Immigrant workers in Singapore

Immigrant workers in Singapore have been closely associated with the country's economic development. After independence in 1965, immigration laws were modified in 1966 to reinforce Singapore's identity as a sovereign state. However, the initial strict controls on immigrant workers were relaxed as demand for labor grew with increased industrialization (Yeoh 2007).

Statistics

Between 1970 and 1980, the size of the non-resident population in Singapore doubled. The trend continued in the 1980s and 1990s (Yeoh 2007). Foreigners constituted about 29% of Singapore's total labor force in 2000, which is the highest proportion of foreign workers in Asia (Yeoh 2007). Over the last decade, Singapore's non-resident workforce increased 170%, from 248,000 in 1990 to 670,000 in 2006 (Yeoh 2007). By 2006, there were about 580,000 lower-skilled foreign workers in Singapore; another 90,000 foreign workers are skilled-employment pass holders (Yeoh 2007).

Policy

In Singapore, the term "immigrant workers" is separated into "foreign workers" and "foreign talents". "Foreign workers" refers to semi-skilled or unskilled workers who mainly work in the manufacturing, construction, and domestic services sectors. The majority of them come from countries such as India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Thailand, as part of bilateral agreements between Singapore and these countries (Yeoh 2007). "Foreign talents" refers to foreigners with professional qualifications or acceptable degrees working at the higher end of Singapore’s economy.The Singaporean government has carefully constructed a system under which different types of employment passes are issued to immigrant workers according to their qualifications and monthly salaries. The “P, Q, R” employment-pass system was put into practice since September 1998; a new “S” type employment pass was later introduced in July 2004. The government has also set different policies on recruiting foreign talents and foreign workers.

The different policies towards foreign workers and foreign talents in Singapore have led some people to feel that their contributions toward Singapore’s development are valued differently. However, the Singapore government has always stressed the importance of immigrant workers to Singapore’s economy and development. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, then Prime Minister, said in his 1997 National Day rally speech that the government's lack of restrictions on the recruitment of foreigners did not extend only to top-rung prestigious positions, but also to middle-level management, skilled worker and technician positions (Low 2002).

Foreign talents

Various policies and incentives are used to attract foreign talents. CONTACT SINGAPORE was launched in 1997 by the International Talent Division of the Ministry of Manpower to facilitate the inflow of international talent to Singapore. The Singapore Talent Recruitment (STAR) Committee was formed in November 1998 with the aim of attracting foreign talents to Singapore. Other similar programmes include Manpower 21, launched in 1999, and the International Manpower Program of the Economic Development Board. The government has developed the Scheme for Housing of Foreign Talents with the aim of providing affordable yet comfortable accommodations for foreign talents, in order to attract them to work and stay in Singapore (Low 2002).

Foreign workers

On the other hand, stringent policies and regulations have been set on employing foreign workers. In 1981, the government even announced its intention to phase out all unskilled foreign workers by the end of 1991, except domestic maids and those employed in construction and shipyards. The policy stance was met with strong protests from employers facing labor shortages (Athukorala and Manning, 1999).

In April 1987, the Singapore government announced its immigration policy, which intended to control the foreign worker inflow. The two key elements in the policy were a monthly levy payable by the employer for each foreign worker employed, and a “dependency ceiling” that limits the proportion of foreign workers in the total workforce of any one employer. The government later introduced a two-tier levy system in October 1991 under which employers were required to pay a higher levy on workers whose employment would change the “dependent ceiling” value of the company(Athukorala and Manning 1999). The levy and the “dependency ceiling” have remained the two instruments with which the government has regulated worker inflow in line with changes in domestic labor-market conditions (Athukorala and Manning 1999).

Works cited

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See also

* Singaporean nationality law
* Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
* National Registration Identity Card