There are about 300 companies on the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) watch list for unfair hiring practices today said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say.
Concurrently, there has been a rise in the hiring of local professionals in the last three years.
The topic of fair hiring was brought up by Minister Lim on two occasions recently - the Institute of Banking and Finance Distinction on 29 September and in a written Parliamentary reply to a question by NTUC Assistant-Secretary General Patrick Tay on 2 October 2017.
Greater Scrutiny
Minister Lim said the Manpower Ministry (MOM) takes into consideration whether employers have treated local workers fairly when it processes applications for Employment Passes (EP).
“While the vast majority of employers are fair, there is evidence that a small minority are not. For these employers, we subject their EP applications to further scrutiny under the Fair Consideration Framework watch list,” warned Minister Lim in his Parliamentary reply.
In all, about 1,700 EP applications were either withdrawn by the firms or rejected or withheld by MOM.
More PMETs Hired
This differentiated approach for fair and unfair employers has resulted in more local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) being hired in the past three years.
According to Minister Lim, from 2014 to 2016, some 105,000 local PMETs were hired, six times that of the 17,000 EPs issued.
NTUC’s Response
Responding to the update, ASG Patrick Tay emphasised that with a very tight labour market situation in Singapore, employers should explore various ways to hire, develop and strengthen their Singaporean core in order to build a pipeline of talent today and for the future.
“Employers and businesses should tap on the suite of schemes and support under 'Adapt and Grow' and work with NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and our various career centres to tap on their databases of job seekers. I hope to see even more local PMETs landing jobs through the many new job openings and growth sectors identified. This requires workers and employers to stay agile, able and adaptable,” he said.
