http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/3/nation/8597064&sec=nation
Tuesday May 3, 2011
S’poreans claim influx of foreigners hampering their livelihood
By SHAHANAAZ HABIB reporting from Singapore
SINGAPORE: Chee Leong cannot help but feel a tinge of resentment at the number of mid-level foreign professionals in the country.
He is earning S$2,500 (RM6,051) a month but feels he could be making a lot more if there are not so many foreigners who are prepared to do his job for less.
“They are suppressing our wages.
“An employer can employ a Chinese or Indian national with the same qualification as I have and pay them less because the foreigners are willing to accept that.
“These foreigners scrimp and save and make do with very little.
“But where does that leave me, a Singaporean?
“I have to fight with them for jobs. I am starting to feel like a foreigner in my own country,” Chee Leong said.
In 1970, Singapore had a population of only two million.
Today, with progress and development, Singapore's population has grown to 5.1 million.
Despite the growth in population over a 40-year period, the number of Singaporeans (due to their low birth rate which stands at 1.1 child per woman) has not doubled.
Currently, Singaporeans make up only 64% or 3.2mil of the population.
The rest (36%) are foreign workers and permanent residents and these people have been integral in building Singapore and its economy.
This has become a hot topic for the May 7 general elections.
Opposition parties are pushing for tighter controls on foreign workers and students.
They say Singaporeans are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of foreigners taking their jobs, pushing wages down, pushing up property prices and filling spots in schools and colleges at the expense of Singaporeans.
Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who is also Minister Mentor, defended the PAP government's policy of taking in huge numbers of foreign workers, saying the country needed them to stay competitive.
He said Singapore needed 900,000 foreign workers for construction and heavy jobs that most Singaporeans were not willing to do.
Foreign workers make up a huge chunk of workers in hotels in Singapore and other service sectors.
One of the front office managers at a five-star hotel here, who is a Singaporean, said half of the employees at the hotel were foreigners earning about S$900 (RM2,178) to S$1,200 (RM2,904) a month.
“We need them. Locals won't apply for rank-and-file jobs at hotels, restaurants or other labour-intensive jobs because the salary is low.
“Twenty years ago, I had one or two Singaporean friends who were working at the Keppel shipyard but today, they are all foreigners.
“No Singaporean wants to work there.
“The big hoo-ha (fuss) in the papers about foreign workers is not about those in the service industry or having blue collar jobs.
“It is about those in higher positions, who come here on a S' or E' pass,” said the manager who declined to be named.
Mid-level skilled foreigners who are technicians, specialists or professionals with degrees, diplomas or technical certificates can enter on a “S” pass to work here and earn a minimum salary of S$1,800 (RM4,356).
Professionals in managerial, executive or specialist jobs can get an “E” pass to work in Singapore which allows them to earn more than S$2,500 (RM6,051), S$3,500 (RM8,471) and S$7,000 (RM16,942) onwards, depending on the category they are in.
Kannan, a 35-year-old Indian national, has been working in Singapore for 10 years.
He started as a technician but now works in the casino and earns “more than $2,000 (RM4,840)” and has the S pass.
Because Kannan has a degree in economics, he managed to obtain his PR in Singapore three years ago.
He brought his wife from India to live in Singapore and bought a HDB flat for S$307,000 (RM743,000), taking out a 30-year loan from DBS bank.
Reports that Singaporeans have an issue with foreign workers competing for their jobs do not bother him.
“People treat me well. I feel welcomed here.
“The most important thing is I can make a good living,” he said.
Jessica (not her real name), a Malaysian who has been working in Singapore for four years said her friends who were professionals were very upset and unhappy at the competition they faced, as companies were willing to hire foreigners for their jobs.
“They are also upset that flat and house rentals have gone up because of the foreigners.
“Most Singaporeans assume that we are in competition and bring down the pay, but the truth is Malaysians are on a different pay scale anyway.
“A number of corporate companies and even the Ministry of Education (MOE) does this.
“I was once told straight in the face that Malaysians are paid less because we are considered one level below Singaporeans.
“I argued with them because I have a first class honours degree (from a Malaysian university) and experience.
“So I turned down the MOE offer,” said Jessica, who works as a teacher at a private school here.
She said most Singaporeans did not understand that people like her also feel “pissed off” over being shortchanged.
“They (Singapore employers) always factor in the exchange rate but hello, we live here, too.
“I am just waiting for someone who's bold enough to ask me to balik to Malaysia lah,” she said, laughing.
