9 foreign chambers of commerce oppose labour curbs in Population White Paper

They say Singapore's reputation as an open economy could be hurt

By Melissa Tan, The Straits Times, 5 Feb 2013

NINE foreign chambers of commerce, representing companies with many billions of dollars of investments here, have added their voices to a chorus of protests against tighter government curbs on foreign labour.

They were responding to the Population White Paper released last week.

Restricting foreign labour further could damage Singapore's reputation as an open economy, wrote Australian Chamber of Commerce president Graham Lee, in an open letter to Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin last week.

"Our concerns relate to certainty in the ability to employ candidates with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience required and also to be able to tap into a larger labour workforce than is available in Singapore," he said.

Mr Tan's office has not made any statement on the letter.

Mr Lee also said that after changes were made to the criteria for S-Passes - for lower-skilled workers - and criteria for some other related issues, "anecdotal evidence from constituents has indicated inconsistency in the granting of passes against published criteria".

He told The Straits Times that one of the chambers said some of its member firms' employment pass applicants met the criteria but did not get the passes. He did not give further details.

Mr Lee was writing on behalf of chambers here, including the American Chamber of Commerce, the British Chamber of Commerce and the European Chamber of Commerce, in response to the Government's Population White Paper unveiled last Tuesday.

It projects that the labour force will expand at 1 per cent to 2 per cent a year from now until 2020. From 2020 to 2030, this will drop to 1 per cent a year, much lower than the 3.3 per cent growth seen between 1980 and 2010.

The chambers said that while they supported the idea of productivity-driven growth, it would be "more difficult in some industries than others".

The Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) yesterday said the retail sector was finding it "extremely difficult" to hire Singaporeans and urged the Government to rethink its labour policy.

SRA president Jannie Chan said an estimated 12,500 new workers in food and retail would be needed by 2015, and asked for a breakdown of how many foreign workers each sector would be allocated in future so that businesses could plan ahead.

The chambers added they endorsed the views that the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) had laid out in a position paper in December.

The SBF said last week that any further foreign labour curbs would be "devastating" for businesses here.

In December, it said that restrictive labour policies could lead to higher business costs that would be passed on to consumers and other businesses.

The other chambers represented were the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the French Chamber of Commerce, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Several foreign firms prepare to leave Singapore
Labour tightening measures have hit them hard; letter conveys concerns to minister
By Malminderjit Singh, The Business Times, 5 Feb 2013

Labour tightening measures have hit them hard; letter conveys concerns to minister.

Some foreign companies in Singapore have started to pull out of the country as the government tightens the inflow of foreign workers here. More could follow suit.

According to the latest manpower survey by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Singapore, 5 per cent of respondent companies, made up of AmCham members, have already moved operations out of Singapore as a result of the labour tightening measures introduced last year. The survey, conducted in the third quarter of last year, showed that a further 15 per cent of respondents are looking at relocating their operations overseas.

"While we understand the pressures that Singapore's limited area and resources place on crafting long-term policy, we worry that the trajectory announced could significantly cut workforce growth and have drastic consequences for businesses and the economy of Singapore," said AmCham chairman Simon Kahn.

"As the percentage of Singaporeans qualifying for PMET (professional, manager, executive and technician) jobs continues to increase, the supply of workers to fill these non-PMET roles will continue to shrink. Without access to foreign workers here in Singapore, companies that cannot adapt will be forced to leave the country."

The Australian Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) Singapore as well as the British Chamber of Commerce said that some of their member companies have also been hit by the manpower crunch and are looking at moving out. AustCham Singapore president Graham Lee said that one of his chamber's members, involved in the food distribution business, was considering relocating to Iskandar Malaysia and others could follow suit.

"A lot of our members find it (labour tightening) critical and the issue then is if this (Singapore) is the right place to be and also consequently if high costs or declining service standards become issues," Mr Lee explained.

Yesterday, nine national chambers of commerce here wrote to Singapore's Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin to voice their concerns about the new plans to calibrate the entry of foreign employees into Singapore as detailed in the White Paper released last week. The letter was issued by the AustCham on behalf of the rest.

"Our members are concerned with the revision of government policies pertaining to the employment of foreign workers in Singapore and the resultant impact on the operations of foreign and local companies and the overall economy," the letter, signed-off by AustCham president Mr Lee, stated.

It added that the change in the labour policy here could adversely impact Singapore's fortunes.

"Singapore's openness to foreign labour has enabled it to attract, retain and absorb the best of foreign talent, providing it with a clear competitive advantage over its neighbours," said the letter, which also spoke on behalf of the British Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, EuroCham, French Chamber of Commerce, Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore-German Chamber of Industry & Commerce, in addition to AmCham.

The nine chambers and their members wanted some certainty about being able to hire candidates with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience and to be able to tap into a larger labour workforce than is available in Singapore.

The document also makes two other broad points. Firstly, younger foreign workers need to be brought in to drive productivity and innovation here so that restrictive labour policies don't lead to inflationary wages and raise business costs.

Also, with fewer Singaporeans looking for non-PMET positions, there was a need to have more foreign workers in sectors such as service, construction and manufacturing - otherwise standards could slip.

German multinational firm Bosch Group said it had become hard to find talent. "Competition for talent is stiff and as a high-technology company, we have a requirement for many niche and highly skilled roles. For these specific roles, we endeavour to examine Singapore's talent pool before looking outward," said Martin Hayes, president of Bosch Southeast Asia.

Belinda Braggs, managing director of pharma consulting firm SeerPharma here in Singapore, said that she had not been able to renew the employment pass of a staffer who was managing a project. Local talent was hard to come by and now it was becoming difficult to bring in foreign talent. Nine years after setting up office here, she said that the situation could force her to leave.