Foreign workers are willing to downgrade to S-Pass at a lower pay scale. That will depress overall wages further, and make it even more attractive for company to employ foreigners in mid-level jobs on S-Pass, if their quota permits.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/singapore/2011/12/14/325830/p1/Foreigners-firms.htm
Foreigners, firms prepare for Singapore employment pass changes
SINGAPORE -- With less than three weeks before stricter qualifying criteria for the Employment Pass (EP) kick in, some foreign job-seekers are prepared to settle for lower-level permits which come with less pay.
Some current EP holders are also feeling jittery about their chances of renewing their passes when they expire.
Some recruitment agencies have noticed a dip in approval rates for renewals before the new requirements take effect.
From next year, the minimum salary level for Q1 pass-holders, the lowest rung of EP, will be raised to SG$3,000 (US$2,300), from SG$2,800. Older applicants will have to earn even more to qualify.
Carol Chen, senior manager at Horizon Management Services, said current EP holders working in manufacturing are likely to be the most affected.
She said: “The salaries of those working as engineers in manufacturing firms don't move up so fast. So their applications for renewals may not be approved.”
The changes, announced by the Manpower Ministry in August, are aimed at making sure the salaries of young foreign graduates will keep pace with the starting pay of Singaporean graduates, which was about SG$2,900 last year.
The new rules are expected to affect about a fifth of some 142,000 EP holders here, as of December last year.
Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at the GMP Group, said EP renewals in support function jobs, particularly in finance or administration, are not coming in. “These candidates' salaries are usually near the cutoff mark. It is apparent that the Government wants to keep foreign manpower at a manageable level and improve the overall quality of foreigners in Singapore,” he added.
Malaysian Chia Teck Guan, 32, who left Singapore in 2009, rates his chances of getting another EP as 50-50 and said he does not mind working on an S Pass instead. The minimum qualifying monthly salary for this mid-skilled pass was raised to SG$2,000 in July, from SG$1,800.
He worked as an assistant engineer, earning SG$2,600 a month for two years before going home to get married.
Graphic designer Kevin Almagro, 29, also does not mind taking the S-Pass route. The Filipino said a local firm is applying for an EP for him but added: “The human resource manager told me she indicated in the forms that the company is willing to let me join them on an S Pass if I don't get the EP.”
But recruitment consultant Satish Bakhda of corporate solutions firm Rikvin said some foreigners are unwilling to settle for an S Pass.
“It's a downgrade. You can't apply for family members to join you and you can't apply for permanent residence,” he said.
Some companies may also find it hard to “downgrade” them to an S Pass. While there is no cap on how many EP holders a company can hire, there is a quota for S-Pass holders.
In the run-up to next Jan. 1, some companies are in a rush to apply for EPs. Of the 10 agencies The Straits Times called, three reported such a spike.
Satish has noted a 26-percent rise in applications in the past three months.
“Human resource departments are taking pre-emptive action because they are worried that the EP quota will be lowered next year,” he said.
Chen expects applications to increase by 10 percent in the last two weeks of this month, compared with last month. “Usually, applications in December will fall because of the holidays, but because of the changes in January, companies will expedite the cases so they can apply under the old criteria and keep to this year's budget,” she said.
The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, while noting the Government's good intention behind the changes, warned that the move could drive up business costs.
Said Kurt Wee, its vice-president: “To comply with the new rules, companies will have to make a wage adjustment for foreign employees. But after doing that, they will then face pressure to do the same from the local employees.”
Labour economist Tan Khee Giap of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said implementing the changes now makes sense. “Going forward, the economy is going to be uncertain so the Government has to be stringent to make sure the foreigners really have special skills and are doing jobs that Singaporeans can't fill.”
Singaporeans like Gerald Tan, 38, welcome the move. Said the assistant production manager at a printing company, who earns SG$3,000 a month: “I hope my company will promote from within instead of hiring foreigners.”
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/singapore/2011/12/14/325830/p1/Foreigners-firms.htm
Foreigners, firms prepare for Singapore employment pass changes
SINGAPORE -- With less than three weeks before stricter qualifying criteria for the Employment Pass (EP) kick in, some foreign job-seekers are prepared to settle for lower-level permits which come with less pay.
Some current EP holders are also feeling jittery about their chances of renewing their passes when they expire.
Some recruitment agencies have noticed a dip in approval rates for renewals before the new requirements take effect.
From next year, the minimum salary level for Q1 pass-holders, the lowest rung of EP, will be raised to SG$3,000 (US$2,300), from SG$2,800. Older applicants will have to earn even more to qualify.
Carol Chen, senior manager at Horizon Management Services, said current EP holders working in manufacturing are likely to be the most affected.
She said: “The salaries of those working as engineers in manufacturing firms don't move up so fast. So their applications for renewals may not be approved.”
The changes, announced by the Manpower Ministry in August, are aimed at making sure the salaries of young foreign graduates will keep pace with the starting pay of Singaporean graduates, which was about SG$2,900 last year.
The new rules are expected to affect about a fifth of some 142,000 EP holders here, as of December last year.
Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at the GMP Group, said EP renewals in support function jobs, particularly in finance or administration, are not coming in. “These candidates' salaries are usually near the cutoff mark. It is apparent that the Government wants to keep foreign manpower at a manageable level and improve the overall quality of foreigners in Singapore,” he added.
Malaysian Chia Teck Guan, 32, who left Singapore in 2009, rates his chances of getting another EP as 50-50 and said he does not mind working on an S Pass instead. The minimum qualifying monthly salary for this mid-skilled pass was raised to SG$2,000 in July, from SG$1,800.
He worked as an assistant engineer, earning SG$2,600 a month for two years before going home to get married.
Graphic designer Kevin Almagro, 29, also does not mind taking the S-Pass route. The Filipino said a local firm is applying for an EP for him but added: “The human resource manager told me she indicated in the forms that the company is willing to let me join them on an S Pass if I don't get the EP.”
But recruitment consultant Satish Bakhda of corporate solutions firm Rikvin said some foreigners are unwilling to settle for an S Pass.
“It's a downgrade. You can't apply for family members to join you and you can't apply for permanent residence,” he said.
Some companies may also find it hard to “downgrade” them to an S Pass. While there is no cap on how many EP holders a company can hire, there is a quota for S-Pass holders.
In the run-up to next Jan. 1, some companies are in a rush to apply for EPs. Of the 10 agencies The Straits Times called, three reported such a spike.
Satish has noted a 26-percent rise in applications in the past three months.
“Human resource departments are taking pre-emptive action because they are worried that the EP quota will be lowered next year,” he said.
Chen expects applications to increase by 10 percent in the last two weeks of this month, compared with last month. “Usually, applications in December will fall because of the holidays, but because of the changes in January, companies will expedite the cases so they can apply under the old criteria and keep to this year's budget,” she said.
The Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, while noting the Government's good intention behind the changes, warned that the move could drive up business costs.
Said Kurt Wee, its vice-president: “To comply with the new rules, companies will have to make a wage adjustment for foreign employees. But after doing that, they will then face pressure to do the same from the local employees.”
Labour economist Tan Khee Giap of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said implementing the changes now makes sense. “Going forward, the economy is going to be uncertain so the Government has to be stringent to make sure the foreigners really have special skills and are doing jobs that Singaporeans can't fill.”
Singaporeans like Gerald Tan, 38, welcome the move. Said the assistant production manager at a printing company, who earns SG$3,000 a month: “I hope my company will promote from within instead of hiring foreigners.”
