Companies must build on the momentum of technology adoption to train and transform Singaporean workers.
Labour Nominated Member of Parliament Abdul Samad Abdul Wahab made this call in his Budget Debate speech on 1 March 2022.
“As the COVID-19 situation improves and borders are slowly opening, companies should not be taking the easy way out by bringing back foreign labour as a quick fix solution. Companies should invest in technology and automation for processes to be easier, safer and smarter.
“I understand that there are some jobs that need to be supplemented by foreign labour but, we should build on the momentum to train and transform our Singaporean core,” he said.
Mr Samad added that the Finance Minister’s recent announcement on the reduction of Foreign Dependency Ratio from 1:7 to 1:5 was welcoming.
However, he was also concerned about the misconceptions and unhappiness that could be brought about by raising the minimum qualifying salary by $500 for new E Pass and S Pass applicants.
Mr Samad said this move could be seen as a move to increase the wages of foreign labour but Singaporeans do not get adjustments over the same period.
“While the rationale is to ensure employability of our local workforce, MOM needs to clearly show how the increase in the qualifying salary of S Pass and E Pass has benefitted the local workforce and resulted in the overall increase in wages for Singaporeans,” said Mr Samad.
He hoped that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will continue to be stringent in accessing the needs of companies for foreign labour and ensure that foreign talents brought to Singapore augment the skills and capabilities of the local workforce.
Mr Samad also urged the Government to extend more support to middle-income earners.
“Based on the feedback and sentiments from my peers and fellow workers, inflation is quickly emerging as a key challenge this year, as households face rising prices on multiple fronts, ranging from food, education to housing. This is especially for our middle-income earners,” he said.
Additionally, Mr Samad also hoped that the Government’s initiatives for lower to middle-income earners could also be extended to middle-income Singaporeans who fall slightly short of the income qualifying criteria.
“I hope the Government can review the income criteria of various support schemes such as kindergarten, student care, and childcare subsidies, CPF housing grants, in tandem with the income of our workers to prevent the ‘cliff effect’ and better support the lower-middle-income family,” he said.
Addressing Singaporeans, Mr Samad said that the unions and NTUC understand their concerns on the rising cost of living and are finding ways to support them.
“Unions and NTUC will continue to protect our workers and the social enterprises will continue to cushion the impact of the cost of living through our various initiatives. Together, unions, NTUC, and our social enterprises are committed to serve our members and workers better. We are and will always be by your side, because every worker matters,” he said.
