Singapore needs to go “cold-turkey” after years of opening its
gates wide to large numbers of foreigners, says Member of
Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling.
In a note on her Facebook page posted on Sunday evening, Tin, who
represents Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC),
said she held this view even after meeting a group of local
businessmen who were struggling to find workers.
“I believe the current moves to constrain foreign labour force
growth is the right long-term measure, especially so given the
limited physical capacity we have,” she wrote.
“In a way, Singapore has to go into ‘cold-turkey’ after years of
allowing huge inflows of foreigners. Politics should be about
having the courage to make the best decision at any given point in
time, and act on it,” she added.
Tin also pointed out that the country needs to acknowledge the
“painful tradeoffs” it is making with the government’s new policies
on foreign workers in place, referring to the impact of the policy
on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To do that, she said, Singapore needs to also give more help and
time for SMEs and businessmen here to adjust to “the new
circumstances”.
In speaking to them, Tin said they do understand the government’s
need to reduce foreigner inflows, pointing out that “they are
Singaporeans too”, although she noted their belief that the
anti-foreigner sentiment tells but one side of the story, pushed
forward by a group of vocal individuals.
“Their current plight shows that this is a complex issue, that
foreign manpower is not all bad, and is in fact an important
complement to our own labour force,” she wrote.
Tin’s comments come as Singapore struggles to deal with the impact
of a rapid growth in population after millions of foreign workers
were welcomed into the country over the past decade.
The government’s liberal immigration policy has been widely viewed
as the reason for rising cost of living, housing and healthcare, as
well as the source of greater competition for jobs and places in
schools here for locals.
The 28-year-old MP was the target of online criticism as a
greenhorn in last year’s general election, where she stood
alongside emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in the GRC against
a National Solidarity Party team that included the election’s
youngest candidate Nicole Seah.
She has since made active efforts to help the mentally ill
community in Singapore, among other causes she has advanced in her
ward, Macpherson.
Source:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/s%E2%80%99pore-has-to-go-%E2%80%98cold-turkey%E2%80%99-on-foreign-workers--tin-pei-ling.html;_ylt=AmTB8CK2T6CkTCYfT_.VuvQCV8d_;_ylu=X3oDMTN1ZDEydDBjBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTaW5nYXBvcmVTRgRwa2cDYzc3YWY4Y2MtZTNjNy0zZmMyLWIzMDAtNWE1ZGM3YTFlNzczBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2QxZTI5ODkxLWJlYjItMTFlMS04YzdkLWJhZDAzODZiOWFmYg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFuZGgwbmp1BGludGwDc2cEbGFuZwNlbi1zZwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzaW5nYXBvcmUEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3
The original post:
I spoke with a group of local SME businessmen recently who
shared their woes about the current tight labour force. They told
me that the recent measures to tighten control over foreign labour
has affected, and threatens to suffocate, their businesses and
growth. Running SMEs is already tough and stressful. Now they are
having to get jobs done with less manpower, because they have to
meet their obligations to customers who do not care whether they
have enough workers or not.
I asked why they do not hire more Singaporeans to do the jobs
they offer. They told me they try to do so, but the reality is that
few Singaporeans want to take up those jobs, even if they raise the
pay. Moreover, Singapore is at 2.1% unemployment (i.e., virtually
full employment) and they simply cannot find enough locals to fill
positions.
I asked if they could raise productivity, e.g., install new
machines and processes, so that they can make do with fewer
workers. The Minister for Finance in this year’s Budget had
announced several measures to help businesses with such
improvements. But the businessmen told me that these measures take
time, whereas they have immediate labour needs.
Actually, the businessmen understand why the government has to
reduce the inflow of foreigners. They also know of comments,
through online and mainstream media, arguing how foreigners were
stealing local jobs and how taking a bus ride felt like travelling
in a foreign country. They are Singaporeans too, and understand
such feelings expressed by Singaporeans. But they felt that this
was only one side of the story, pushed by a vocal group. Their
current plight shows that this is a complex issue, that foreign
manpower is not all bad, and is in fact an important complement to
our own labour force.
I fully sympathise with the challenges that the businesses face.
However, I believe the current moves to constrain foreign labour
force growth is the right long term measure, especially so given
the limited physical capacity we have. In a way, Singapore has to
go into “cold-turkey” after years of allowing huge inflows of
foreigners. Politics should be about having the courage to make the
best decision at any given point in time, and act on it. But
we should also recognise the painful tradeoffs that we are making,
and give more help, and time, for SMEs and local businessmen to
adjust to the new circumstances.
Source:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/tin-pei-ling/recent-conversation-with-some-local-businessmen/410211549020745
