Support for Companies Affected by Restrictions on Travellers from India

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the recent border restrictions on India will have a significant impact on the supply of workers to the construction industry; (b) what are the available alternative sources of labour supply for the construction sector; and (c) how can the Government assist construction companies impacted by the border restrictions and the increased number of quarantine cases at the workers’ dormitories.

The recent tightening of our border measures with India and other countries will have a significant impact on the supply of Work Permit holders for the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process (CMP) sectors.

This would lead to delays in our infrastructure projects. For example, about 85% of on-going BTO projects have already been delayed by about six to nine months beyond the Estimated Completion Dates originally indicated to flat buyers during project launches. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are expecting a further delay of three months, on top of the six to nine months previously communicated, arising from the recent border measures.

Projects in the Marine Shipyard sector could also face delays, which would erode Singapore’s global competitiveness and our ability to secure future projects in these sectors. This would potentially also result in the loss of local jobs. For the Process sector, projects facing delays could face cashflow issues, potentially also resulting in layoffs. In summary, while the recent border measures are necessary to safeguard our public health, there will be significant implications for various stakeholders and our economy.

While the current border measures remain in force, CMP firms can continue to source for WPHs from other countries, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). BCA has recently announced that it will temporarily allow new PRC construction WPHs to enter Singapore to work first and take their skills certification test locally instead of in the PRC. This will allow firms to continue bringing in workers even though some PRC Overseas Testing Centres had not resumed operations due to COVID-19. BCA and EDB are also working with industry partners to explore other measures to help alleviate the tight labour situation for the CMP sectors.

In addition, we will continue to help firms cope with the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have already announced a few support measures for the construction sector. First, we have granted an additional 49-day Extension of Time (EOT) for eligible public sector construction projects on top of the 122 days of EOT provided under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (COTMA). This allows contractors more time to complete their projects. Second, contractors for eligible public sector projects with an awarded contract sum of up to $100 million will receive 0.1% of the awarded contract sum for every month of delay as payment for non-manpower related qualifying costs under COTMA, without the need to provide detailed substantiation for their claims.

Third, we have also topped up the existing foreign worker levy rebates for CMP WPHs from $90 to $250 per worker per month, for the period between May to December 2021.

Fourth, we have tabled urgent legislation to put in place a framework to allow parties to apply to adjust the contract sum for their projects, in view of foreign manpower cost increases.

BCA and EDB will continue to engage firms and assess if additional measures are needed to help the CMP sectors through this crisis. That said, we must press on with our efforts to transform the CMP sectors to make them more productive and manpower-lean and reduce our overall reliance on migrant workers.