Apr 21, 2011 - Straits Times
By Cassandra Chew and Chua Hian Hou
FAR FROM being disadvantaged, Singaporeans have benefitted from
good jobs created by the Government's policy of allowing in a
'controlled' number of foreign workers, Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong said on Thursday.
The policy has also attracted foreign investments to Singapore,
said Mr Lee, speaking at the official opening of IMFlash's US$3
billion high tech electronics plant, one of the biggest electronics
investments here.
The Woodlands plant, a joint-venture between technology giants
Intel and Micron, currently employs 1,200 staff.
IMFlash's managing director Chen Kok Sing said the plant, the
only wafer fab in Singapore to produce the memory chips used in
many popular electronic items like smartphones and tablet
computers, will have 1,500 staff by next year.
In his speech, Mr Lee noted that six in 10 of the employees are
'Singaporeans and permanent residents'. Singapore residents also
take up two-thirds of the managerial and professional positions, he
added.
'Without the foreign workers, we would not have attracted this
US$3 billion investment, and Intel and Micron would have built its
wafer fab elsewhere. But by allowing in a controlled number of
foreign workers, far from disadvantaging Singaporean workers, we
have created more good jobs for Singaporeans,' said Mr Lee.
The Government's foreign worker policy could emerge as a
hot-button issue this election as some believe that it has hurt
residents' job prospects and depressed wages.