Tuesday May 3, 2011
S’poreans claim influx of foreigners hampering their livelihood
By SHAHANAAZ HABIB reporting from Singapore
SINGAPORE: Chee Leong cannot help but feel a tinge of resentment at the number of mid-level foreign professionals in the country.
He is earning S$2,500 (RM6,051) a month but feels he could be making a lot more if there are not so many foreigners who are prepared to do his job for less.
“They are suppressing our wages.
“An employer can employ a Chinese or Indian national with the same qualification as I have and pay them less because the foreigners are willing to accept that.
“These foreigners scrimp and save and make do with very little.
“But where does that leave me, a Singaporean?
“I have to fight with them for jobs. I am starting to feel like a foreigner in my own country,” Chee Leong said.
In 1970, Singapore had a population of only two million.
Today, with progress and development, Singapore's population has grown to 5.1 million.
Despite the growth in population over a 40-year period, the number of Singaporeans (due to their low birth rate which stands at 1.1 child per woman) has not doubled.
Currently, Singaporeans make up only 64% or 3.2mil of the population.
The rest (36%) are foreign workers and permanent residents and these people have been integral in building Singapore and its economy.
This has become a hot topic for the May 7 general elections.
Opposition parties are pushing for tighter controls on foreign workers and students.
They say Singaporeans are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of foreigners taking their jobs, pushing wages down, pushing up property prices and filling spots in schools and colleges at the expense of Singaporeans.
Former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who is also Minister Mentor, defended the PAP government's policy of taking in huge numbers of foreign workers, saying the country needed them to stay competitive.
He said Singapore needed 900,000 foreign workers for construction and heavy jobs that most Singaporeans were not willing to do.
Foreign workers make up a huge chunk of workers in hotels in Singapore and other service sectors.
One of the front office managers at a five-star hotel here, who is a Singaporean, said half of the employees at the hotel were foreigners earning about S$900 (RM2,178) to S$1,200 (RM2,904) a month.
“We need them. Locals won't apply for rank-and-file jobs at hotels, restaurants or other labour-intensive jobs because the salary is low.
“Twenty years ago, I had one or two Singaporean friends who were working at the Keppel shipyard but today, they are all foreigners.
“No Singaporean wants to work there.
“The big hoo-ha (fuss) in the papers about foreign workers is not about those in the service industry or having blue collar jobs.
“It is about those in higher positions, who come here on a S' or E' pass,” said the manager who declined to be named.
Mid-level skilled foreigners who are technicians, specialists or professionals with degrees, diplomas or technical certificates can enter on a “S” pass to work here and earn a minimum salary of S$1,800 (RM4,356).
Professionals in managerial, executive or specialist jobs can get an “E” pass to work in Singapore which allows them to earn more than S$2,500 (RM6,051), S$3,500 (RM8,471) and S$7,000 (RM16,942) onwards, depending on the category they are in.
Kannan, a 35-year-old Indian national, has been working in Singapore for 10 years.
He started as a technician but now works in the casino and earns “more than $2,000 (RM4,840)” and has the S pass.
Because Kannan has a degree in economics, he managed to obtain his PR in Singapore three years ago.
He brought his wife from India to live in Singapore and bought a HDB flat for S$307,000 (RM743,000), taking out a 30-year loan from DBS bank.
Reports that Singaporeans have an issue with foreign workers competing for their jobs do not bother him.
“People treat me well. I feel welcomed here.
“The most important thing is I can make a good living,” he said.
Jessica (not her real name), a Malaysian who has been working in Singapore for four years said her friends who were professionals were very upset and unhappy at the competition they faced, as companies were willing to hire foreigners for their jobs.
“They are also upset that flat and house rentals have gone up because of the foreigners.
“Most Singaporeans assume that we are in competition and bring down the pay, but the truth is Malaysians are on a different pay scale anyway.
“A number of corporate companies and even the Ministry of Education (MOE) does this.
“I was once told straight in the face that Malaysians are paid less because we are considered one level below Singaporeans.
“I argued with them because I have a first class honours degree (from a Malaysian university) and experience.
“So I turned down the MOE offer,” said Jessica, who works as a teacher at a private school here.
She said most Singaporeans did not understand that people like her also feel “pissed off” over being shortchanged.
“They (Singapore employers) always factor in the exchange rate but hello, we live here, too.
“I am just waiting for someone who's bold enough to ask me to balik to Malaysia lah,” she said, laughing.
