Singapore firms welcome foreign worker levy waiver, rebates but say they must restart work soon

Extension of levy waiver, rebates will reduce financial pressure, say affected companies

Some firms hire up to 500 foreign workers and have to fork out $1,000 per worker per month on average, excluding salaries. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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For months since the start of the circuit breaker period in April, firms in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors have had to halt all work.

With revenues ceasing while they continued to pay salaries and other overhead costs, many firms had to dig into their reserves.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 02, 2020, with the headline S'pore firms welcome levy waiver, rebates but say they must restart work soon. Subscribe