S’pore has to go ‘cold-turkey’ on foreign workers
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S’pore has to go ‘cold-turkey’ on foreign workers: Tin Pei Ling
Singapore needs to go “cold-turkey” after years of opening its gates wide to large numbers of foreigners, says Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling.
In a note on her Facebook page posted on Sunday evening, Tin, who represents Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC), said she held this view even after meeting a group of local businessmen who were struggling to find workers.
“I believe the current moves to constrain foreign labour force growth is the right long-term measure, especially so given the limited physical capacity we have,” she wrote.
“In a way, Singapore has to go into ‘cold-turkey’ after years of allowing huge inflows of foreigners. Politics should be about having the courage to make the best decision at any given point in time, and act on it,” she added.
Tin also pointed out that the country needs to acknowledge the “painful tradeoffs” it is making with the government’s new policies on foreign workers in place, referring to the impact of the policy on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To do that, she said, Singapore needs to also give more help and time for SMEs and businessmen here to adjust to “the new circumstances”.
In speaking to them, Tin said they do understand the government’s need to reduce foreigner inflows, pointing out that “they are Singaporeans too”, although she noted their belief that the anti-foreigner sentiment tells but one side of the story, pushed forward by a group of vocal individuals.
“Their current plight shows that this is a complex issue, that foreign manpower is not all bad, and is in fact an important complement to our own labour force,” she wrote.
Tin’s comments come as Singapore struggles to deal with the impact of a rapid growth in population after millions of foreign workers were welcomed into the country over the past decade.
The government’s liberal immigration policy has been widely viewed as the reason for rising cost of living, housing and healthcare, as well as the source of greater competition for jobs and places in schools here for locals.
The 28-year-old MP was the target of online criticism as a greenhorn in last year’s general election, where she stood alongside emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in the GRC against a National Solidarity Party team that included the election’s youngest candidate Nicole Seah.
She has since made active efforts to help the mentally ill community in Singapore, among other causes she has advanced in her ward, Macpherson.Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/s%E2%80%99pore-has-to-go-%E2%80%98cold-turkey%E2%80%99-on-foreign-workers--tin-pei-ling.html;_ylt=AmTB8CK2T6CkTCYfT_.VuvQCV8d_;_ylu=X3oDMTN1ZDEydDBjBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBTaW5nYXBvcmVTRgRwa2cDYzc3YWY4Y2MtZTNjNy0zZmMyLWIzMDAtNWE1ZGM3YTFlNzczBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2QxZTI5ODkxLWJlYjItMTFlMS04YzdkLWJhZDAzODZiOWFmYg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFuZGgwbmp1BGludGwDc2cEbGFuZwNlbi1zZwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANzaW5nYXBvcmUEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3
The original post:
Recent conversation with some local businessmen
I spoke with a group of local SME businessmen recently who shared their woes about the current tight labour force. They told me that the recent measures to tighten control over foreign labour has affected, and threatens to suffocate, their businesses and growth. Running SMEs is already tough and stressful. Now they are having to get jobs done with less manpower, because they have to meet their obligations to customers who do not care whether they have enough workers or not.
I asked why they do not hire more Singaporeans to do the jobs they offer. They told me they try to do so, but the reality is that few Singaporeans want to take up those jobs, even if they raise the pay. Moreover, Singapore is at 2.1% unemployment (i.e., virtually full employment) and they simply cannot find enough locals to fill positions.
I asked if they could raise productivity, e.g., install new machines and processes, so that they can make do with fewer workers. The Minister for Finance in this year’s Budget had announced several measures to help businesses with such improvements. But the businessmen told me that these measures take time, whereas they have immediate labour needs.
Actually, the businessmen understand why the government has to reduce the inflow of foreigners. They also know of comments, through online and mainstream media, arguing how foreigners were stealing local jobs and how taking a bus ride felt like travelling in a foreign country. They are Singaporeans too, and understand such feelings expressed by Singaporeans. But they felt that this was only one side of the story, pushed by a vocal group. Their current plight shows that this is a complex issue, that foreign manpower is not all bad, and is in fact an important complement to our own labour force.
