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Marine firm banned from hiring foreigners for two years

SINGAPORE — Five months after new regulations kicked in to guard against employment practices that are discriminatory against Singaporeans, an errant local marine firm has become the first to be banned from hiring foreigners.

Ministry of Manpower. TODAY file photo

Ministry of Manpower. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — Five months after new regulations kicked in to guard against employment practices that are discriminatory against Singaporeans, an errant local marine firm has become the first to be banned from hiring foreigners.

Prime Gold International, which retrenched 13 Singaporean employees to hire foreigners as their replacements, has been stripped of its rights to apply for new work passes for foreign hires for two years, the first time the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has done so out of 100 or so companies it has taken action against under the Fair Consideration Framework.

It is also the first time a company has been penalised for discriminating against its Singaporean workers. Previously, the companies dealt with had fallen afoul of the framework for posting discriminatory job ads.

The centrepiece under the Fair Consideration Framework, which had kicked in on Aug 1, is the requirement that some employers post vacancies — for which 95 per cent of Singaporeans’ salaries fall within — on a national job bank for 14 days before they can turn to foreign hires, though it also covers fair employment, hiring and staff development practices. It came about following years-long complaints from locals that companies favoured foreigners who were said to be more amenable to lower pay for tougher working conditions.

The MOM said its investigations showed that Prime Gold had retrenched 13 Singaporean employees unfairly, under the guise that their jobs were no longer needed and that the company was running losses. The employees had held positions such as captains, chief officers, chief engineers, greasers and able-bodied seamen.

The company also claimed that the workers, who were laid off in phases, had poor work performance and lacked the relevant qualifications.

But Prime Gold subsequently brought in foreigners to replace these workers, said the MOM. The firm’s claims about the workers were also unsubstantiated, the ministry added.

“The MOM assessed that by unfairly replacing Singaporeans with foreigners, Prime Gold had denied Singaporeans fair opportunities for employment and career development,” the ministry said. “The MOM takes a serious view of the discriminatory employment practices carried out by Prime Gold, as they affect the livelihood of Singaporeans already in employment. We have, therefore, curbed the work pass privileges of the company for a substantial period.”

Prime Gold’s breach had surfaced in June after the former employees filed complaints with the MOM. The firm was unable to comment by press time.

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