Tag: foreign worker

Catered Food For Workers Need More Regulation, Urge Researchers

The authors of a study that highlighted the dismal quality of food that Bangladeshi construction workers in Singapore were being fed have called for greater government regulation of such caterers.

The workers were provided catered food that was “foul-smelling”, “rock solid” and lacking in nutrition as it had been prepared hours in advance. The issue flummoxed many when TODAY reported on the preliminary findings of the study in March. The news report was widely circulated for more than a week and has since prompted two to three food-business owners to volunteer help to rectify the situation.

In their White Paper summarising findings from a two-year study released today (June 11), researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and non-governmental organisation HealthServe said regulating caterers would be an “important step towards ensuring food safety and security”. “We learnt about the large number of unlicensed operators that operate without accountability. These unlicensed caterers often work thorough middlemen and are unable to control the quality of food,” they wrote.

At a press conference today, Professor Mohan J Dutta, director of NUS’ Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation, which co-authored the White Paper, added: “Caterers who are not licensed (have) a variety of practices, such as food being left outside the dorm. And often, we hear stories of rats pulling away at the food.”

Currently, the National Environment Agency requires all caterers to be licensed. Packed food would have to come with time stamps, indicating when it was prepared and by when it has to be consumed.

Apart from greater oversight of these businesses, HealthServe director Goh Wei Leong said providing cooking facilities in all dormitories could be a solution. Foreign workers may also save costs by pooling money for ingredients.

The researchers’ findings also showed that foreign workers often liaise with a middleman for meals to be delivered to their dormitories. About a quarter of the average S$120 to S$130 they pay each month for the meals goes to the middleman, leaving the caterers scrimping on quality ingredients, said Prof Dutta, who suggested that employers work directly with caterers. “That’s so that the food is directly catered to a worksite. That could prevent the gap between the cooking and the delivery. Employers will have more ability to control the quality because they’ll be negotiating with the vendor,” added Prof Dutta.

Today, CARE and HealthServe launched a campaign to raise awareness of the food woes of foreign workers through bus and MRT ads and a TV commercial. A documentary will also be released online later this month. Materials for the campaign came from the interviews, focus-group discussions and surveys with Bangladeshi construction workers conducted between September 2012 and December last year.

A survey pertaining to the quality and hygiene of food, which involved 500 Bangladeshi migrant workers, showed 86.2 per cent had fallen ill after eating catered food. Common illnesses include vomiting. More than nine in 10 felt their food was unhygienic. Nearly all respondents (97.4 per cent) were dissatisfied with the quality of their food, with some describing it as “bread (that) is so tough, it … feels like eating a tyre”.

Source: www.todayonline.com

June 12, 2015
Reasons Why Foreigners Get Jobs Over Singaporeans
Another new initiative to help Singaporean workers?

According to the Channel NewsAsia news report “New portal to prepare students for future jobs” (Apr 7) – “The one-stop portal for education, training and career information, is a key plank of the SkillsFuture initiative that seeks to help Singaporeans take ownership of their job search.”

What do employers want?

All these new initiatives to help Singaporeans find jobs and career development may not work because we do not think through what is it that most employers want?

Employers want …
- workers who are experienced, highly skilled, highly educated and intelligent
When you allow the whole world to come to Singapore as tourists to look for jobs – you don’t need to be a genius to figure out that the odds will continue to be stacked against Singaporeans – when you are competing with the best (or the worse who fake their credentials) in the world
- workers who cost less
Foreigners don’t have to contribute CPF. So, employers save up to 20 per cent on wages. And of course, foreigners may be willing to work for lesser pay than Singaporeans
- workers who do not have turnover problems
Since most foreigners are on 2-year contracts – they are mostly stuck with the same employer for at least 2 years
- less work disruption
Foreigners on work permits cannot get pregnant. So, no “4 months’ maternity leave” problems. Those on employment pass also typically come to Singapore as “singles” and so are less likely to have maternity leave

Male foreigners do not have National Service reservist training “disruptions” to work
- workers who can do very long hours of shift work
Foreigners have no choice and are more willing to accept jobs which are 12 hours or longer a day for 6 days a week

Make yourself valuable to employers?

As to the article “Make yourself valuable, even after getting your degree: Indranee Rajah” (CNA, Apr 7), which said ”The forum focused on whether a degree still matters when it comes to employment, and saw some students sharing their views on pursuing a job that is not relevant to their degree.

Ms Indranee said having skills to adapt to the changing job market will be important and it is one of the objectives of the Government’s SkillsFuture initiative.

