Singapore to keep foreign workers at one-third of workforce: minister
Xinhua, July 14, 2015 Adjust font size:
The growth pace of foreign workforce should broadly be in tandem with that of local workforce, said Singapore's Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say in Parliament on Tuesday.
Lim said the aim of Singapore government is to moderate the inflow of foreign manpower at a pace that can be accommodated. Currently, the foreign share of Singapore's workforce is about one- third and the government intends to maintain this.
The overall annual foreign workforce growth moderated from 144, 500 in 2007 to 34,000 in 2014. The minister for manpower said the slowdown occurred in all sectors, from services to construction to manufacturing.
Lim also noted that Singapore government has no intention to do away with foreign worker levies, saying that reducing or doing away with levies would not benefit Singaporean workers.
Lim clarified that employers may prefer to hire cheaper foreign workers to maximize their quota, thus, the salary of local workers may also be suppressed and this could deter investment in manpower- lean technology and solutions. Endi