Worker Accommodation Expenses as Percentage of Overall Cost of Employing Foreign Workers

Debated in Parliament on 3 Jul 2023.

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Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Ministry for Manpower about the proportion of overall employment costs attributed to foreign worker accommodation, the trend in accommodation costs over the past five years, and how the government plans to manage rising costs while ensuring affordability for projects and decent living conditions.
The Ministry of Manpower tracks only rental rates for commercial dormitories, not other accommodation types or broader business expenditure, with median monthly rents for new dormitory beds rising from about $280 in early 2019 to $420 in early 2023 due to inflation and strong post-pandemic demand.
Although the government has added nearly 17,000 dormitory beds since late 2022, the surge in foreign worker numbers—up 18% from pre-pandemic levels and 35% since early 2022—has outpaced supply, prompting calls for employers to adopt productivity measures or consider building their own dormitories to ease cost pressures.

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Yip Hon Weng

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what percentage of the overall cost of employing foreign workers can be attributed to foreign worker accommodation expenses; (b) whether data can be provided on the magnitude of the increase in accommodation costs for foreign workers over the past five years; and (c) how will the Ministry address the escalating cost of accommodation for foreign workers to ensure affordability of construction projects, while maintaining decent living conditions for the workers.

Tan See Leng

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) only tracks the rental rates for commercial dormitories licensed by MOM and not the cost of other types of migrant worker accommodation. MOM also does not have other business expenditure data related to hiring foreign manpower.

The median monthly rental rate of new contracts signed for commercial dormitory beds was $420 per worker in the first quarter of 2023, compared to about $280 in the first quarter of 2019. The significant increase in rental rates is due to inflationary pressure on operating costs and strong demand for dormitory beds resulting from employers hiring more foreign workers as the economy recovers from COVID-19.

The Government has worked with the industry to increase dormitory bed supply with the addition of nearly 17,000 beds since December 2022. However, the number of foreign workers in the Construction, Marine and Process sectors as of May 2023 was 18% higher than pre-COVID-19 levels and 35% higher than in January 2022 in the early days of the economy reopening. This is a significant increase and increased dormitory bed supply has not kept up with the demand surge. We urge employers to adopt productivity measures to reduce their reliance on foreign workers or consider applying to build construction temporary quarters and factory converted dormitories to house their workers. This will ease the pressure on accommodation costs.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Ministry for Manpower about the proportion of overall employment costs attributed to foreign worker accommodation, the trend in accommodation costs over the past five years, and how the government plans to manage rising costs while ensuring affordability for projects and decent living conditions.
The Ministry of Manpower tracks only rental rates for commercial dormitories, not other accommodation types or broader business expenditure, with median monthly rents for new dormitory beds rising from about $280 in early 2019 to $420 in early 2023 due to inflation and strong post-pandemic demand.
Although the government has added nearly 17,000 dormitory beds since late 2022, the surge in foreign worker numbers—up 18% from pre-pandemic levels and 35% since early 2022—has outpaced supply, prompting calls for employers to adopt productivity measures or consider building their own dormitories to ease cost pressures.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Worker Accommodation Expenses as Percentage of Overall Cost of Employing Foreign Workers | PAPERCUTS

Worker Accommodation Expenses as Percentage of Overall Cost of Employing Foreign Workers

Debated in Parliament on 3 Jul 2023.

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Ministry for Manpower about the proportion of overall employment costs attributed to foreign worker accommodation, the trend in accommodation costs over the past five years, and how the government plans to manage rising costs while ensuring affordability for projects and decent living conditions.
The Ministry of Manpower tracks only rental rates for commercial dormitories, not other accommodation types or broader business expenditure, with median monthly rents for new dormitory beds rising from about $280 in early 2019 to $420 in early 2023 due to inflation and strong post-pandemic demand.
Although the government has added nearly 17,000 dormitory beds since late 2022, the surge in foreign worker numbers—up 18% from pre-pandemic levels and 35% since early 2022—has outpaced supply, prompting calls for employers to adopt productivity measures or consider building their own dormitories to ease cost pressures.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Full Transcript

Yip Hon Weng

Tan See Leng

Summary written by AI (learn more)

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Ministry for Manpower about the proportion of overall employment costs attributed to foreign worker accommodation, the trend in accommodation costs over the past five years, and how the government plans to manage rising costs while ensuring affordability for projects and decent living conditions.
The Ministry of Manpower tracks only rental rates for commercial dormitories, not other accommodation types or broader business expenditure, with median monthly rents for new dormitory beds rising from about $280 in early 2019 to $420 in early 2023 due to inflation and strong post-pandemic demand.
Although the government has added nearly 17,000 dormitory beds since late 2022, the surge in foreign worker numbers—up 18% from pre-pandemic levels and 35% since early 2022—has outpaced supply, prompting calls for employers to adopt productivity measures or consider building their own dormitories to ease cost pressures.

Questions identified by AI (learn more)

Worker Accommodation Expenses as Percentage of Overall Cost of Employing Foreign Workers

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Yip Hon Weng

Tan See Leng

Summary

Questions Identified

Worker Accommodation Expenses as Percentage of Overall Cost of Employing Foreign Workers

Summary

Questions Identified

Full Transcript

Yip Hon Weng

Tan See Leng

Summary

Questions Identified