National Day Rally: Singapore to tighten criteria for work pass holders

SINGAPORE will tighten its criteria for those entering the city-state on Employment Passes (EPs) and S Passes, amid growing resentment towards foreign work pass holders, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

This will be done "gradually and progressively" so as to not introduce sudden shocks that might hurt businesses, he added in his televised National Day Rally speech on Sunday.

Work pass holders will therefore be able to join Singapore's workforce when and where they are most needed, but the labour market will not be flooded with more workers than it can absorb.

Singapore has raised salary cut-offs for EPs and S Passes in line with rising wages. In 2020, it raised the cut-offs twice and instituted a higher qualifying salary for the financial sector.

Mr Lee acknowledged the anxieties that middle income Singaporeans have over competition for jobs. The uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic have also worsened these worries. But he highlighted that work pass holders help to complement Singapore's workforce and grow the economy.

"In good times this attracts investments, which in turn creates more jobs for locals. In bad times, like last year, the foreign workforce shrinks, and this shields locals from worse job losses," Mr Lee said.

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While acknowledging that financial and IT companies do hire many foreigners, Mr Lee noted that these companies also perform regional and global functions that require both local and foreign talent.

They also operating in "rapidly" growing sectors, where certain skills are in short supply.

At the same time, Mr Lee added, these companies have recruited many Singaporeans and groomed the promising ones to take on senior and international positions.

"Had we not allowed them to import the EPs they needed, the companies would not have come here, and Singaporeans would have had fewer opportunities," said Mr Lee.

Another concern that Mr Lee brought up was the unfair treatment of employees at the workplace.

For instance, there have been complaints that some companies hire not on merit but using "familiar links and old boys' networks". They may also give foreigners better opportunities while making only "token gestures" with locals.

To deal with instances of unfair workplace practices, the government has decided to write into law the guidelines of the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices. "This will give them more teeth, and also expand the range of actions we can take," he said.

A tribunal will be set up to deal with workplace discrimination, including discrimination based on nationality, gender, age, race, religion, and disability. This approach mirrors how Singapore deals with disputes over salaries or wrongful dismissals.

Earlier in July, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng announced that a Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness was set up to look into the possibility of enacting laws to tackle workplace discrimination. It included members from the government, unions and employers.

But Mr Lee added that legal redress should be seen as a "last recourse". He hopes that it would be "seldom needed", but that the legal framework would cause affected parties to "work harder to settle the dispute through conciliation and mediation".

Mr Lee also said Singapore must not turn its back on work pass holders, and give others the impression that people here are xenophobic or hostile towards foreigners.

This will damage our reputation as an international hub, and cost us investments, jobs and opportunities, he added.

Said Mr Lee: "We must make it crystal clear to the world that Singapore is determined to stay open, in order to earn a living for ourselves. It is not just our policies which have to be outward and forward looking, but also our mindsets and values."\

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