[Singapore] Foreign worker policies may have to be tweaked: Lim Swee Say

by Joanne Chan
04:47 AM Jun 02, 2011


SINGAPORE - With foreign investments here bringing in more jobs than Singaporeans can fill, the labour movement is shifting its focus in line with ground sentiment expressed in the recent General Election: That Singaporeans should come first.

As a result, foreign labour policies may have to be tweaked, labour chief Lim Swee Say indicated yesterday as he acknowledged that being employed is not enough to satisfy the public's aspirations; Singaporeans want better jobs and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is reshaping itself towards this goal to be more pro-worker.

"Given the full employment situation ... it's only natural Singaporeans expect more can be done to enable them to take on better employment in Singapore," Mr Lim said at a media briefing on NTUC's leadership changes.

"Low-wage workers want higher wages. For PMETs (professionals, managers, executives, technicians), they want better and faster career advancement and so on ... This is something the labour movement recognises and accepts."

He said all segments of Singaporean workers - from rank-and-file and mature workers to women returning to the workforce and PMETs - must be protected, with ideas already being suggested by the unions. For instance, a cap on foreign PMETS.

"To avoid the situation whereby certain industries (or) companies are overly dominated by foreign PMETs ... some unions suggested introducing some dependency ceiling for PMETs," Mr Lim said.

Another suggestion: Give higher access to foreign workers to companies who hire mature workers or to firms that are committed to improving the skills and productivity of Singaporeans.

These ideas are not cast in stone and, in another new priority for the labour movement, it will engage the public and businesses to reflect their concerns, so there is greater transparency in policy formulation.

While many Singaporeans may be familiar with various policies, they may not know the rationale behind them, said Mr Lim.

Even as Singapore seeks the right balance between pro-business and pro-worker, he stressed that the two are not "mutually exclusive" and neither should come at the expense of the other. The labour movement wants to maintain the country's competitiveness.

NTUC will increase its outreach to non-unionised sectors to get them on board as early adopters of new policies.

New leaders come on board

NTUC's reshaping exercise comes as new leaders also come on board. Mr Ong Ye Kung, part of the People's Action Party team that lost in Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, has been promoted from assistant secretary-general to deputy secretary-general, replacing Madam Halimah Yacob, who is now Minister of State (Community Development, Youth and Sports).

Ms Cham Hui Fong, a former Nominated MP who has been overseeing industrial relations in NTUC, becomes assistant secretary-general - taking over Mrs Josephine Teo, who had been appointed as Minister of State (Finance and Transport).

Asked why Madam Halimah and Mrs Teo did not keep their NTUC appointments concurrently, Mr Lim said, "If you look at what the Prime Minister is doing with the new Cabinet, I'd say that everyone is very stretched now ... And on the part of the NTUC, I'm also using this opportunity to create more space as part of leadership development."

He added that it will be up to union delegates to choose his successor eventually: "My objective is to keep creating options ... for the delegates to select. The day the labour movement runs out of options, then I've failed in my duty."

NTUC deputy secretary-general Heng Chee How, who is also Senior Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office), and NTUC assistant secretary-general Seng Han Thong are the other key labour movement leaders.

In a statement on the leadership changes, Deputy Prime Minister and Manpower Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam extended "a warm hand of friendship" to the new team.

"My Minister of State (Tan) Chuan-Jin and I have just joined Ministry of Manpower as well, and together with Senior Parliamentary Secretary Hawazi Daipi, we certainly look forward to working closely with the NTUC team and employers," said Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister.

"There are challenges to be addressed, and I'm sure we can build on the strong fundamentals to create better jobs and better lives for all Singaporeans."


Via: http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110602-0000071/Foreign-worker-policies-may-have-to-be-tweaked--Lim-Swee-Say