CRANE OPERATORS

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Manpower whether he is aware that Singaporean skilled crane operators in the construction industry are facing dwindling income and potential unemployment as a result of his Ministry's policy on employment of foreign workers.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: There are about 800 tower cranes in Singapore serving the construction industry. The operators of these cranes are required to complete a course and test at the Construction Industry Training Institute (CITI). Currently there are about 1,500 licensed tower crane operators with approximately 37% foreigners.

In the last two years, there had been a drop in income and job opportunities for crane operators. But this is not just the result of entry of foreigners into this area. During this period the construction industry went into a decline. For the first half of this year, the industry's output is only 81% of the 1998 output over the same period. Under such circumstances, it is unfortunate but not unexpected that workers in the industry will suffer wage cuts. Since there are fewer construction projects, fewer cranes would be deployed and jobs for crane operator is bound to suffer. The prospects for crane operators are closely tied to the prospect for the construction industry. Once the industry picks up with economic recovery, I would expect them to also enjoy wage increase and more work opportunities.