I fully sympathise with the challenges that the businesses face. However, I believe the current moves to constrain foreign labour force growth is the right long term measure, especially so given the limited physical capacity we have. In a way, Singapore has to go into “cold-turkey” after years of allowing huge inflows of foreigners. Politics should be about having the courage to make the best decision at any given point in time, and act on it. But we should also recognise the painful tradeoffs that we are making, and give more help, and time, for SMEs and local businessmen to adjust to the new circumstances.
Source:
http://www.facebook.com/notes/tin-pei-ling/recent-conversation-with-some-local-businessmen/410211549020745
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ok
what is she talking about??
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She is saying singapore needs to slow the influx of foreign workers into singapore. But that is up to her bosses to decide.
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very suspicious...
she finally changed her team for writing speech???
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read
"Recent conversation with some local businessmen"
just added.
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i thot for a moment the foreign workers are taking drugs
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Originally posted by TehJarVu:
i thot for a moment the foreign workers are taking drugs
I was pretty sure the one taking drugs was TPL.
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
very suspicious...
she finally changed her team for writing speech???
Her administrator wrote it?
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damn, so many content producers everywhere
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Originally posted by TehJarVu:
damn, so many content producers everywhere
And you people complain no jobs.
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Originally posted by charlize:
And you people complain no jobs.
We don't tell people we were at Lakeside MRT station, when we weren't,
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Originally posted by ditzy:
We don't tell people we were at Lakeside MRT station, when we weren't,
You are either at Lakeside or you are not at Lakeside.
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Originally posted by charlize:
And you people complain no jobs.
According to content: "Singapore is at 2.1% unemployment (i.e., virtually full employment)".
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Originally posted by dangerboi:
According to content: "Singapore is at 2.1% unemployment (i.e., virtually full employment)".
Virtually.
Like virtual reality.
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so say wrote onyl. any actions?
like that expect ppl to vote for you next election?
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Originally posted by troublemaker2005:
so say wrote onyl. any actions?
like that expect ppl to vote for you next election?
her next rally, wait got ppl go do flash mob... walk ard then simultanously stamp feet and go "I dunno what to say~"
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i wonder if she has a domestic helper at home?
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Originally posted by the Bear:
i wonder if she has a domestic helper at home?
Why you ask?
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Originally posted by charlize:
Why you ask?
let's see her go cold turkey
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Originally posted by the Bear:
let's see her go cold turkey
There are such things as Amah on Wheels you know.
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More investment = more jobs = more foreigners
Khaw explains policy dilemma during difficult times in 2005 and 2006
BY JESSICA CHEAM
THE Government's "yes" to investments and inflows of foreign workers which led to today's infrastructure crunch is also why Singapore now enjoys low unemployment and has room to raise wages at the bottom
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan made this point in a recent interview with The Straits Times, pointing out that from 2005 to 2006 following the 2003 Sars crisis and recession, Singapore was experiencing 'difficult times'.
It was looking for investments to create jobs for Singaporeans, but companies also needed foreigners to fill positions that required a wide range of skill sets.
People forget those were trying times for Singapore, he said, when the future was uncertain and the country struggled for a stretch to secure investments. Then suddenly, they came in a bunch.
"Do we take them or miss them? Sometimes we have to take a decision which has both negative as well as positive consequences. We have to weigh and make the trade-offs," he said.
So the Government had to make the tough choice of accepting the investments "knowing they'll be good for the country, but at the same time (knowing) infrastructure will be hit".
He was responding to a question on whether the Government would have done anything differently if it could go back four to five years.
If it had sought to be "populist", it would have said "no" to the big firms, he said. Then, when the global financial crisis hit in 2008, Singapore would have suffered badly.
It might still be in recession as many more people would have been out of jobs - but trains would be less crowded, he said.
But because it welcomed the investments, Singapore's economy bounced back with record 14.7 per cent gross domestic product growth in 2010.
That has kept unemployment low and enabled the National Wages Council to recommend wage adjustments upwards recently, he said.
So which is the better outcome? he asked. Today, it is "very hard to find consensus", but the answer to that question would have been a "no-brainer" 20 years ago. That is because there is now a comfortable middle-class who would rather forgo the investments, he said.
