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[h=2]Lack of FTs? The real reasons behind it…[/h]
February 12th, 2013 |
Author: Contributions
Many pap ministers have cited the need to give businesses time to re-structure, thus defending the need to continue to bring in more FTs, albeit at a slower pace, as set out in the white paper.
On the surface, this argument seems fair comment, but let me take you deeper into understanding the root causes of why businesses keep harping on the lack of FTs even though truckloads have been brought in over the past 10 years.
Lack of 20/20 vision and poor planning skills (Blue collar)
Pinky admitted to this recently. What’s the result of poor planning by the million dollar paid ministers? Many construction projects all scheduled at the same time, each one fighting for FTs to do the job. MRT lines, HDB homes, widening of expressways, IRs, Gardens by the bay, Sports Hub, new condos, aviation hub etc.., all running concurrently at the same time.
Labour shortages should not occur if proper and careful scheduling is done. The government controls land sales in the private sector and hence could have regulated how much land to release every quarter for various construction projects.
Looking at the above list, was Gardens by the Bay a priority? Couldn’t land sales of condos be delayed? This poor spacing out of major projects has been evident in the past 20 years. The government could have undertaken many infrastructure upgrading projects during slowdowns, but chose not to do so. Instead, a high risk aversion mentality took place. These projects were subsequently only started when the economy picked up, competing with other private projects for the same pool of workers. What was the consequence of this? Higher construction costs, delayed completion time and a shortage of workers overall.
History is about to repeat itself. With the approval of the white paper, new MRT lines will go ahead, this together with terminal 4, HDB housing, reclamation works, building of support facilities like hospitals & nursing homes, the shortage situation will rear its head again. It’s like a dog chasing after its tail. More blue collar FTs brought in to support current projects, which in turn results in additional FTs needed to be brought in to construct even more infrastructure to cope with the increase in numbers.
Lack of micro-management & enforcement (white collar)
There have been many instances of people sharing stories that almost 70-80% of their companies have been swamped with FTs. Yes, there are certain quotas set in terms of the maximum composition of FTs allowed on their payroll but many companies have circumvented this rule by using contract workers. These contract workers technically are not considered employees of the companies for which they report to everyday, but are under the payroll of the 3rd party contractor.
This sham marriage allows companies to easily hire as many FTs as they want and still stay within the confines of the law. This in a way explains why some companies do not get their fair share of FTs, that’s because some of the counterparts are hoarding whole truckloads of them!
The government has turned a blind eye to this and the lack of enforcement has resulted in an uneven distribution of FTs. The plan to bring in more FTs only resolves the issue in the short term. Unless there is a resolve to clamp down on blatant disregard of the % guidelines by such companies, it is only a matter if time when the problem will re-surface.
In conclusion, the white paper is a piece of trash. It is trash because it proposes a plan that did not address the root cause of the problem. The root cause of the lack of FTs is not due to the lack of numbers and the need for business expansion; rather it is the poor planning and uneven distribution that is resulting in the perceived lack of numbers.
There is actually no need to bring in more FTs. All that’s needed is to remove the incompetent team and replace them with a better one; A better team that is willing to roll up their sleeves and micro-manage properly; A better team that will re-distribute resources evenly to take Singapore forward in the next 30 years.
.
Sage
Many pap ministers have cited the need to give businesses time to re-structure, thus defending the need to continue to bring in more FTs, albeit at a slower pace, as set out in the white paper.
On the surface, this argument seems fair comment, but let me take you deeper into understanding the root causes of why businesses keep harping on the lack of FTs even though truckloads have been brought in over the past 10 years.
Lack of 20/20 vision and poor planning skills (Blue collar)
Pinky admitted to this recently. What’s the result of poor planning by the million dollar paid ministers? Many construction projects all scheduled at the same time, each one fighting for FTs to do the job. MRT lines, HDB homes, widening of expressways, IRs, Gardens by the bay, Sports Hub, new condos, aviation hub etc.., all running concurrently at the same time.
Labour shortages should not occur if proper and careful scheduling is done. The government controls land sales in the private sector and hence could have regulated how much land to release every quarter for various construction projects.
Looking at the above list, was Gardens by the Bay a priority? Couldn’t land sales of condos be delayed? This poor spacing out of major projects has been evident in the past 20 years. The government could have undertaken many infrastructure upgrading projects during slowdowns, but chose not to do so. Instead, a high risk aversion mentality took place. These projects were subsequently only started when the economy picked up, competing with other private projects for the same pool of workers. What was the consequence of this? Higher construction costs, delayed completion time and a shortage of workers overall.
History is about to repeat itself. With the approval of the white paper, new MRT lines will go ahead, this together with terminal 4, HDB housing, reclamation works, building of support facilities like hospitals & nursing homes, the shortage situation will rear its head again. It’s like a dog chasing after its tail. More blue collar FTs brought in to support current projects, which in turn results in additional FTs needed to be brought in to construct even more infrastructure to cope with the increase in numbers.
Lack of micro-management & enforcement (white collar)
There have been many instances of people sharing stories that almost 70-80% of their companies have been swamped with FTs. Yes, there are certain quotas set in terms of the maximum composition of FTs allowed on their payroll but many companies have circumvented this rule by using contract workers. These contract workers technically are not considered employees of the companies for which they report to everyday, but are under the payroll of the 3rd party contractor.
This sham marriage allows companies to easily hire as many FTs as they want and still stay within the confines of the law. This in a way explains why some companies do not get their fair share of FTs, that’s because some of the counterparts are hoarding whole truckloads of them!
The government has turned a blind eye to this and the lack of enforcement has resulted in an uneven distribution of FTs. The plan to bring in more FTs only resolves the issue in the short term. Unless there is a resolve to clamp down on blatant disregard of the % guidelines by such companies, it is only a matter if time when the problem will re-surface.
In conclusion, the white paper is a piece of trash. It is trash because it proposes a plan that did not address the root cause of the problem. The root cause of the lack of FTs is not due to the lack of numbers and the need for business expansion; rather it is the poor planning and uneven distribution that is resulting in the perceived lack of numbers.
There is actually no need to bring in more FTs. All that’s needed is to remove the incompetent team and replace them with a better one; A better team that is willing to roll up their sleeves and micro-manage properly; A better team that will re-distribute resources evenly to take Singapore forward in the next 30 years.
.
Sage
