Construction firms prepare for prolonged manpower crunch

Singapore

FIRMS in the built-environment sector are bemoaning a protracted manpower crunch with the news on Monday that travellers from India - a key source of labour - will face tighter border measures.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that Singapore will tighten border measures for travellers from India by reducing entry approvals for non-Singapore Citizens/ Permanent Residents.

In addition, all travellers arriving from India, including those with travel history to India in the last 14 days, will, from 11.59pm on April 22, serve an additional seven-day Stay Home Notice (SHN) at their place of residence after their 14-day SHN at dedicated facilities.

India, which is fighting a second wave of infections, locked down its capital New Delhi from Monday night. The country posted its worst daily death toll on Tuesday - 1,761 - bringing India's toll to 180,530.

Total coronavirus cases in India stand at 15.32 million. Tuesday brought 259,170 new infections; it was the sixth day the figure shot past 200,000.

Whether the latest move will have a significant impact on the local economy remains to be seen, though Enterprise Singapore noted that bilateral trade between Singapore and India amounted to S$6.4 billion in Q1 2021, an increase of 8.5 per cent from S$5.9 billion in Q1 2020.

Meanwhile, local businesses with operations in India or which rely on foreign labour from the country may feel the pinch first.

In response to queries from The Business Times, Singapore Business Federation (SBF) chief executive Lam Yi Young said the federation is in touch with Singapore companies with operations in India, but has not received requests for assistance linked to the New Delhi lockdown.

Companies in the construction sector are taking news of the tightened border measures on the chin.

Allan Tan, managing director of United Tec Construction, said he believes the government is aware of the impact of the decision on the current manpower shortage faced by the sector, but has "no choice since public health and safety comes first".

But he added that the resulting aggravation of the labour crunch would drive up labour costs.

The construction industry is heavily reliant on foreign workers, particularly those from India and Bangladesh. It has been struggling to cope with a shortage of these workers, even as the Manpower Ministry announced last Dec 15 that it had eased restrictions on new work permit and S Pass applications to address the labour shortfall.

Hooi Yu Koh, chairman and chief executive of Kori Holdings, warned that while companies may not feel the pinch now - with the number of foreign workers from India granted entry approvals already relatively low - they will do so down the line, and must prepare for the manpower crunch to last longer than expected.

Kenneth Loo, executive director and chief operating officer of Straits Construction, echoed a common refrain that while the news was expected, it will make it more challenging for companies. He said that "companies need to come up with something to manage the situation" and to work around the restrictions.

United Tec's Mr Tan said he hopes the government "can lend further support to the industry, which is still struggling to recover".

Separately, MOH said travellers from Hong Kong will only serve a seven-day SHN at their place of residence. This applies to travellers who have remained in Hong Kong in the last 14 consecutive days and who enter Singapore from 11.59pm on April 22.

On critical and essential official travel, the ministry said: "To facilitate critical and essential official travel in a safe manner, we will allow fully-vaccinated individuals who travel to higher-risk countries/ regions as part of an official delegation to be subjected to a stringent testing and self-isolation." This kicks in at the same time as all the other border measures.

Travellers must adhere to a strict event-by-event controlled itinerary while overseas and undergo Covid-19 PCR tests on-arrival and on Day 3, Day 7, and Day 14 of their return. They must also undergo a seven-day self-isolation period at home (or in a hotel) upon return. They may leave their place of accommodation only to commute to the PCR test site or to their workplace for essential work that cannot be done remotely.

Travellers who are not fully-vaccinated will be subjected to prevailing border measures upon their return.

Finally, MOH said that all Long-Term Pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to the United Kingdom and South Africa will be allowed entry into Singapore, noting that the Republic's existing border control and domestic measures have been able to contain the risks of community spread from imported cases with variants of the virus.

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