NSP's white-collar job idea won't work: Gan
By Cai Haoxiang
RAISING the salary threshold for Employment Pass (EP) applicants to $4,000 from $2,800 now will not protect white-collar workers from global competition they are already facing, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.
He was commenting on an argument by the National Solidarity Party (NSP) that such a move would protect the majority of local workers who earn less than $4,000.
The opposition party's idea is part of a broader strategy in its manifesto to raise local wages by restricting the supply of foreigners.
Asked for his view during a visit to residents in his Chua Chu Kang ward, Mr Gan said: 'It is important for us to recognise that many better-educated Singaporeans, especially at the higher-income level, are in jobs that don't face local competition, but competition with companies and enterprises around the world.
'A better way to strengthen their resilience against global competition is to give them training, upgrade their skills so they are competitive not just against EP holders here, but also against millions and millions of highly qualified talent globally.'
The Government already has a more comprehensive set of policy instruments in place, he added.
These include a recently introduced skills training programme for white-collar workers, policies to encourage firms to introduce productivity-enhancing measures in the workplace and tightening requirements such as academic and skills qualifications for EP holders.
The NSP manifesto, released on Thursday, targeted several hot-button issues, including the foreign worker policy. Other than raising salary thresholds, it suggested a foreign worker quota of 25 per cent for jobs that pay below $4,000, except in industries unpopular with Singaporeans.
Mr Gan, who leads the People's Action Party (PAP) team in Chua Chu Kang GRC, which is being targeted by the NSP, said he hoped the NSP would explain how its plans and programmes will benefit residents at the national level as well as the local level.
'I think our comprehensive approach will be more effective,' he said.
By Cai Haoxiang
RAISING the salary threshold for Employment Pass (EP) applicants to $4,000 from $2,800 now will not protect white-collar workers from global competition they are already facing, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.
He was commenting on an argument by the National Solidarity Party (NSP) that such a move would protect the majority of local workers who earn less than $4,000.
The opposition party's idea is part of a broader strategy in its manifesto to raise local wages by restricting the supply of foreigners.
Asked for his view during a visit to residents in his Chua Chu Kang ward, Mr Gan said: 'It is important for us to recognise that many better-educated Singaporeans, especially at the higher-income level, are in jobs that don't face local competition, but competition with companies and enterprises around the world.
'A better way to strengthen their resilience against global competition is to give them training, upgrade their skills so they are competitive not just against EP holders here, but also against millions and millions of highly qualified talent globally.'
The Government already has a more comprehensive set of policy instruments in place, he added.
These include a recently introduced skills training programme for white-collar workers, policies to encourage firms to introduce productivity-enhancing measures in the workplace and tightening requirements such as academic and skills qualifications for EP holders.
The NSP manifesto, released on Thursday, targeted several hot-button issues, including the foreign worker policy. Other than raising salary thresholds, it suggested a foreign worker quota of 25 per cent for jobs that pay below $4,000, except in industries unpopular with Singaporeans.
Mr Gan, who leads the People's Action Party (PAP) team in Chua Chu Kang GRC, which is being targeted by the NSP, said he hoped the NSP would explain how its plans and programmes will benefit residents at the national level as well as the local level.
'I think our comprehensive approach will be more effective,' he said.
