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- Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan said in
Parliament Monday that there is “no turning back” to relax quotas
on foreign workers and said reducing numbers was the
way …more
Minister for National
Development Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament Monday that there is
“no turning back” to relax quotas on foreign workers and said
reducing numbers was the way to go.
This was in contrast to Khaw’s predecessor, Mah Bow
Tan, who
said in February this year that the government should
bring in more foreign labour in the coming years – as much as the
country’s resources are able to sustain.
Responding to a query by Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah, Khaw said
that the man-year-entitlement (MYE) quota for new projects will
reduce by 15 per cent in July this year. This makes the cumulative
cut in since 2010 to 45 percent.
The man-year-entitlement is a quota imposed on companies, which
allocates the number of man-years required to complete awarded
projects, with one man-year equivalent to a year on a work permit.
This quota determines the number of foreign workers the company is
allowed to employ.
The foreign worker levy is also set to increase further in phases
over 2014 and 2015, with an exception towards higher-skilled
workers that fall into the MYE quota. No exact numbers were given
by Khaw.
Tightening labour 'necessary'
Khaw highlighted that the construction sector is an industry that
takes in the bulk of lowly-skilled foreign labour and stressed that
tightening the influx of labour is necessary.
Khaw said that the 45 percent MYE cut was “doable” and that his
ministry monitors the utilisation of foreign workers outside of the
MYE quota, which is in a “single-digit percentage”.
He explained that the Housing Development Board (HDB) may feel the
impact of the tighter policies, but emphasised that 60 to 70
percent of HDB’s projects are made with prefabricated components,
thus reducing on-site labour needs.
In a separate answer to Hougang MP Png Eng Huat on price ranges of
new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats in new and old towns a year before
and after prices were delinked from the resale market in 2011, Khaw
said BTO prices are steady, even though resale prices have
risen.
He gave the example of a three-room BTO flat in Punggol which
maintained prices in all three years, ranging from $150,000 to
$210,000.
In Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines, prices also did not increase
after the delink. In fact, price ranges for a three-room BTO flat
in Sengkang decreased from a maximum of $210,000 in 2011 to
$190,000 the year after.
Answering a question by West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har, Khaw said
that cost increases from Build-to-Order flat construction will be
absorbed by the government, to ensure flats remain affordable.
