Popular Posts

Thursday, 13 June 2013

S Pass quotas to be cut, criteria tightened



By Melissa Tan

The Straits Times

Thursday, Feb 28, 2013


The Government is clamping down on some S Pass holders, a category of mid-tier foreign workers earning less than Employment Pass holders but more than Work Permit holders.
Quotas for these workers will be cut for the services sector and S Pass criteria will be tightened, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Monday.
Eligibility requirements for Employment Pass holders will also be tightened.
Mr Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, said the services sector's S Pass Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) will be cut from 20 per cent to 15 per cent.
The reduction applies to new applicants from July 1 this year.
For existing permit holders and renewals, the new S Pass DRC takes effect on July 1, 2015.
The minimum S Pass qualifying monthly salary will also be raised from $2,000 to $2,200 on July 1 this year, Mr Tharman said.
He added that the Government would introduce a tiered salary system based on an S Pass applicant's age and qualifications.
Older applicants will need to qualify at higher salaries.

"This will help to level the playing field for our local workers in the same jobs and also nudge employers to bring in better-calibre workers."
As for Employment Passes, the Manpower Ministry will continue to tighten eligibility requirements, particularly for Q1 pass holders, Mr Tharman said.
Noting that the total number of Employment Pass holders fell last year, he said the Employment Pass policy "must ensure that firms in Singapore remain able to recruit the best teams, including both locals and foreigners".
"At the same time, we must maintain a level playing field for Singaporeans with respect to jobs and progression opportunities."
The minimum salary for Q1 pass holders, the lowest rung of Employment Pass holders, was increased by $200 to $3,000 on Jan 1 last year. Older applicants have to earn even more to qualify.
Mr Tharman said that this tightening has already led to more foreign employees falling to within the S Pass category which makes them subject to a DRC and levies.
For the longer term, the ministry will also put in place a framework to ensure that firms give fair consideration to Singaporeans in their hiring practices, he added.
Software translation firm Verztec chief executive Nicholas Goh said the measures would pose a challenge for his firm.
The firm employs 45 people, of whom 16 are foreign workers. Five of those are S Pass holders from countries such as Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, while the rest hold Q1 Employment Passes.
"We may have to move some parts of our business overseas... we need specialised knowledge and the reduction makes it harder for us to bring on board people of such talent."
Verztec needs foreign workers for technical work since Singaporeans prefer managerial positions, Mr Goh said.


Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.


Employment Change (Q1 2013) : 20,800 (Prelim)

Employment

Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Employment Level as at
Year-end ('000)
2,148.1
2,135.2
2,206.6
2,319.9
2,495.9
2,730.8
2,952.4
2,990.0
3,105.9
3,228.5
3,357.6
n.a.
Employment Distribution by
Sector as at Year-end (%)
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Manufacturing
19.8
19.7
20.2
20.5
20.7
20.8
19.9
17.4
16.7
16.2
15.9
n.a.
Construction
11.8
11.0
10.3
10.1
10.2
10.8
12.2
12.6
12.3
12.5
13.2
n.a.
Services
67.7
68.6
68.9
68.7
68.4
67.7
67.3
69.2
70.3
70.6
70.2
n.a.
Others
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
n.a.
Employment Change ('000)
Annual
-22.9
-12.9
71.4
113.3
176.0
234.9
221.6
37.6
115.9
122.6
129.1
n.a.
1st Qtr
-10.3
-4.1
13.7
17.8
45.0
49.4
73.2
-6.2
36.5
28.3
27.2
20.8p
2nd Qtr
-3.8
-26.0
10.9
31.7
36.4
64.4
71.4
-7.7
24.9
24.8
31.7
n.a.
3rd Qtr
-8.5
0.9
14.1
28.5
43.0
58.6
55.7
13.9
20.5
31.9
26.2
n.a.
4th Qtr
-0.3
16.2
32.7
35.3
51.5
62.5
21.3
37.5
33.9
37.6
44.0
n.a.
Last Updated: 30 April 2013 | Source: Administrative Records
Latest figures published in: Employment Situation
Local employment rose faster in 2012, as foreign employment growth slowed amid tighter foreign manpower controls. With high employment creation, unemployment remained low, despite a rise in layoffs. Vacancies eased in December 2012, although there were still more job openings than job seekers available.



