Disclose More Information On Foreign Labour

Disclose More Information On Foreign Labour
The Business Times, 9th February 2006
I refer to the article “Employment hits all-time high of 2.3 million” by Anna Teo (The Business Times， 2nd Feb 2006).
It has often been asked whether the inflow of cheap, low-skilled foreign workers into Singapore over the years has depressed wages at the bottom end.


This may have been a contributing factor, according to National University of Singapore economist Basant Kapur, who said greater clarity will only be possible if the government releases more data on the size and skills make-up of the foreign-worker workforce in individual industries.

The government has maintained that this is sensitive data kept secret for reasons of national interest. It does not want to expose Singapore's vulnerability in terms of its dependence on foreign labour.

Keeping data secret may be disadvantageous to Singapore, as we may in a sense be letting others draw the conclusion that we are so dependent on foreign labour that we are afraid to reveal it.

I support the workfare proposals as they encourage self-reliance by working, and would like to suggest that we explore more measures to help Singaporeans to get jobs vis-a-vis foreigners who may be competing for the same jobs.

According to the Department of Statistics' latest data, the total population grew from 4,240,300 in 2004 to 4,351,400 in 2005 - an increase of 111,100.

Singapore residents, comprising citizens and permanent residents, increased by 66,600, from 3,486,900 to 3,553,500. This means that the increase in the population due to foreigners was 44,500. As total live-births were 37,174 and total deaths were 15,860, the net increase in the resident population was 21,314.

Does this mean that the increase due to new permanent residents was 44,686 (66,600 minus 21,314)?

If this is the case, then the increase due to foreigners and permanent residents was 89,186 (44,500 foreigners plus 44,686 new permanent residents). This is 80 per cent of the 111,100 increase in the total population.

If Singaporeans accounted for only 20 per cent of the population increase, in order to get a more detailed picture of the unemployment situation, it's necessary to know the proportion of the 110,000 new jobs created in 2005 that went to Singaporeans vis-a-vis non-citizens.

Which is the bigger problem? Not letting others know how dependent we are on foreign labour, or helping the 64,000 unemployed?

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Singaporeans and permanent residents was 3.3 per cent last December, down from 4.4 per cent in September and 4 per cent in December 2004. The question that may be on the minds of some Singaporeans is: what is the unemployment rate for Singaporeans?

I think we need to balance the need for foreign labour data secrecy with more transparency to enable all stakeholders to work together to help the 300,000 people who earn less than $1,200 a month.

Leong Sze Hian

Source:
Free Book "Issues that matter: Uniquely Singapore - F1 or F9?"
http://leongszehian.com/resources
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