PHASING OUT OF FOREIGN WORKERS

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Acting Minister for Labour whether the Government intends to carry out its announced policy to phase out all foreign workers by 1990 in view of what the Prime Minister said during his recent visit to the Philippines that "the Government would not phase out foreign workers from non-traditional sources in five years".

Mr Lee Yock Suan: The Government's policy is to progressively reduce our dependence on foreign workers. The policy is however administered flexibly. Foreign workers have been admitted in large numbers in the past to solve our labour shortage. We cannot phase them out abruptly without affecting economic growth. Moreover, as shown by recent experience, a pool of foreign workers helps to cushion the impact on Singaporeans of job losses during a recession.

The government is however mindful of the potential adverse social, economic and political consequences of having a large number of foreign workers especially unskilled ones in Singapore. The Ministry of Labour has a programme to phase out non-traditional source workers in the manufacturing and commerce sectors. The programme is almost completed. The target date is 1992 not 1990. Non-traditional source workers are however still allowed in construction, shipbuilding and domestic service, where the jobs are shunned by Singaporeans. Our dependence on foreign workers in these and other sectors will be gradually reduced as and when there are enough Singaporeans willing to take up these jobs.

We will continue to allow the recruitment of skilled foreign workers of economic value to Singapore. Those who will raise our productivity and contribute towards economic growth will be considered for employment on a longer-term basis.