Job Vacancy

2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Job Vacancy ('000)
Annual Average
15.0
12.6
16.5
19.2
31.2
38.6
37.8
30.4
44.2
52.7
48.6
As at Mar
13.9
12.1
15.4
17.5
26.1
35.7
40.9
22.9
37.3
49.3
46.8
As at Jun
16.1
12.0
15.4
19.2
33.0
39.2
42.3
26.1
45.1
55.9
47.3
As at Sep
17.2
13.1
18.9
20.1
32.2
38.8
40.4
36.9
50.2
54.0
56.4
As at Dec
12.9
13.1
16.2
19.8
33.3
40.8
27.4
35.8
44.1
51.7
43.9
Job Vacancy Rate (%)
Annual Average
1.5
1.2
1.6
1.7
2.3
2.6
2.4
1.8
2.5
2.8
2.5
As at Mar
1.4
1.2
1.5
1.6
2.0
2.5
2.6
1.4
2.2
2.8
2.4
As at Jun
1.6
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.5
2.7
2.7
1.6
2.7
3.1
2.5
As at Sep
1.6
1.3
1.7
1.7
2.3
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.8
2.9
2.8
As at Dec
1.2
1.3
1.5
1.7
2.4
2.7
1.7
2.1
2.5
2.7
2.2
Job Vacancy to Unemployed
Person Ratio
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Annual Average
0.36
0.27
0.40
0.47
0.66
1.11
0.91
0.53
0.99
1.22
1.08
As at Mar
0.35
0.29
0.35
0.44
0.58
0.81
1.28
0.36
0.86
1.32
1.05
As at Jun
0.40
0.27
0.34
0.45
0.65
0.96
0.99
0.40
0.96
1.17
0.91
As at Sep
0.37
0.21
0.47
0.43
0.65
1.25
0.85
0.54
1.07
1.18
1.25
As at Dec
0.31
0.30
0.42
0.56
0.75
1.42
0.54
0.80
1.06
1.20
1.10
Last Updated: 15 March 2013 | Source: Labour Market Survey, MOM
Latest figures published in: Labour Market Report

Income

Gross Monthly Income From Work

Mid-Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Median Gross Monthly Income From
Work of Full-Time Employed
Residents ($)
Including Employer CPF
2,380
2,410
2,326
n.a.
2,449
2,543
2,897
2,927
3,000
3,249
3,480
Excluding Employer CPF
2,083
2,100
2,100
n.a.
2,167
2,333
2,588
2,600
2,708
2,925
3,000
Change (%)
Including Employer CPF
Nominal
-0.3
1.3
-3.5
n.a.
n.a.
3.8
13.9
1.0
2.5
8.3
7.1
Real^
0.0
0.8
-5.1
n.a.
n.a.
1.7
6.8
0.4
-0.3
2.9
2.5
(0.0)
(0.6)
(-5.4)
(1.7)
(8.0)
(1.4)
(-0.7)
(3.9)
(3.4)
Excluding Employer CPF
Nominal
-0.8
0.8
0.0
n.a.
n.a.
7.7
10.9
0.5
4.2
8.0
2.6
Real^
-0.5
0.4
-1.7
n.a.
n.a.
5.5
4.0
-0.1
1.3
2.6
-1.9
(-0.5)
(0.1)
(-2.0)
(5.4)
(5.2)
(0.9)
(0.9)
(3.6)
(-1.0)
Last updated: 31 January 2013 | Source: Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, MOM
Latest figures published in: Labour Force in Singapore

Key Manpower Statistics

The labour market statistics produced by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department conforms to the international guidelines recommended by the International Labour Organisation.

The release of key data like employment and unemployment follows the Special Data Dissemination Standards established by the International Monetary Fund.



Labour Force Last updated: 31 January 2013
Employment Last updated: 30 April 2013
Unemployment Last updated: 30 April 2013
Job Vacancy Last updated: 15 March 2013
Labour Turnover Last updated: 15 March 2013
Hours Worked Last updated: 15 March 2013
Redundancy Last updated: 30 April 2013
Re-entry into Employment Last updated: 15 March 2013
Income Last updated: 31 May 2013 

Mrsd Report on Wage Practices 2012



Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)