THE TEMASEK REVIEW

I never expected the government to take a populist route like this. It is
enough that so many idiots blame the foreigners for their woes but they
should have the data to make better decisions. Decreasing the quota will
just close down more companies and destroy more jobs.

I can tell u that as a small business owner, we NEED FOREIGN WORKERS and we
NEED the government to INCREASE the quota immediately.

My firm has been trying to employ Singaporeans for our apparel retail sales
positions for the past 6 months and a total of 2 people above 21 yrs came
for the interviews. It is not even the pay, no Singaporean even bother to
come for the interviews to discuss this issue. I don’t know about bigger
companies but we are only a small outfit employing not more than 20 people
and I guess that Singaporeans will always prefer to work for DBS, the IRs,
ST or the other big brands. This creates a massive disadvantage for the
smaller companies and we are currently paying around 10% more for the same
positions! We spend a few hundred dollars putting ads for hiring per month.

The lack of manpower is the single most challenging issue we are facing and
I can tell you that we will be VERY happy to have someone to come in right
now. Singaporean or not. In fact, we have 5 unfilled positions. Think this
is only unique to us? Next time you go shopping, take a look at how many
hiring signs you see. Talk to any boss and you will hear the same
complaints.

I can state that if the government tighten the foreign policy law, we might
as well close down the business now and all the Singaporeans working in
‘higher’ positions can retire.

And no, we cannot afford to pay our retail staff 1800 a month to get S pass
holders.

We really worry about the productivity crap. How is higher productivity
going to help our retail sales for a small company like us? Is this the best
the ECS can come up with?

You guys are just acting like the Malays in Malaysia. Blaming the chinese
for working harder and demanding rights because you are the ‘bumiputras’.
Come on, why don’t we improve ourselves and compete with the outsiders?
Meritocracy has brought Singapore here, hiding your head in a hole will not
improve your situation. The world is turning man, and with this mentality,
we will sink!

Henry Lee

51 Responses to “Singaporean employer on why foreigner workers are needed in Singapore”