Odds stacked against Singaporeans?

She added that the Government is hoping to change mind sets by getting people to find out what they really want to do and to get the relevant qualifications”
- how do Singaporeans make themselves more valuable to employers, when the odds are so stacked against them in favour of foreigner?
Real pay increase?

So, is it any wonder that the real starting pay of graduates has hardly increased in the last 8 years or so, and real basic, gross and total wages (excluding employer CPF contribution) have also hardly increased in the last 15 years or so?

Employ Singaporeans first?

Finally, the most telling “wayang” is perhaps that the national jobs portal under the Fair Consideration Framework to employ Singaporeans First, cannot give any statistics at all as to how many of the jobs actually went to Singaporeans!

Win battles lose war
* Submitted by TRE reader

Half the workforce not “true-blue” Singaporeans?

P.S. I went to a bank, hospital and food basement of a shopping mall one day, and almost every worker was not a Singaporean!

Source: www.tremeritus.com
April 16, 2015
Grace Fu: Income Gap To Close With Tightening Of Foreign Labour Entry

The income disparity between blue-collar jobs and higher-paying ones will decrease in future with the tightening of Singapore’s foreign-worker policies, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu yesterday in a community dialogue.

Citing the example of Australia, where plumbers are the highest-paid workers over weekends, Ms Fu said Singapore “is going to be like that because we are not going to have so many work-pass holders to come in (to) do construction or plumbing jobs”.

She added: “So if you have skills like this, you’re going to demand better pay and that’s really the future of Singapore, where the disparity is not as great as now. What would be blue-collar jobs will get better pay.”

Ms Fu was speaking to residents and students while on a ministerial community visit to Tampines East.

During a 70-minute dialogue, questions about foreign labour, the integration of immigrants here and opportunities for Singaporeans dominated proceedings.

The starting point of Singapore’s policies on foreign labour is the interest and benefit of Singaporeans, said Ms Fu, who is Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources as well as Foreign Affairs.

Singapore has to be economically attractive, remaining open, so companies will continue to invest here and provide jobs and options for locals, she noted.

While the Government is creating more education opportunities for Singaporeans — through the setting up of the Singapore University of Technology and Design as well as the Singapore Institute of Technology, for example — the bigger question is whether a university degree trains people appropriately for jobs here.

Through initiatives such as SkillsFuture, the Government is encouraging students to pick up skills that are relevant to the jobs out there and ensuring opportunities to upgrade as they go.

“(If) you deepen your skills, you can become an expert and there are very well-paying jobs waiting for us,” she said.

Two student participants noted that social tension and unhappiness could arise between Singaporeans and foreigners here, as shown by the outcry that followed a Filipino nurse’s recent online remarks calling Singaporeans “loosers” (losers) in their country.

Ms Fu urged Singaporeans to take a firm stand against insensitive comments made by a minority, but remain calm, cool-headed and united.

There are black sheep among both Singaporeans and foreigners who make insensitive comments about others, she added.

However, other fault lines, such as those along race and religion, may also surface. “Our position is that we must, first of all, be sensitive to one another. There’s a certain limit when we talk about freedom of speech. You have to take into consideration (the relationship among different races and religions) in Singapore, so be careful when you make the remarks,” she said.

Asked whether there were people who had left after taking up Singapore citizenship, Ms Fu said the number is “very low” and has been stable for a long time.

New citizens may come to Singapore for economic opportunities — as did many immigrants in the early days — but many become “valuable, really good Singapore citizens who put their heart and soul in this place”, she said, urging Singaporeans to give them a chance.

The Government has also raised the requirements for one to be considered for citizenship, added Ms Fu.

Asked after the dialogue about issues being raised on foreigners, Ms Fu told reporters those are perennial issues that merit the reiteration of mutual respect when incidents arise and said she was glad the youth are taking interest in such issues.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 19, 2015
More Filipinos Moving Into More Industries In Singapore
One of Singapore’s most popular comic characters happens to be a Filipino maid called Leticia Bongnino.

A fictional character from a television sketch show, she embodies a stereotype familiar to Singaporeans who have long relied on Filipinos to tend to their homes.

But it is also a stereotype that has become outdated, as more Filipinos move into new professions here.

These days a Singaporean professional is likely to have Filipino colleagues. With many more taking up service sector jobs, he is also likely to be served by a Filipino at a restaurant, supermarket, or doctor’s clinic.

