World News | Singapore Not Rejecting Foreign Workers but Calibrating Their Employment: Minister

Singapore, Feb 23 (PTI) Singapore is not rejecting foreign workers and professionals but calibrating their employment to ensure that they are working in sectors facing manpower shortages, according to Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.

He clarified that the tighter foreign worker policy announced in Budget 2022 last Friday is a "calibration" to ensure these workers are good enough, adding that Singapore must always stay open as a society and an economy.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Conflict: 27 European Union Nations Unanimously Approve Russian Sanctions.

A small technology business owner, finding it difficult to hire talent and to offer competitive salaries amid high demand for skills across the board, suggested that a solution is to hire workers in Indonesia and India who work remotely there.

Wong replied that the adjustments to the foreign worker policy do not stop him from getting tech talent, and that he could still hire them under an employment pass.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine Crisis: President Vladimir Putin Gets OK to Use Military Force Outside Russia.

"In fact, we encourage you, go out and hire an employment pass, bring the best from around the world into Singapore and complement your Singapore team so that we can form the best teams in Singapore to create value together," the Channel News Asia (CNA) quoted Wong as saying.

"But there will be some lower-wage functions that may not be so viable in Singapore anymore, and some of these jobs indeed, or some of such work indeed may be better done overseas,” the minister said.

In that sense, companies will have to start thinking about how to restructure their operations, Wong said, highlighting that costs and wages are the "two sides of the same coin".

"We all talk about wanting wages for Singaporeans to go up. But if we depress costs in Singapore, how do the wages of Singaporeans rise? So, it's that dilemma that we face, right?" Wong elaborated.

The minister said this means that the government again has to find the balance between higher costs and paying Singaporean workers more.

"But the key is to focus on the capabilities of the Singaporean workforce, make sure that we can command that premium in wages, continue to create value, to be innovative, to be productive," the CNA quoted Wong as explaining.

"And that's how we can do well in this new economy," he added.

The tightening made in the Budget is more a calibration, Wong said during a post-Budget 2022 dialogue aired on television.

"It doesn't mean we are rejecting foreign workers or foreign professionals.

“It's a calibration to ensure that foreign workers and professionals coming into Singapore are of the right calibre and coming in areas where we really need them, in areas of shortages," the minister added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)