PMET Job Vacancies Filled by Singaporeans

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Acting Minister for Manpower with the tightening of our foreign workforce policies (a) how is the Ministry monitoring companies to ensure that PMET job vacancies are filled by Singaporeans and permanent residents instead of foreigners; and (b) in the past three years, whether the Ministry has encountered cases where companies, particularly those in the IT industry, retrench their local staff and subsequently fill the vacancies by employing work permit holders and, if so, what action is taken against these companies.

Mdm Speaker, unemployment rate among locals remained low in 2013 – the non-seasonally adjusted figure was 3.9% in June while the preliminary annual average was 2.8%. This is in part due to the fact that the economy is relatively healthy. We are generating many jobs and opportunities. In fact, we are generating more than there are Singaporean job seekers. Among local PMETs, the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was even lower at 2.6% in June 2013. Foreign manpower will continue to complement and augment our local workers because our economy plays a regional and global role. As a result of that, companies do invest and come to Singapore. Local companies continue to remain here and thrive and, in turn, they all create opportunities and jobs for our people. The Government's aim is to help Singaporeans have access to these opportunities. Part of it is to make sure that Singaporeans are also job ready

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and competitive so that they are able to take on the jobs that our economy creates. We also expect firms to consider Singaporean citizens fairly and objectively for PMET jobs. But it is ultimately the decision of employers to determine the best candidate for the job based on their evaluation of the applicants' credentials and experience. I think it is neither practical nor desirable for MOM to monitor or intervene in companies' hiring decisions, unless there have been discriminatory practices.

Instead, we have measures to help foster a level playing field, equip Singaporeans with the skills to be job ready and competitive, and also support those who are unfairly dismissed. First, we have to discourage firms from systematically favouring foreign PMETs based on cost reasons. This is addressed by our foreign worker framework. We have adjusted the qualifying thresholds for S Pass last year and Employment Pass (EP) this January to keep pace with rising local PMET salaries.

Second, we are sending a strong signal that we expect all firms to consider Singaporeans fairly for jobs, and create a more transparent labour market to match job-seekers with vacancies. These are done through the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF). With effect from August this year, employers who submit new EP applications will be required to first advertise the job vacancy on the new jobs bank administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) for at least 14 days. In addition, we are monitoring companies' proportion of PMEs that are Singaporean. Outliers will be identified for additional scrutiny in their work pass applications, and further action will be taken if necessary.

Third, we will continue to help our local PMETs be job ready through our education system and Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes. We also have in place efforts to match PMETs with job opportunities via WDA's CaliberLink. PMETs can approach CaliberLink for career consultancy services and to meet potential employers. Programmes with industry partners, such as professional conversion programmes (PCP) and the Max Talent programme, also help PMETs to move into growth sectors by equipping them with the requisite skills.

Lastly, we will also look into complaints of unfair dismissal, though not all cases are valid or substantiated. Some employers may have legitimate reasons to terminate the employment of workers due to performance-related reasons. Or it may also be due to internal restructuring where functions the locals are in are moved offshore leading to retrenchment, and new functions are added where there are not enough experienced locals. For cases that are valid or

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substantiated, there are existing legislative measures such as the Employment Act which has provisions to help employees seek recourse under the Act against unfair dismissal.

I would end by saying that the best solution to address employment issues is really to have an economy that is doing well and healthy, which in turn generates opportunities and jobs for our people.

Mdm Speaker, I have been receiving feedback from residents that, increasingly, they lay off Singaporeans especially in IT companies but they did not hire immediately. Later on, they hire foreigners with cheaper salaries. I would like to ask the Acting Minister: is there such a thing as whistle-blowing? Is there any helpline that people can call to report such cases? They said that nowadays companies are very smart, they do not hire immediately to replace but later on, they replace the staff with foreigners with cheaper salaries.

Mdm Speaker, the short answer is yes. Complainants can approach TAFEP to report these cases. We do monitor the situation. For example, if companies are engaging in discriminatory practices, the employees who were unfairly replaced and existing staff should call us and we will take a look. We will interview the people concerned. We will also look at the proportion of the employees that are Singaporeans within those companies, to determine whether there are unfair and discriminatory practices taking place.