Philippines allays fear over Singapore foreign worker policy

Baldoz said despite the new restrictions on foreign workers in Singapore, its business community continues to favour employing foreign workers likes overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“The Singapore government has amended its Employment of Foreign Manpower Act in July 2012 restricting the entry of foreign workers due to a policy shift. But this does not mean foreigners will no longer be permitted into Singapore to work,” Baldoz said in a statement.

“On the contrary, the Singapore business sector has made its position known favouring the employment of more foreign workers, notwithstanding the restrictive policies of the Singapore government,” she added.

Baldoz said Filipino workers who want to find jobs in Singapore must also understand that the new policy of the country applies to all foreign workers and not just against Filipinos.

“I believe our OFWs have established themselves in niche markets that cannot readily be replaced,” Baldoz said.

“Be that as it may, we are prepared with our reintegration programmes for the few OFWs who may be affected by the foreign worker reduction policy,” she added.

Baldoz said she received a report from Philippine Labour Attache to Singapore Vicente Cabe, who noted that the island-state’s government released a population white paper in January admitting that Singapore will continue to need a significant number of foreign workers to complement the Singaporean core in its workforce.

The paper hastened to add, however, that it cannot allow an unlimited number of foreign workers to overwhelm the total population, Baldoz said.

She said the white paper projected that the entry of foreign workers will slow down, but made it clear that certain groups of workers will continue to be filled up by foreigners.

They include healthcare and care workers for the elderly because of Singapore’s ageing population; foreigners doing routine and low-skilled jobs in construction, retail, and food services; and highly-skilled and professionals with cutting-edge skills and abilities, Baldoz said.

“As of 1 July 2012, the Ministry of Manpower has reduced the dependency ratio ceilings (DRCs), which is the percentage of foreign workers allowed in a particular company, in varying degrees depending on the sector concerned,” Cabe said.

He said that in the services sector, the DRC was reduced from 50 per cent to 45 per cent, while in the manufacturing sector, the DRC was reduced from 65 per cent to 60 per cent.

He further said the issuance of work passes was divided into three categories: work permits for workers belonging to the low and semi-skilled categories with a salary below 2,000 Singapore dollars (Bt$47,000); S-passes for mid-level skilled workers with a salary of at least S$2,000; and professionals and managerial workers under employment pass (E-pass) whose salaries are at least S$3,000 and above with sub-categories under this group.

In the S-pass category, the sub-DRC for all sectors has been reduced from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, Cabe said. The Department of Labour said Singapore’s foreign manpower quota reduction was a reversal of the policy announced in 2011 about the country’s need to hire foreign workers to support the growth targets of the manufacturing and services sectors and to sustain overall economic growth.