SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has made a strong case for Singapore to continue with its calibrated immigration policy as the country faces the prospect of an ageing population.
The ministry outlined three broad approaches in a paper on population and the economy, released on Tuesday.
Firstly, MTI said
Singapore should continue to raise productivity through business
restructuring and retraining of the workforce.
Secondly, the
country should also work towards raising the resident labour force
participation rate. However, the ministry said there is a limit to this.
While
a percentage point increase in the labour force participation rate will
add about 30,000 resident workers to Singapore's labour force of 3.2
million, it is not possible to continually increase the figure by one
percentage point every year.
That is because the percentage of
economically active Singaporeans between 25 and 64 years old is already
high -- at 80.7 per cent.
Then there are those who will not enter the workforce due to family and other care-giving priorities.
"Nonetheless,
we should continue to strive to ensure that those who wish to work can
do so, and to introduce suitable policies that can help residents to
remain economically productive, no matter what their personal
circumstances may be," said MTI.
The third strategy is to have a
calibrated level of immigration and foreign manpower -- both for
high-skilled and low-skilled workers.
Trade and Industry Minister
Lim Hng Kiang said foreign manpower is needed to complement Singapore's
resident workforce, and support the construction, health and social
services sectors.
He said foreign manpower is also needed to
anchor and build up new sectors in Singapore -- such as the biomedical
and aerospace industries.
Mr Lim said: "If you train
Singaporeans to fill up the sector before you launch the sector, you may
lose the opportunity, and you take too long.
"So our strategy
is to bring the sector in, allow the companies to hire foreign talent,
workers, and meanwhile we train Singaporean workers to fill up the jobs.
If you tell Rolls Royce, wait until we train all the workers and
technicians, I think we would have missed the investments."
The paper goes on to explain the role of foreign manpower in Singapore.
The
ministry estimates that by 2030, the number of Singaporeans who are
professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs) as well as technicians
and associate professionals (TAP) will rise.
So there will be a continued need for foreign workers in low-skilled jobs to complement the resident workforce.
High-skilled
foreign manpower will also help companies as they restructure to meet
the needs of the new economy because the skills and capabilities that
new industries need may not always be immediately available in the
Singaporean workforce.
The paper said having a "readily-available
foreign manpower with the necessary skill sets" allows Singapore to
anchor these emerging industries, while the country develops the
pipeline of Singaporean workers.
MTI added that foreign manpower
also helps to cushion Singaporeans from unemployment during downturns.
This was seen during the recession years of 2008-2009, as well as
post-911 and the SARS period.
The foreign workforce also
contributes to Singapore's taxes. The ministry said while foreigners
currently account for about 20 per cent of all income taxpayers, they
contribute more than 25 per cent of Singapore's total personal income
taxes.
Foreigners living and working in Singapore also add to
the GST tax base. "Their tax contributions increase the fiscal resources
for government to meet various public expenditure needs, including
social programmes and transfers to maintain a progressive fiscal
system," said MTI.
The ministry said calibrating the inflow of foreign manpower will be a delicate balance.
An
overly liberal access to low-skilled foreign manpower could depress
wages for low-skilled jobs or encourage businesses to rely on cheap
labour instead of making productivity improvements.
Too much
high-skilled foreign manpower may lead to Singaporeans feeling a sense
of displacement. The physical infrastructure, which is being ramped up,
may also be placed under stress in the immediate term.
However,
the ministry explained that an overly restrictive foreign manpower
policy will have a detrimental impact on both the economy and society.
"We may have a less vibrant economy, with fewer job opportunities and
lower wage growth," it said.
It added that there are trade-offs
Singaporeans have to bear in mind when considering the appropriate level
and pace of foreign manpower inflow.
"We have pursued economic
growth not for its own sake, but for the opportunities and benefits that
a vibrant economy brings," said the ministry.
The latest report comes as the government launches a national conversation on the future of the country.
The
National Population and Talent Division is also putting together a
white paper on population policies, due out early next year.
- CNA/al
saysay i hope not only. we need to know the details on theground how they execute it. we know leaders may job is say say say only, but on the other hand who know how the saying is done.
how about thos eiilegal ones and uses other means to cum in here but work? youknow these people also add to the number of jobs they will snatch away from sgreans. how?
Originally posted by troublemaker2005:saysay i hope not only. we need to know the details on theground how they execute it. we know leaders may job is say say say only, but on the other hand who know how the saying is done.
how about thos eiilegal ones and uses other means to cum in here but work? youknow these people also add to the number of jobs they will snatch away from sgreans. how?
Snatch jobs from SGians who snatched from West?
calibrated immigration ?
in wat objective?
does it mean last time the policies no calibrate 1?
sg is conjested, and we know the past too relax poliy now lots of zombie walk our island.
say 'calibrate' but on the ground i askk how to do it? we need an overhaul - if not is chui kon lan par buay song arh!
not only this, i also ask our those social pass visit? how to ensure they cum in here not to do other things?