Singapore’s Parliament discussed the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the 8 December 2013 Little India Riot and one of the issues raised was the management of foreign manpower in Singapore.
During the debate, it was revealed that interim findings of a joint survey done by the Manpower Ministry and the Migrant Workers’ Centre showed that foreign workers here have expressed high levels of satisfaction working here. The interim results were based on interviews with 930 work permits holders.
The survey, which started in March this year, is expected to be completed in July or August covering some 4,000 foreign workers.
The findings were released by Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin when he delivered a Ministerial Statement to the management of foreign workforce here, in response to the Committee of Inquiry on the Little India Riot report.
We bring you some highlights of the interim results:
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “very satisfied”, about 90% of foreign workers (FWs) rated at least 4 (Satisfied) on the overall satisfaction with working in Singapore.
Only about 2% rated their satisfaction as “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied”.
When asked about their plans after their current contracts expire, about 78% of FWs said they planned to continue working in Singapore with their current employers while 8% would look for a new employer here.
Another 6% said they planned to return home first and come back to Singapore to work later.
A total of 81% of FWs said that they would recommend Singapore to their friends and relatives as a place for work, an increase from the 71% in 2011.
The main reason cited by FWs for recommending Singapore as a place to work was the pay, and good working and living conditions.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr Tan said: “In addition to these survey findings, the fact is that over 70% of foreign workers renew their contracts after the first two years.
“Taken together, these pieces of evidence suggest that the majority of foreigners continue to consider Singapore an attractive place to work. Ultimately, what the workers themselves say and do matters.
“The COI report puts to rest the more speculative causes for the riot that were offered by some critics, and that were echoed blindly by some sections of the foreign media”.
Mr Tan also noted that the COI has recommended that more services and amenities be made available to foreign workers outside of congregation areas such as Little India.
He said this is something the Ministry is already doing and intends to step up on.
“The new dormitories which are being launched are required to be self-contained, with adequate space set aside for living and gathering, as well as the provision of facilities like mini-marts, gyms, canteens, and TV rooms.
“Over time, we aim for more workers to be accommodated in such self-contained housing facilities which will reduce their need to travel far for basic services,” explained the Manpower Minister.
Turning to the size of the foreign workforce, Mr Tan said the tightening measures have slowed down foreign worker growth significantly.
Excluding construction and domestic workers, FWs growth rate was halved from 9.4% in 2011 to 4.6% in 2012, and halved again to just 2.3% in 2013.
For the construction industry, manpower has grown over the past few years to support the ramp up in construction projects, including essential transportation, housing and healthcare infrastructure for Singaporeans.
Mr Tan said Singapore will continue to build in the coming years, but it will be in a more manpower-lean manner, with many construction productivity measures being introduced.
Source: NTUC This Week
