Let's Welcome More!
The Government will need to take in 20,000 new
citizens each year to replace Singapore's falling population.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Mr Wong Kan
Seng said this in Parliament yesterday in response to MP Ho Geok
Choo's question on the optimum number of foreigners needed to keep
Singapore productive.
Minister Wong said that while the Economic Strategies Committee has
recommended that the number of foreign workers be maintained at
one-third of total workforce, the government will not impose a
quota so as to afford companies more flexibility.
Besides transient workers, he said "it remains critical for
Singapore to attract highly capable and entrepreneurial people from
around the world" as it "will help to create many more
opportunities for Singaporeans".
We reproduce the Minister's full reply here:
The Government does not target a specific total population size nor
do we have a formula to determine the optimal number of foreigners.
What we seek to achieve is a viable and sustainable population size
that helps us grow our economy and develop a livelier and more
vibrant society.
There are various factors that influence the inflow of foreigners
in Singapore, including economic factors such as the business or
employment opportunities of the individual, the calibre of
foreigners we need to or are able to attract for our economy and
for population augmentation, the productivity of Singaporeans, and
social factors such as the pace at which foreigners can be
accommodated without introducing undue stress to our society.
Foreigners have an important role to play in the success of our
economy. As of today, foreign workers make up almost one-third of
our total workforce. They fill many jobs including those which
Singaporeans do not want to do, e.g. those in the construction,
marine and manufacturing industries. They also fill jobs because we
do not have enough Singaporeans to fill, e.g. those in the services
sector, like financial and tourism industries.
Nevertheless, the Government recognises that we cannot let the
proportion of foreign workers in the workforce increase
indefinitely, as there are real physical and social limits.
Furthermore, companies that continue to rely heavily on foreign
workers will have little incentive to invest in productivity
improvements. The Economic Strategies Committee has thus proposed
that foreigners be capped at the current one-third of total
workforce.
However, this will not be implemented through setting quotas or
specifying an optimal number of foreign workers. Instead, the
Government will manage foreign workers sectorally and through a
phased increase in the foreign worker levy. This allows companies
the flexibility to employ the foreign workers they need to seize
business opportunities and grow, without being hamstrung by rigid
quotas.
At the same time, the Government will help companies reduce their
reliance on low-skilled foreign workers through productivity
enhancing initiatives, such as the establishment of a $2 billion
National Productivity Fund and the introduction of the Productivity
and Innovation Credit.
Even as we moderate the growth of the total foreign workforce, it
remains critical for Singapore to attract highly capable and
entrepreneurial people from around the world to work here. They
will complement our home-grown talent in areas like science and
engineering, design, finance and start-ups. Keeping our society
open to top talent will help to create many more opportunities for
Singaporeans.
Other than this transient pool of foreign workers needed to
supplement our workforce, immigrants are also needed to supplement
our population. The reason is our declining birth rates, which are
well below the replacement rate and a rapidly aging population. To
make up for the shortfall, we need to take about 20,000 new
citizens a year, to keep our citizen core. We will continue to be
stringent in our requirements and grant citizenship to those of
suitable quality, and who not only contribute to Singapore
economically but also integrate well into our society.
As we continue to attract talented individuals to Singapore, we
need to ensure that they are well-integrated into the local
community. The National Integration Council was set up to spearhead
efforts to integrate PRs and new citizens into our society. A
number of measures to promote and foster social cohesion among
locals, new immigrants and foreigners have been implemented.
For instance, the Singapore Citizenship Journey was recently
introduced to help new citizens learn more about Singapore's
history and our way of life. For the transient foreigners, there
are also programmes to help them adapt to local culture and
conditions.
Attracting the right kind of people to Singapore and ensuring that
they are welcomed into our society cannot be achieved by the
Government alone. We need to and will continue to work with the
community to explore new measures to enhance the integration of new
immigrants.
a long article...so how much is govt revenue for foreign worker
levy?
Are the collected Levy use for displacement of Singaporean
worker to retool?
