MP Inderjit Singh on foreign talent

[Lancelot]

I know the feeling.

I once applied to well known local bank for a high level position. I had the qualifications & experience that far exceeded what they were looking for.

The hiring manager said I was a great match for the job, but when the VP & his assistant interviewed me , they rejected me .

I had queried why I was rejected after 4 interviews and passed all of them with flying colors and they could not give me a reason.

I finally found out they hired someone from Australia the VP already knows.

The only way I was able to find out was I knew something inside the bank who told who was hired and how the person was hired.

Discrimination at its best and in a local bank! not a foreign MNC.

This is a sad truth.. There must privileges given to Singapore citizen against foreigners whether they are talent or not. Even if they don't draw the distinction between PR & Citizens.. I am ok.
While least give us an opportunity ??! I work in the financial sector and most of the HODs are foreigners.. This has been going on and on regardless of what measures govt try to push thru.. (fair hiring or advertising for Singaporean applicant first)..

You may have you CFAs MBA and whats not but the truth is opportunity is never given to you. How do you know we as Singaporeans are not capable of delivering? How then can we climb up the social ladder?

Disgruntled DP28 ..

This is the only country that leaders telling others that their citizens are daft . Now even telling own citizens uni degree is nothing , instead should go to poly or ITE.

[greengiraffe]

On a related topic... even Australia that has supposedly good system to protect resident workers are also facing the same problems... seems that the pastures are always greener overseas... Politicians = consters?

Jobless lose out to migrant force
NATASHA BITA THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 29, 2014 12:00AM

EMPLOYERS have recruited 37,620 foreign managers, professionals and tradespeople this year, despite a growing pool of 191,000 unemployed Australians qualified for the same jobs.

Official data reveals that while 67,000 Australian technicians and tradies search for work, employers have brought in 10,210 foreign trade workers on 457 work visas during the first nine months of this financial year. Employers also looked offshore for 19,260 professional staff, despite a pool of 83,700 Australians unemployed.

And 8150 managers were sponsored on 457 visas, despite 40,200 Australian managers on the dole queue.

Unions demanded tighter controls on migrant labour yesterday, as employers insisted foreigners were only doing jobs that Australians “would not or could not” do.

Professionals Australia has asked the Abbott government to remove engineering from its approved list of skilled occupations for migrant labour, in light of 7000 job losses in the past year. Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said Australian nursing graduates, carpenters, cooks, engineers, fitters and motor mechanics were having trouble finding work, at the same time employers were using migrant labour.

“We need foreign workers, particularly under permanent migration,’’ he said yesterday. “But Australians want work in the same areas where 457 visa use is at its greatest.

“We can’t be importing workers and creating a market glut that forces up unemployment, shuts out local workers and halts opportunities for young people trying to get into the workforce.

“If we move to a system where it is easier to bring labour from overseas than to train our own apprentices, that will lead to a major imbalance in the labour market.’’

Mr Oliver said unions had found cases of “significant abuse’’ of migrant labour, with some employers using them as cheaper “bonded labour’’.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has prosecuted 11 employers this year for underpaying migrants — including a restaurant in Dubbo, NSW, that allegedly underpaid a Chinese cook $189,255 over three years, and a Brisbane IT firm fined for underpaying a young Chinese worker $10,000.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Kate Carnell said employers’ continued reliance on 457 visas proved that work was available for Australians willing to move to ­regional areas.

“These jobs are either in places Australians don’t want to go, or are the jobs Australians don’t want to do,’’ Ms Carnell said.

“There are jobs to be done, and it would be great if they could be filled with Australian workers.’’

Professionals Australia chief executive Chris Walton said 7000 engineers had lost their jobs in the past year, and the closure of Toyota and Holden would land hundreds more out of work.

“We’re producing fewer engineering graduates than we’re importing, and that’s a travesty,’’ Mr Walton said.

Jeff Bradtke, managing director of contract labour hire business Workforce Solutions, said demand for migrant labour was starting to increase after the global financial crisis.

“There’s not just a skills shortage, there is a shortage in Australia of willingness to work,’’ he said.

[Jacmar]

All these movement is part of the continuing globalisation trend. Instead of movement of goods , here you have movement of human capital. There seems to be a backlash now with countries putting up barriers to protect their own. So far no country has gone to WTO to complain that they cannot export their human resources.

[Ben]

A quote from Inderjit Singh message:

“A young friend, a 30 year old well educated man, shared the following with me. “I am not sure what my place in Singapore is anymore. I know that my life is not that of an average Singaporean, I have been very fortunate. Still at times I do not feel like Singapore is my home. Yes Singapore is a brilliant place to make money but not to live anymore. Everything is so crowded and society so impersonal and detached. I feel like my personal space has been invaded by strangers. Today we are a great nation but it seems more and more like a 6 star hotel – emphasized by the huge amount of imported wealth and labour – where everything is perfect if you can pay the high room rates.”

When I was still in the corporate world, I used to entertain my foreign visitors to some of the finest place in Singapore. Without fail, all of them are envious of us living here. It is beautiful, colourful, clean and so on. However, what I had showed them during their short stay are places that ordinary Singaporean seldom visit, and without the entertainment budget from company, I personally would not visit many of these places either. Yes, Singapore is a nice place, if only you are rich enough to enjoy it.

