FOREIGN WORKERS

Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for Manpower whether his Ministry will consider granting dependant passes to spouses of Q2 employment pass holders with an income far exceeding the stipulated salary ceiling of $2,000, so as to encourage the more mature and experienced foreign talent to take up jobs where Singaporeans have no expertise.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: A foreigner whose salary far exceeds the basic monthly salary of $2,000 will be considered favourably for a Q1 workpass which will allow him to bring in his dependants. Even if the foreigner does not possess the equivalent of a full NTC-2 certificate or 5 GCE `O' levels, we are prepared to consider him or her for a Q1 pass provided there is adequate and relevant expertise for the job in Singapore.

The purpose of the workpass system is to allow us to differentiate the different levels of talents, e.g. P1/P2 for the top level and Q1/Q2 for the middle management. This will help us to focus our efforts and grant of privileges to attract the different groups of foreign talent. Making exceptions to certain groups of Q2 workpass holders will only distort the current system. It would not be advisable to do so especially when we can accommodate these groups of foreigners under the current framework.