New hiring framework in tandem with ‘vibrant economy’

SINGAPORE — Having an open and vibrant economy and, at the same time, giving fair consideration to Singaporeans during the hiring process are “not mutually exclusive”, said Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin in Parliament yesterday.

Stressing this point several times as new rules to ensure fair hiring practices for white-collar professionals and executives came under scrutiny, Mr Tan added that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) may work with private job portals to better match Singaporean applicants with vacancies, even as it sets up a national job bank.

The Ministry will also not prescribe a threshold on the number of complaints a firm can receive before it is subjected to additional scrutiny, but will look at the merits of each case.

Under the Fair Consideration Framework which will take effect on Aug 1 next year, firms that want to hire foreign professionals must first advertise for Singaporeans to fill the vacancies in a government-run job bank. The framework, however, exempts firms with fewer than 25 staff, jobs paying a salary of above S$12,000 a month, and rank and file jobs.

Responding to Nominated MP Mary Liew, who asked about the exemptions, Mr Tan said the framework had to be designed “in a way that is practical and appropriate for our people — one that pushes employers to consider Singaporeans fairly but at the same time avoids making things too rigid for businesses”.

Added Mr Tan: “When companies can thrive, opportunities are also created for our people. So it is really about catering for our open, diverse, dynamic workforce but at the same time making sure that there is fair consideration at play — they need not be mutually exclusive.”

Mr Tan assured the House that his ministry “will monitor the implementation of the FCF closely and make adjustments to the exemption framework as necessary”.

Workers’ Party (WP) MP Png Eng Huat (Hougang) asked whether companies which intend to hire a foreign professional would simply “go through the motions of advertising” for the required 14 days under the FCF.

In response, Mr Tan said a national job bank would ensure that Singaporeans have access “to look at whether those jobs are available”.

The advertisements would also trigger the MOM to scrutinise such companies in detail, as there would be allegations of unfair recruitment, he added.

Elaborating on the job bank, which is the centrepiece of the new framework, Mr Tan said the MOM is “open to considering how we can collaborate with private job portals”.

The ministry will consult with private job portals in the coming months “to explore possible areas of collaboration that can improve overall market efficiency and provide as much visibility of job opportunities to job-seekers as possible”, he said.

The minister also said the job bank would be “a good way to mine data for us to better understand how the economy and how the workforce are evolving as well”.

Nee Soon GRC MP Patrick Tay then asked whether vacancies posted on the national job bank would be open only to Singaporean PMEs.

In response, Mr Tan said it would be “open for visibility for various people”. But he added: “We do envisage that in terms of direct application online, it would only be made available to Singaporeans.”

Responding to WP MP Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC), who asked how the MOM will be scrutinising firms, Mr Tan cited various factors — such as how a firm’s proportion of local PMEs compares with others in the same industry, how fast the proportion changes over time and complaints received.

But the ministry does not prescribe a fixed threshold on the number of complaints which will subject firms to additional scrutiny, as this would depend on the merits of each complaint, he said.

On Chua Chu Kang MP Zaqy Mohamad’s question about what the MOM learnt from how other countries plug loopholes in their frameworks, which employers can exploit, Mr Tan said “no one particular policy is foolproof”.

“You can come up with many regulations, people are creative, they’ll find different ways to get around it. It’s not foolproof, but I think we’ve looked at the various measures and we adapted to what we believe would work for Singapore,” Mr Tan added.