I used to enjoy a cup of coffee at those HDB’s coffee shop. It was reasonably price and the coffee is rich. These days, I don’t enjoy it as much. Yes, the price has gone up, but $1 for a cup of coffee is still affordable. But what turn me off is that the coffee these days are so diluted, and also don’t taste the same as before. Perhaps due to inferior coffee beans used.

The rice served by food stalls used to look like a molehill over the bowl. Now the serving bowl is smaller and the filling is a lot lesser. And if you were to buy a cup of sugar cane juice at our beloved hawker centers, the vendor will try to fill the cup with ice to the brim. Sometimes I wonder if they are selling ice instead. Ask for no ice or less ice? Sure you can, pay more.

Everything is profit motivated nowadays.

Just lamenting. I will still have my coffee at the coffee shop but need to lower my expectation and adjust my taste. What to do?

[Stocker]

6.9m is coming anyway as the white paper was already out. Must tahan , have no choice for many.

[DP28]

I agree with Jacmar, Global demographic is changing. Aging population and talent outflow is a key concern for many nations while not for Singapore.. Since we are net importer of human talent and the mega rich.

As to GG point on Australia issue, I take another perspective. some of the australians i know are lazy people; They choose to live on welfare services and live on unemployment benefits for longest time. Once they are referred a job from social services, they give every reason that the job is a misfit. Hence, Its govt job to protect their citizen who are less lazy. I stayed in Australia for 4 years and I admit I love my life back then there but I never understood their work culture. Being at best in your job is a tail risk event or a black swan.

Just this week, I have friends who left for Singapore for Bahrain, China, Japan to work lately and I believe more will go eventually.

As to stocker, while those looking for opportunities abroad. You can look at Japan. The have a serious aging population concern with 200k of youngster leaving the country annually. Its about time for them open their economy to revive those long-forgotten brand like.. Sony.. NEC.. Toshiba. etc etc. Hindsight is .. do you trust that their radiation leak is contain?
link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia...12394.html

[DP28]

I know the feeling.

I once applied to well known local bank for a high level position. I had the qualifications & experience that far exceeded what they were looking for.

The hiring manager said I was a great match for the job, but when the VP & his assistant interviewed me , they rejected me .

I had queried why I was rejected after 4 interviews and passed all of them with flying colors and they could not give me a reason.

I finally found out they hired someone from Australia the VP already knows.

The only way I was able to find out was I knew something inside the bank who told who was hired and how the person was hired.

Discrimination at its best and in a local bank! not a foreign MNC.

This is a sad truth.. There must privileges given to Singapore citizen against foreigners whether they are talent or not. Even if they don't draw the distinction between PR & Citizens.. I am ok.
While least give us an opportunity ??! I work in the financial sector and most of the HODs are foreigners.. This has been going on and on regardless of what measures govt try to push thru.. (fair hiring or advertising for Singaporean applicant first)..

You may have you CFAs MBA and whats not but the truth is opportunity is never given to you. How do you know we as Singaporeans are not capable of delivering? How then can we climb up the social ladder?

Disgruntled DP28 ..

Sorry to hear that flinger. So as a matter of fact, whom you know is not less important than what you know or what you have on papers. But whilst having papers in Singapore is darn important I must say..

[Freenasi]

I think Mr singh is probably one of few who are down to earth and true to the people. But if only he has the guts to join another party, perhaps his words will be louder and have more impact. Most of the rest, in my opinion, are still too contented and complacent at the ivory tower. All i constantly hear r threats that if we dun have FTs, then we wont have jobs, economy will stall, no one to build the HDBs, no one to work in service industries blah blah.

[specuvestor]

Singapore is a migrant society... foreign talents and foreign labour is nothing new. In fact without these 2, Singapore would not be where it is today. That's the historical truth.

Lost in all these rah-rahs and calls against xenophobia are 2 key points that should stand up in the debate: 1) We do not oppose foreigners, but citizens (not race or birthplace) should have priviledges as the vested interest is different 2) The pace of foreigners inflow is stressing our infrastructure and culture. Instead of them assimilating to us, we are assimilating to their callous ways.

As Inderjit pointed out, what is our culture: For me trustworthiness and honest hardwork are important attributes. Not many places in the world can you lose your wallet or handphones and have a "glimmer" of hope in recovering it. Secondly I continually support Singlish. That is the most outward expression of our culture and identity as a multicultural and inclusive society. We know you are Singaporean by your Singlish.

Culture is important because therein lies your national identity. It is dumb for the govt to sacrifice this for some kind of utopian metropolitan melting pot vision.

"When I talk with my constituents, many of them share with me the great sense of pride that they feel towards Singapore and her achievements. They share stories of how when they travel people enquire eagerly about the ‘Singapore model’. Many of our programs such as education, healthcare financing and CPF are enthusiastically adopted by foreign policy makers. We, Singaporeans, certainly have a lot to be proud of. But when you ask them what it means to be a Singaporean they turn awkwardly and smile, ‘Ermm our food’"

[brattzz]

well said specuvestor!

maybe we don't really appreciate what we really have here... singapore is special!