FOREIGN WORKER EMPLOYMENT QUOTAS

FOREIGN WORKER EMPLOYMENT QUOTAS

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(Review): **

13.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) if the Ministry will review current foreign worker employment quotas that were set at a time when Singapore was experiencing high growth, low retrenchments and very strong job creation; (b) how the Ministry ensures that companies employing foreign workers comply with the labour laws and other work permit conditions such as housing; and (c) if he will provide an update on the Ministry's discussions with employment agencies to provide better protection to our foreign workers.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: With the economic downturn, the inflow of foreign workers will also slow down. However, even in a slow down, our economy still needs foreign workers. Many of them take on jobs that Singaporeans may not want to do or are unable to fill, like in Construction and Marine. Foreign workers also help to keep our companies competitive against global competitors and keep jobs within Singapore. If companies become uncompetitive in Singapore, they may decide to relocate to other countries and we will lose more jobs. This will be a lose-lose outcome.

We will continue to monitor closely the employment situation. What is more important is to help local workers become more employable and more resilient. This will be a win-win outcome. Win for companies and win for our workers. For this reason, we institutionalised the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) Scheme to help the lower income and older workers. More recently, MOM together with our tripartite partners, launched the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) on 1st December 2008 to help companies cut costs and save jobs, as well as build up our workforce capabilities. SPUR provides enhanced course fee funding and absentee payroll, but these benefits are only for local workers, therefore making it worthwhile for employers to send their local workers for training during the downturn and save costs at the same time.

Mdm Halimah also asked about companies' compliance with our labour laws and work permit regulations. Companies employing foreign workers must comply with these laws regardless of the economic situation. If they employ foreign workers, they are expected to provide jobs for these workers. If employers have no or insufficient work and are no longer in a position to take care of their well being, they should repatriate the workers. Apart from acting on complaints from workers and the public, MOM also proactively inspects foreign workers' quarters to surface any cases of unacceptable housing, workers without having jobs or who have not been paid by their employers. Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act (EFMA) or Employment Act (EA), employers can be fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed up to six months if they breach the work pass conditions, such as failing to provide acceptable housing for their foreign workers. In addition, the Ministry will also debar errant employers from employing foreign workers in future.

Employment agencies are important intermediaries that play a useful role in the protection of foreign workers. Last year, the Ministry reviewed the employment agency

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licensing regulations to prohibit EAs from offering incentive payments or rebates to employers as consideration or inducement for hiring foreign workers through them. This serves to prevent foreign workers from being exploited and being made to bear the cost of such incentive payments and rebates in order to secure employment in Singapore. Employment agencies that are found to have breached licence regulations are liable to have their licence revoked and their security deposit of $20,000 forfeited. We have also been working with foreign embassies here with regard to errant agents in the source countries. MOM will continue to review the employment agencies' industry, and will be engaging industry members on ways to better protect foreign workers.

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