Reducing migrant worker population will impact Singapore economy: Industry groups

Foreign workers play an important role in keeping Singapore's economy going and the country would lose its competitive edge if their numbers are reduced, several industry groups said on Wednesday amid calls to cut the reliance on migrant labourers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy thinkers and parliamentarians recently called for a rethink of Singapore's reliance on migrant labour amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 30,000 migrants, including Indians staying in crowded dormitories. A cut back in the number of foreign workers, several of whom are involved in the labour-intensive industries, would also have a ripple effect on jobs for Singaporeans and housing prices, said theses groups.

Foreign workers make up more than 90 per cent of Singapore's COVID-19 cases, totalling 32,876 as of Wednesday noon. Foreign worker population and their housing conditions in Singapore have been in the spotlight amid the COVID-19 outbreak, with some calling for change to migrant worker policies.

On Wednesday, several trade associations and ethnic chambers of commerce noted the important role foreign workers play in keeping Singapore's economy going. "Given Singapore's limited manpower resources, we would not be able to stay competitive if there are insufficient migrant workers to complement the local workforce in our sectors," said the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), the Association of Singapore Process Industries (ASPRI) and the Association of Singapore Marine Industries (ASMI) in a joint statement.

"Should Singapore lose its competitive edge in various industries, demand for labour will fall and jobs, livelihoods and businesses will be at stake," the statement said. "Consequently, there will also be fewer PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and technicians) jobs for Singaporeans, such as those in the export-oriented industries," the Channel quoted the statement as saying.

The Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL) said reducing the number of foreign workers in the construction sector would also make companies less able to compete for strategic projects such as building new manufacturing facilities, energy plants and tourist attractions. Housing projects, including the state-built apartments under the Housing and Development Board, would become more expensive and take a longer time to build, it added.

Currently, the construction industry employs about 300,000 foreign workers and 100,000 locals. "One important question is whether Singaporeans can accept higher costs and inconveniences if many of the rank-and-file jobs that keep our industry running are hard to fill by locals," said the Specialists Trade Alliance of Singapore (STAS) in a statement.

It gave the example of the maintenance of lifts and escalator, saying that fewer migrant workers would result in "further strains" and have "spillover effects" on costs and the safe operation of buildings other industries and workers rely on. The STAS comprises 11 association members, including the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Association of Singapore, the Singapore Plumbing Society and the Singapore Lift & Escalator Contractors and Manufacturers Association.

The industry groups and ethnic chambers of commerce also noted that the "large majority" of employers in Singapore are responsible for looking after their migrant workers. "As a baseline, the regulatory framework for migrant workers in areas such as housing, employment privileges and workplace safety and health is robust and has progressively improved over the years. We note that most employers comply with these regulations," said the STAS.

In their joint statement on Wednesday, the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that migrant workers have enabled Singapore to stay competitive. "Migrant workers take on many of the lower-end jobs in Singapore. This allows the vast majority of Singaporeans to take on PMET jobs, and help in creating an innovation-based economy as well.

"Thus, we urge the government and Singaporeans to carefully consider the next steps on migrant workers," said the chambers. The government has told industries in the past to cut their dependence on foreign workers, citing it as a longstanding objective and introducing more job automation.

In February, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo had reiterated this strategy of reducing dependence on foreign workers in Parliament as she explained why the government had then rejected suggestions to remove foreign worker levies during this period of the economic slowdown. But restarting the economy amidst the worst recession being faced in Singapore due to coronavirus would require all hands to be out on the jobs, albeit in phases given the cautious approach to lifting coronavirus controlling measures, industry observers said.

Singapore government has also been providing full support to foreign workers in the COVID-19 pandemic with medical as well as continuing wage payment scheme despite stopping work, especially at multi-billion-dollar worth of projects under construction, the observers pointed out..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)