Singapore
SINGAPORE has tried both the carrot and the stick to wean companies off over-reliance on foreign labour, but the novel coronavirus might just be the final straw for employers.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) put a de facto freeze on new work passes in mid-March - before a two-month circuit breaker shuttered many businesses - and there is no word yet on whether the halt will lift when the quasi-lockdown ends in early June.
In line with tighter entry controls, MOM stopped issuing all classes of new work passes for foreigners outside the country from March 18 onwards. Case-by-case exemptions, which are very limited, include workers deemed essential in industries such as health care, transport...