Debated in Parliament on 5 Aug 2014.
Ms Mary Liew asked the Minister for Manpower what is the dependency ratio ceiling of Singaporeans to foreigners who are employed (i) on board harbourcraft vessels within our port limits; and (ii) under the Tuas South Sand Reclamation Project.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) and the e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) have been working closely on the efforts to attract Singaporeans to join the Harbour Craft sector. However, not many Singaporeans are keen on the job, which involves long periods of performing physically arduous tasks in open waters.
Given that piloting harbour craft vessels is an essential part of our port operations and the difficulty in recruiting locals, the harbour craft operators' access to foreign workers is controlled more by manning requirements, rather than by how many locals they employ. The manning requirements would be determined based on the type of craft, operations and purpose.
For reclamation work, it is also difficult to attract Singaporeans to join the sector. Workers are expected to labour for long periods under the sun in the open waters. Yet, reclamation is similarly essential to Singapore; it provides us more land for Singaporeans' economic, social and recreational needs. Like for harbour craft operators, we control reclamation contractors' access to foreign workers based more on the scale of their reclamation work, rather than by the number of locals they employ.
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