Distinguishing between Singaporeans and non-citizens in workforce will ‘drive a wedge’ in society: Chee Hong Tat

SINGAPORE — A disagreement that began in Parliament earlier this week between Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh and Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing continued on Wednesday (Jan 8), with Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, weighing in on the issue. This is about whether the Government should release data breaking down employment numbers for Singaporeans, permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners. 

Mr Chee said in a Facebook post that the release of such data and distinguishing between Singaporeans and non-citizens in the workforce would drive a wedge between different groups in society, reiterating a point made by Mr Chan on Monday.

“In growing our economy, we constantly balance multiple trade-offs, including the extent to which we bring in foreigners to complement our local workforce,” Mr Chee wrote.

He also pointed out that most international labour market statistics are not broken down by nationalities. 

“What matters most are the outcomes for our workers. On this, the results are encouraging — Singapore remains globally competitive in attracting investments, unemployment has remained low, wages of Singaporean workers are going up and good jobs continue to be created now and in the future.”

The country has achieved these outcomes by staying united and working together, he said. “Let us not go down the path of other economies which are struggling with the politics of division and envy.”

WHY WORKERS' PARTY WANTS THE DATA

During Parliament on Monday, Mr Singh had repeatedly asked for the number of new jobs going to Singaporeans, PRs and foreigners in individual industries, eventually drawing a sharp rebuttal from Mr Chan that “the ultimate competition is not pitting Singaporeans against the PRs, it is about Team Singapore comprising Singaporeans, the PRs and even the foreign workforce”.

Following the exchange, Mr Singh reiterated his points in a Facebook post on Tuesday, saying that there has been “inconsistent” information on how many jobs for Singaporeans have been created by the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) — a set of blueprints to guide various economic sectors on how to innovate, be more productive and create more jobs. 

He noted that the ITM for the construction sector “stands out positively... making clear that good jobs for Singaporeans is a target”. 

But for the other ITMs, references range from “the workforce” to “locals” to “PMET (professional, managerial, executive and technician) jobs” and not Singaporeans per se, he said. 

He also noted that in most employment statistics, the Government does not classify Singaporeans as a standalone category. PRs are also included, collectively categorised with Singaporeans as “locals”.

“This classification makes it difficult to consider the problems and issues that afflict the Singaporean workforce across industries and over time,” he argued. 

“It also makes it difficult to track and consider policy options or alternatives to boost the employment and career progression prospects of Singaporeans — something every civic-minded citizen and most of us political moderates with a stake in Singapore should be concerned about.”

THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE

Mr Chee noted in his post on Wednesday that in the original response to Mr Singh’s parliamentary question, Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad had outlined that between 2015 and 2018, total employment across the 23 ITM sectors grew by 19,500, excluding foreign domestic workers.

This comprised an increase in employment of Singaporeans by 39,300, an increase in employment of PRs by 8,600 and a decrease in employment of foreigners by 28,500.

“(Mr Zaqy) also explained that it would be more meaningful to look at employment changes over a longer period, since the majority of the ITMs were launched only in 2018,” Mr Chee said.

Reiterating Mr Chan’s remark that the Government “has nothing to hide”, Mr Chee added: “We must firmly reject all attempts to drive a wedge between different groups within our society and stand resolute against efforts to stir fear and hatred for political gain. Only then can we continue to progress together as Team Singapore.”