But young people graduating will want opportunities and jobs, he added. "You will get different reactions from different groups."
The minister, who is also chairman of the People's Action Party (PAP), is optimistic that the "infrastructure deficit" can be fixed - and anti-foreigner sentiment brewing in Singapore will ease.
His comments come a year after a watershed general election in which voters expressed unhappiness over the rapid inflow of foreigners and its adverse impact on infrastructure such as housing and transport, and the cost of living.
Asked what the PAP's biggest challenge is, Mr Khaw spoke of the challenge of satisfying a maturing society made up of groups whose interests diverge from one another's.
"Yet, you have to govern. You have to take into account what is the majority interest," he said.
KHAW BOON WAN ON A MATURING SOCIETY'S DIVERSE INTERESTS AND THE NEED FOR TRADE-OFFS
• Do you think the PAP can maintain its share of the popular vote in the coming years?
We must try. What would it take? It requires our voters to understand the larger picture and accept the need for trade-offs. It also requires the Government to explain more, engage more, and earn the trust and confidence of the people. The first two generations of political leaders and the people went through crises and became bonded. A new generation will need to forge a similar bond of trust and confidence.
• How will the Government get as many people on board with the decisions it has to make?
Engagement is necessary but not sufficient. It requires a certain maturity that at the end of the day, hard decisions, involving trade-offs, need to be made. Not all views can be taken on board. Indeed, as society matures, diverse interest groups will emerge, with often contradictory needs. There is no way one can satisfy all groups.
For it to work, we need patience and trust. Patience because it is time-consuming. Trust because without it, there can be no consensus or compromise.
• What are the challenges ahead for the PAP?
That satisfying all almost becomes impossible. What makes populist slogans attractive is they only tell half the story. They tell you what you like to hear but they haven't given you the bill. A responsible party must give both sides of the balance sheet. But very few or none of the opposition parties are doing that. And that's why incumbents find it challenging - not just here but all over the world.
Fortunately, the majority of Singaporeans do understand and support a responsible government. But what we must guard against is an overswing... and to retreat from globalisation.
Singapore succeeded because we opened to the world. It will continue to need to open to the world to succeed. Or our children will leave us for better opportunities elsewhere and we will be very lonely without them when we grow old. That will be very sad. Japan is a good live example.
• Any thoughts on the Hougang by-election?
It was a local election and it's over. So let's get back to business. We have many things to address. The world is in a state of flux, we're bound to have many crises, big and small, coming our way over the next few years.
Sometimes I think Singaporeans become too focused on the domestic, forgetting about the larger world. Sometimes we forget... there's no reason for us to be so insulated. The world affects us in multiple ways, we must always be very mindful of what's happening and take challenges in our stride.
• Population and demographic challenges are shaping up to be a big issue this year. What are your views on this?
At the end of the day, it is about what kind of Singapore we want. The technical challenge of how to house a particular population size can be solved technically. For example, we can always build higher or go deeper underground. But it is the political and social debate about the preferred nature of our society which is the more important and difficult discussion. What is the proportion of new to old citizens? What is the proportion of foreign to local workers? There are no right or wrong answers.
• As someone who was in government for a long time as a civil servant and now in politics, what are your biggest worries for Singapore?
That we forget how we have come so far, and take our future for granted. We succeeded because we have always focused on the longer-term, larger good of the majority, made the right trade-offs, and took the right choices.
If we swing into a purely "what is in it for me" mode, it will be very worrisome. We will lose our unity and our strength.
Top of the news. The Straits Times, Monday, June 4 2012, Pg A2
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Again when plp is talking abt the PMET of the FT. The elites try to confuse us using Foreign Workers. Most plp accept the need ot FW, and even those really real FT, foreigner with special skill. What most plp bring abt is the so call FT that are PMET and doing jobs most singaproean can do and willing to do. I like the part when the elites mention this "If we swing into a purely "what is in it for me" mode, it will be very worrisome. We will lose our unity and our strength." I thought the singaporean learn all this from the elites. Afterall they did mention that if they are not pay enough, there will be corruption or nobody willing to serve. So I think their idea is that it is ok for them to have this mode.
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16K a month.
Huat ah.
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go cold turkey on ur kate spade lah