Photo Credit: Prime Minister's Office Singapore
By Fawwaz Baktee
The Government will always be on the side of Singaporeans, declared Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on 2 September 2020.
Mr Lee spoke in response to President Halimah Yacob’s address.
“What is the point of creating jobs for foreigners, if it does not benefit Singaporeans? Ultimately, our aim is to grow our economy, create good jobs for Singaporeans and raise our standards of living.
“Foreign workers help us achieve this. By being open to talent from around the world, we create more opportunities for ourselves,” he said.
In his speech, the prime minister addressed Singaporeans’ anxieties on foreign worker competition.
“Their sense that foreigners are competing with them for jobs is palpable. Some feel unfairly treated when they see foreigners replacing them or taking up good jobs ahead of them. These feelings are completely understandable,” he said.
Mr Lee assured that Singapore’s foreign worker policies will help control the inflow of foreign workers.
The policies will ultimately ensure that foreign workers who come to Singapore complement local workers rather than replace them, Mr Lee said.
As the nation relooks its foreign worker policies, Singapore must be careful not to give the world the impression that it no longer welcomes foreigners, he added.
“We may be under stress now, but we cannot turn inwards. We will adjust our policies to safeguard Singaporean jobs, but let us show confidence that Singaporeans can hold our own in the world,” said Mr Lee.
Meanwhile, Mr Lee explained that Singaporeans who feel unfairly treated can seek redress through the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP). Additionally, the Government will further tighten the Fair Consideration Framework.
“We are also working with unions to make sure any retrenchments are done fairly, and no company is retrenching a Singaporean only to fill the same post with a foreigner, without good justification … The Government takes this issue of fairness very seriously,” he said.
NTUC recently released the Fair Retrenchment Framework, which includes a guide on protecting the Singaporean core.
He also urged employers to relook their hiring practices if they have an over-concentration of a single foreign nationality in their companies.
Mr Lee said: “This concentration, if unchecked, can cause social resentment and workplace problems. It makes it harder for the company to blend into and be accepted by our multiracial society. It suggests that the company has not really taken root in Singapore.
“It can cause problems within the company too, because employees of other nationalities – Singaporean or others – may find it harder to fit in, take pride in their work, and see a future for themselves in the firm.”
Touching on social safety nets, Mr Lee said the Government’s efforts, supported by its tripartite partners, to secure Singapore’s social safety nets have worked.
“Older workers are staying in the workforce longer. And over the last five years, real wages of our bottom quintile have consistently grown faster than median wages. That clearly shows that our approach is working,” he said.
However, Mr Lee warned of more significant challenges in the future.
According to Mr Lee, the Government must identify pragmatic solutions that make real and sustainable differences for Singaporeans, and not those that create new problems that will erode the nation’s spirit of self-reliance.
“We should take some time to assess the landscape after COVID-19, to see how things unfold, and what specific problems develop. We must keep an open mind, as we build and improve on the system we have and consider solutions that can work in our context,” said Mr Lee.