The estimated number of Filipinos working in Singapore tripled in the past decade to about 167,000 as of 2013, according to Philippines census data. The Singapore government declined to provide the BBC with official figures.

But their rising visibility in Singapore’s society has drawn attention. Amid increasing general resentment towards foreigners, a backlash towards Filipinos has taken place.

Earlier this year, a plan to hold a Philippines Independence Day celebration on Singapore’s main shopping street Orchard Road was cancelled following online complaints by some Singaporeans who said the space was special to locals.

One blogger called the move “insensitive”, saying: “Celebrating your Independence Day openly in the public (especially [at a] iconic/tourist location like Orchard Road) is provocative.”

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he was “appalled” by those who had harassed organisers, calling them a “disgrace to Singapore”. Many Singaporeans also lambasted those who complained about the event.

But anti-Filipino sentiment has continued to swirl online, culminating in a blog titled Blood Stained Singapore suggesting ways to abuse Filipinos, calling them “an infestation”.

The suggestions, which included pushing Filipinos out of trains and threats to spray insecticide on them, alarmed the public. The blog was eventually taken down by Google for infringing content rules.

Change in profile

The Philippines ambassador to Singapore, Antonio A Morales, told the BBC in a recent interview that “by and large” Filipinos were accepted in Singapore, and his embassy had not received any complaints of physical abuse.

But he expressed concern about “the few Singaporeans” who have lashed out, and condemned the blog that suggested abusing Filipinos.

“I think it was unfair and racist and discriminatory,” he said, adding that the blogger had still not been identified. Singapore police have launched an investigation and say the case is still being probed.

Part of the problem is that Filipinos are willing to take on jobs for lower salaries, with working conditions unacceptable to Singaporeans.

The trend has made Filipinos “easier to exploit”, disadvantaging both them and Singaporeans, said migrant rights activist Jolovan Wham.

Sociologist Tan Ern Ser said that when Filipinos were mostly domestic workers, “they posed less of a threat, since they were in jobs which were less attractive to locals.”

But now, “they may be perceived as competitors for jobs in sales, services, or professions that Singaporeans would take up but preferably at higher wage levels, consistent with their aspirations”.

The rise of anti-foreigner sentiment here is a recent phenomenon, with increasing immigration triggering underlying anxieties, say observers.

“Over the decades, the ruling government has emphasised that we are a small island with a lack of natural resources,” noted sociologist Terence Chong.

But this “survivalist rhetoric”, meant to spur on citizens, has now had the inadvertent effect of creating resentment against foreigners who are seen as competition for limited resources.

‘Keep our heads down’

Filipinos here said that Singaporeans have been accepting, although they are concerned about escalating anti-foreigner sentiment.

Media executive Jina L said Filipino professionals like her “keep our heads down” in Singapore. “We can be vocal, but we know when we should keep a low profile,” says the 49-year-old permanent resident.

Restaurant supervisor Michelle Villegas, 31, felt “sad and worried” about online attacks. At work she has encountered customers who have made fun of her for being Filipino.

She came to Singapore five years ago after her sister, who found a job working at the airport, urged her to follow suit. “She told me that the work is good and the salary is much better than back home because you earn in Singapore dollars. It is also very safe, so I like it here,” she said.

She is now also worried that the government will not renew her employment pass, as labour rules have been tightened following public unhappiness over the influx of foreigners.

Singapore immigration
- Worried about a fast-ageing society, Singapore has allowed in more foreigners over the past decade, increasing the population by 33% to 5.47 million.
- The proportion of foreigners has nearly doubled to 29% in that same period.
- Some Singaporeans have complained about crowded public transport, high housing prices, and a lack of good jobs. The citizen unemployment rate remains low at 3%.
- Widespread unhappiness led to the ruling People’s Action Party scoring its lowest-ever share of votes in the 2011 general election.
- Since then the government has made it more difficult to hire cheap foreign labour, and incentivised productivity and innovation – but progress has been slow.
- It also ramped up transport infrastructure and housing, and attempted to cool the property market.
Tightening manpower rules

One way Singapore has tried to solve the labour crunch while placating the public’s desire for fewer foreigners is outsourcing jobs to other countries.

In the Philippines, the Singapore government-linked company Keppel set up shipyards in Batangas and Subic Bay. Last year a government agency tasked to find opportunities for Singapore companies overseas set up an office in Manila.

“Instead of our workers coming here, Singaporeans can bring their jobs to other countries, to our labour centres,” said Mr Morales.

