PSP proposes raising EP, S-Pass qualifying salaries, introducing levies and quotas

THE Progress Singapore Party (PSP) is calling for higher qualifying salaries for Employment Pass (EP) and S-Pass holders, new levies and quotas, and nationality-based caps.

The PSP is "not advocating a closed Singapore", but is concerned about the "quality, number, and concentration" of foreign workers here, said PSP Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai in Parliament on Tuesday.

He called for priority to be given to preventing displacement of local workers by foreigners, rather than implementing legislation that tackles displacement after the fact.

Mr Leong and fellow PSP NCMP Hazel Poa had filed a motion on foreign talent policy, calling upon the government "to take urgent and concrete action to address the widespread anxiety among Singaporeans on jobs and livelihoods caused by the foreign talent policy" and provisions in some free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore.

Mr Leong laid out three specific proposals. First, the PSP proposes increasing the qualifying salaries for EPs and S-Pass to S$10,000 and S$4,500 respectively, over the next three years, and introducing an immediate S$1,200 monthly levy on EP holders.

Second, it proposes a 10 per cent cap on workers from a single nationality as a percentage of a company's staff strength, in each business function. The PSP also proposes a combined quota of 25 per cent to 30 per cent for work pass holders and Permanent Residents (PR) "in the long run".

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Third, the PSP wants a reduction in the number of PRs and new citizenships awarded to work pass holders, though it did not specify a figure.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong had also filed a motion on Singaporean jobs and livelihoods, with both motions being debated together on Tuesday. Having filed the motions, Mr Wong and Mr Leong were first and second to speak respectively.

In his speech, Mr Leong said that his party is against any attempts to link the public discourse on CECA to racism. Their focus is on why the "jobs and livelihoods situation for many Singaporeans has worsened over the last 20 years", he said.

He added that while the PSP feels that the government has not shown that CECA has generated net benefits for Singapore, CECA was not the party's focus in Tuesday's debate.

The PSP agrees that "the right foreign talent" is needed to complement the Singaporean core in the workforce, said Mr Leong. But he questioned the quality of the many foreign workers who have entered over the years, drawing a distinction between "average work pass holders" and "real foreign talent".

He raised seven questions that he said Singaporeans had for the government, including: why many Singaporeans face difficulties in finding good jobs; if there are really more jobs created for Singaporeans, given the problem of underemployment; and "what has gone wrong" with the education system to result in a skills mismatch.

He also asked what skills "average work pass holders" have that Singaporeans do not; and, if they do not necessarily have unique skills, why they "dominate" certain industries.

Finally, he asked why the government was allowing "unfair wage competition" and why it considers discrimination as something practised by only a minority of employers.

He implied that discrimination is more widespread, with "networks" among main contractors, outsourcing vendors, recruitment agencies, human resource managers, and even top management. 

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