Restrictions on foreign worker inflow to persist for some time: Tan See Leng

Singapore

RESTRICTIONS on inflow of foreign workers from higher-risk countries are likely to persist for some time, as the authorities work towards managing the risk of Covid-19 community transmission in Singapore, Second Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said in Parliament on Tuesday.

"We can only increase these inflows when the situation in (their) home countries improves," Dr Tan told the House in response to MPs' questions.

"This is the only way we can ensure the safe inflow of the workers while managing and mitigating the risk of transmission in our community."

Singapore relies heavily on migrant workers from South Asian countries including India, which is now facing its worst Covid-19 crisis since the pandemic began. On April 22, the Republic announced an entry ban on all non-residents who have been in India in the last two weeks.

Even prior to this, however, businesses in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors have already been hard hit by the manpower crunch.

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In 2020, the number of Work Permit holders in these sectors declined by nearly 60,000, or 16 per cent, Dr Tan revealed.

Between November and April, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) granted entry approval to an average of 5,100 S Pass and Work Permit holders per month.

To help businesses tap workers from other sources, the government recently announced an increase in existing foreign worker levy rebates for Work Permit holders in the three sectors, from S$90 to S$250 per worker per month from May to December 2021.

Dr Tan said employers can make use of these rebates to bring in workers from alternative sources such as China, where the workers are generally higher-skilled but command higher wages.

"In the meantime, we encourage businesses to retain their existing migrant workers and tap on other workers that are already here in Singapore," said Dr Tan.

In response to a question from Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai on whether the non-resident employment decline in 2020 of 181,500 was matched by a decline in total population of non-residents in the same period, Dr Tan said the answer is yes.

For workers whose work pass expires or is cancelled, they would be required to leave Singapore in two to four weeks, he noted.

However, if the work pass holder is able to find employment before repatriation, Dr Tan said there is no reason to "purposefully force" these workers to return to their home country.

This is because they would incur additional recruitment fees from overseas employment agents, undergo additional Covid-19 testing and would have to serve a 21-day stay home notice when they return to Singapore.

"Making the worker run around, do this unnecessary round trip would increase the risks of him returning with a Covid-19 infection," added Dr Tan.

READ MORE: Entry ban on crew and ships from India could threaten global trade