But not all jobs can be sent offshore – and Singapore still needs to fill many job vacancies perceived as unattractive.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans still can’t get enough of Leticia Bongnino – but her writers are acknowledging the changing times. In a recent sketch, she reeled off the names of fictional relatives working at a call centre, department store and café in Singapore.

Beaming, she said: “Now there are a lot of Filipinos in Singapore… Leticia is very happy as almost all my relatives are here.”

Source: www.bbc.com
January 5, 2015
MOM Not Doing Enough to Police Credentials of Foreigners Seeking to Work In Singapore?
Yesterday (4 Nov), NCMP Gerald Giam from WP posed a question in Parliament about Govt’s plan to check on the credentials of foreigners coming to work in Singapore, in light of recent cases of FTs using fake degrees to obtain Employment Pass (EP) to work in Singapore.

Specifically, Mr Giam asked:

To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the Government’s plans to facilitate credential checks on foreigners coming to work in Singapore in light of cases of foreigners on employment passes who are revealed to have used false credentials.

Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin replied that the EP eligibility framework is based on a range of factors, such as the applicant’s:

salary level

qualifications

experience

This is to help identify individuals that are likely to possess expertise and capabilities to contribute to the Singapore economy, Mr Tan said.

“Hence, possessing acceptable qualifications alone does not guarantee that the EP application will be approved. Conversely, not possessing acceptable qualifications does not automatically rule one out of being eligible for an EP,” he added.

Mr Tan said that in 2012, MOM tightened the legislation and increased penalties for making false statements or submitting false documents in support of work pass application, including those relating to academic qualifications. Offenders may be fined up to $20,000 and/or imprisoned up to two years.

“Since 2012 to the first half of 2014, we have successfully prosecuted about 150 foreigners for false credentials. All were sentenced to imprisonment terms and subsequently had their work passes revoked and were barred from working in Singapore,” he said.

Mr Tan also revealed that MOM has taken a risk-based approach to improve and strengthen the credential checks, including:

supplementing checks with third-party overseas screening agencies

verifying the authenticity of certificates directly with the issuing educational institution

requiring the applicant to upload proof of diplomas and higher qualifications authentication

“MOM will take strong actions against those who make false declarations in work pass applications. If members of the public know of such offences, they should report the matter to MOM,” Mr Tan added.

Yang Yin’s EP approved in 2009

One of the high profile cases featured in the media recently was Yang Yin, a former PRC tour guide who eventually became a PR and grassroots member in Singapore.

The Chinese media earlier reported that Yang had allegedly obtained money from 82-year-old widow Mdm Chung Khin Chun to procure a fake degree in China (‘Yang alleged to have bought fake degree for S$4,000‘).

An acceptance letter supposedly from the “University of Financial and Trade Beijing China” (北京财经贸易学院) showing that Yang was apparently “accepted” by the university to study for a bachelor’s degree in 2006, was produced:

He was said to have graduated later in July 2009 (‘PRC Yang “graduated” from unknown university in 2009‘).

The Chinese media also reported that the said university cannot be found in the official university listing from China’s Ministry of Education.

TRE also searched the Internet using the university’s name (北京财经贸易学院) and found many interesting entries. One of them was a question posted on a Chinese forum in November 2012, asking if it is too expensive to buy a degree from the said university for CNY8,000 (S$1,600) [Link]. Other postings said the university does not exist [Link].

And then, there was a news article published in July this year, exposing a list of 150 fake universities in China [Link]. 北京财经贸易学院 is listed as one of them:

Yang set up a company in 2009 with Mdm Chung and obtained his EP to work and stay in Singapore. According to ACRA records [Link], the company, Young Music & Dance Studio, only has a paid-up capital of $10,000.

To qualify for an EP in 2009, the foreign PMET had to be paid at least $3,000 in salary. At the time when Yang’s EP was approved, MOM was under the purview of Minister Gan Kim Yong.

MOM said it’s investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, Yang has been slapped with 11 charges (‘‘Foreign talent’ Yang Yin slapped with 11 charges‘) on 31 Oct. He was accused of falsifying the accounts of Young Music & Dance StudioPte Ltd between 2009 and 2014 while being a director of the company.

Court papers stated that Mr Yang had “wilfully” falsified receipts of payment to Young Music and Dance Studio, when there were no such payments. He was said to have created fictitious receipts reflecting payments for “painting” and “piano classes”. The payments range from $1,000 to $5,500. In other words, he is alleged to have created fictitious revenue for the company so as to pay his monthly salary “legally” in order to support his EP.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com
November 6, 2014