAP leaders’ promise to reduce
the inflow of foreigners into Singapore?
Singaporeans are getting a very bad deal from the PAP
government. They are elected and paid by taxpayers to take
care of Singapore citizens and not foreigners.
Foreign workers should only be employed strictly in
sectors shunned by locals such as the construction and marine
engineering industries. They have absolutely no business in
positions which can be easily filled up by locals.
Singapore workers are highly sought after in the world because
of our bilingual capability, work ethic and productivity which
explains why New Zealand launched a campaign lately specifically to
target Singaporeans to work, live and study there and NOT China,
India or Philipines.
Instead of showing that it appreciates and treasures the
local workforce, the PAP seeks to replace them by cheap foreign
workers overtly and covertly. This is completely unacceptable
coming from a government which claims that it has the “mandate” of
the people.
Did Singaporeans give it the “mandate” to bring in so many
foreigners into our country within such a period of time thereby
causing so many problems as a result?
Why are we constantly being asked to make sacrifices for the
gross mistakes made by the PAP which nobody, including the crippled
opposition and the compliant media dare to point out?
It is time that Singaporeans realize that they can never enjoy
the economic rights they deserved as citizens of Singapore without
first reclaiming their political rights from the PAP.
There is nothing wrong in having this “entitlement mentality”
because Singapore males waste two years of their precious lives in
service of the nation. We are entitled no less than a level playing
field for us to compete with the foreigners on an equal
footing.
If the PAP or rather FAP (Foreigners Action Party) is not keen
or able to protect the interests of Singaporeans, then perhaps we
should consider switching allegiance to another political party
which is more amenable to our requests in the next general
election.
As usual taken from brave Temasek Review
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/07/how-the-pap-allows-foreigners-into-singapore-to-compete-with-locals-for-jobs/
