SINGAPORE: About 50 firms “have not been receptive or cooperative” about hiring locals since being placed on the Fair Consideration Framework watchlist, said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say in Parliament on Monday (Mar 6). 

As a result, more than 500 Employment Pass (EP) applications from these employers have either been rejected by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) or withdrawn by the companies, he said.

Speaking in Parliament during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate, Mr Lim gave an update on the Fair Consideration Framework watchlist, which is a list of companies that have been identified as not meeting the minimum criteria of possessing and building a Singaporean core in their workforce, and in terms of their relevance to Singapore’s economy and society.

These companies, he said, come from various industries like information and communication technology, and finance and insurance.

“We have not seen enough improvement after six months of engagement with them,” said Mr Lim. “We will continue to curtail their work pass privileges until they improve.”

Mr Lim added that 250 companies were on the watchlist as at the end of February. Once they are placed on the watchlist, these companies are guided by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP) to improve their employment practices over a period of six months.

He noted that some have responded positively and firms have hired 800 more Singaporean professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) collectively since they were placed on the watchlist.  “If they continue to improve and adopt fair and progressive practices, they can progressively be removed from the watchlist,” he said.

But Mr Lim stressed that the watchlist is a “negative measure” taken against “unfair” employers who are just a small minority of firms.

“I want to emphasise that the vast majority of the employers are treating our locals fairly,” he said. “We hope our action against these unfair employers will help reshape the local-foreign mindset for the better.”

“DIFFERENTIATED APPROACH” IN MOM’S ENGAGEMENT OF COMPANIES

As Singapore moves into the future economy, Mr Lim said it is necessary to go a step further and forge a new mindset. And the Government is “starting small” with the launch of the Human Capital Partnership earlier this month – a group of 74 employers who employ about 100,000 Singaporeans.

He said the companies are very different enterprises, but share three commitments: To strengthen the Singaporean core, to strengthen the complementarity between local and foreign employees, and to strengthen know-how transfer to groom promising local executives.

With the watchlist and Human Capital Partnership in place, Mr Lim said that in future, MOM will adopt a differentiated approach in its engagement of companies.

Human Capital Partnership employers will enjoy “fast lane” access to MOM’s development schemes and services, and will also have hotline access to MOM.

Employers who have fair workplace practices will be in the “normal lane”, said Mr Lim. This will be the majority of employers.

And employers who engage in unfair HR practices, such as those on the Fair Consideration Framework watchlist, will be in the “slow lane”.

“This will send a clear message to all employers that foreign manpower is and will always be an integral part of our Singapore workforce,” said Mr Lim. “However, we do expect and require all employers to give fair consideration to the recruitment and development of our local manpower.” 

“This is not only the right thing to do for our people, but also the right thing to do for businesses for both to grow better in the future economy.” 

SINGAPORE – Fifty companies that failed to give Singaporeans fair consideration when hiring have been taken to task, said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say on Monday (March 6).

More than 500 Employment Pass applications from these employers have been rejected by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) or withdrawn by the companies, he said during the debate on his ministry’s budget.

These companies are among the uncooperative firms on the Fair Consideration Framework Watchlist, which keeps track of firms not doing enough to hire and groom Singaporeans. The framework was introduced in 2014.

We will continue to curtail their work pass privileges until they improve,” said Mr Lim. “The (watchlist) is a negative measure taken against ‘unfair’ employers, who are just a small minority of firms.”

At the end of February this year, there were 250 companies – in industries ranging from information and communication technology to professional services – on the watchlist, up from 100 at the start.

The Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices guides those on the watchlist to improve their employment practices over a period of six months.

Some have responded positively, stepping up the recruitment and grooming of local talent, said Mr Lim.

Collectively, these firms have hired 800 more Singaporean professionals, managers and executives since being placed on the watchlist. Those that continue to improve can be progressively removed from the list, he added.

“I want to emphasise that a vast majority of the employers are treating our locals fairly. We hope our action against these unfair employers will help reshape the local-foreign mindset for the better.”

Mr Lim also shared plans to develop more progressive employers in Singapore.

The Human Capital Partnership programme, which aims to grow a community of exemplary employers focused on staying competitive by investing in staff development, was launched last month with 74 employers, who employ about 100,000 Singaporeans across a range of industries.

They all share three commitments, noted Mr Lim: strengthening the Singaporean core, boosting complementarity between local and foreign employees, and strengthening the transfer of know-how to groom promising local executives into regional and global executives.

MOM will now treat companies differently based on their employment practices, he said.

Human Capital Partnership partners will be given “fast lane” access to development schemes and services, such as SkillsFuture, and will have hotline access to MOM, while the majority who are fair employers will be in the “normal lane”.

Those on the Fair Consideration Framework watchlist that engage in unfair HR practices will be in the slow lane.

While foreign manpower “is and will always be an integral part” of Singapore’s workforce, employers have to give fair consideration to recruiting and developing local manpower, he said.

“This is not only the right thing to do for our people, but also the right thing to do for businesses for both to grow better in the future economy.”

Foreigners make up one-third of the workforce today, said Mr Lim, and this ratio will persist because Singapore can never be self-sufficient in terms of having enough local workers, both in the number, and diversity of expertise.

There are about 1.2 million foreign workers , excluding foreign domestic workers, he said, as he detailed the make-up of the Singapore workforce. About 40 per cent of these foreign workers take on labour-intensive jobs few locals want, in sectors such as construction.

And while about 45 per cent of them do jobs that locals will opt for, “we do not have enough locals to do these jobs”, he said, citing the shortage of Singaporean integrated circuit design engineers.

The remaining 15 per cent of foreigners working here are in global headquarters, he said.

And this is a boon for Singaporeans: there are about seven locals for every three foreigners in this segment of the workforce. This gives Singaporeans more opportunities to be exposed to new job functions, an international working environment and global best practices, said Mr Lim.

“On the whole, most of the foreigners working in Singapore do complement our local workforce rather than substitute our locals,” he said, adding that the persistent view that “foreigners are here to take away our jobs” is due to employers in some segments not giving fair consideration to the recruitment and development of local manpower.