FOREIGN WORKERS ENGAGED BY TOWN COUNCIL CLEANING CONTRACTORS (Liberalization in granting work permits)

Mr Chew Heng Ching asked the Minister for Labour if he will, in view of the tight labour market, be more liberal in granting work permits to foreign workers engaged by town council cleaning contractors.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the foreign worker policy has been liberalized in March this year to allow companies in the services sector to recruit workers from the traditional source for up to 10% of their workforce. Cleansing contractors can recruit foreign workers under this policy.

I must, however, dispel the notion that foreign workers are a simple answer to enable the town councils to maintain cleanliness in public housing estates at lower cost. Foreign workers are subject to the levy which will be $300 per month from 1st August this year. They will also have to be provided with accommodation. In comparison, some local cleansing workers are paid only $8 to $12 per day for work from about 7.00 am to about noon. This works out to $240 to $360 per month if they work every day in the month.

Besides such low pay, the cleaners also have to work harder as they are expected to service more HDB flats per worker. This is partly because of the labour shortage and partly because contractors tend to cut corners to win the cleaning contracts.

The availability of workers is only one aspect of the problem and it hinges on the pay level as there are still some lowly educated, older Singaporeans who are willing to do such jobs. Two other aspects are, firstly, contract specifications, and secondly, proper supervision to ensure that cleanliness standards are met. There must also be increase in productivity through mechanisation and better work methods. Otherwise, higher manning levels must result in higher cost to the residents even if there is greater access to foreign workers.

Higher conservancy costs are inevitable with our manpower constraint and rising income levels. To keep conservancy fees down, HDB residents must learn not to litter. For example, I have been told that certain HDB blocks are reasonably clean in the morning after the cleaners have done their jobs. However, they are badly littered by the time the residents return from work. Besides keep-clean campaigns, there has to be stronger enforcement against littering.

Mr Chew Heng Ching (Eunos GRC): I agree with the answer given by the Minister but I would like to ask the Minister whether, in his view, to allow 1,000 foreign workers as cleaners in HDB estates, it is less important than allowing 100 foreign workers in, say, the construction industry or the electronics industry which will benefit only a few companies. Going by the answer given by the Minister, he seems to imply that automation and higher conservancy charges may be the answer. But in practice the tight labour market situation has resulted in many Singaporeans not prepared to take up jobs as cleaners even in spite of higher pay because of the poor working environment. Would the Minister also consider relaxing perhaps the quota on engagement of cleaners by cleaning contractors?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, the thrust of my answer is that the labour shortage is only one aspect of the problem and I think the Member agrees with me. So I hope that Members in their role as town councillors will look at the wider perspective and not just the labour shortage alone because the labour shortage depends also on other factors, for example, the pay levels. If there are many cases where the contractors are in fact paying this level as I have quoted, then obviously they cannot get many workers.

The other factor is that I do not know whether the contracts are clearly spelling out the kind of standards you expect - how many workers per block, and whether the managing agents in fact supervise closely. These are the other factors. And I think the councillors should also consider enforcement against littering.

If despite all these measures, there have to be more foreign workers, then my Ministry will look into it.