Singapore must remain open and welcoming to foreign nationals, but how it manages and accommodates foreigners in the economy may have to change, said Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh yesterday.
Citing concerns over Singaporeans being unfairly treated at work, the Workers' Party (WP) chief noted that Singapore's position as a city-state at the crossroads of trade and globalisation is a double-edged sword for Singaporeans, creating opportunities but also making people susceptible to job discrimination.
To better deal with nativism and xenophobia, Mr Singh called for legislative weight to deal with recalcitrant employers who discriminate against locals, mandatory educational assessments to be imposed on foreign job applicants, and more education and skills upgrading support for local workers, among other things.
He also hoped companies would consider lobbying the Government to pass such anti-discrimination laws, adding that firms could do more to consider Singaporeans fairly and promote their skills retraining and upgrading.
He was speaking at the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) Distinguished Speaker Series held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, which was attended by some 50 SICC members.
Speaking two days after a Parliament debate on free trade agreements (FTAs) and foreign manpower, Mr Singh said nativist emotions and attitudes are a reality Singapore has to engage with and address, given that it is a relatively new nation that needs immigration to top up its population.
"Nativism, while largely seen in pejorative terms in global cities and in the context of globalisation, is an entirely predictable emotion and goes to the core of the meaning of citizenship, and the relationship between citizen and state," Mr Singh noted, referring to the desire to protect the interests of native-born residents.
"If nativism is not understood properly and managed, it can easily spill over into xenophobia," he said, laying out how the Government, people and businesses should address these sentiments.
He said the WP supports the Manpower Ministry's Fair Consideration Framework in principle. The framework requires employers to advertise job openings on the MyCareersFuture portal for at least 28 days before submitting Employment Pass or S Pass applications for these positions, and to consider all candidates fairly.
He also said companies should be able to recruit foreign nationals if they are unable to find Singaporeans to fill those jobs after having made their best efforts to do so, and that the majority of businesses here have processes to ensure fair hiring practices.
But the framework needs more teeth, he said, calling on the Government to seriously consider enacting anti-discrimination legislation with statutory penalties.
This would send a "powerful signal" for businesses to change how they recruit, he said, noting employers who are caught unfairly hiring foreigners over Singaporeans are currently subjected only to administrative penalties.
He also called on companies to play a more proactive role to address the concerns of local workers, warning the situation will get worse if they do not step up.
"We can blame populist politicians, but their methods would have no cachet if there wasn't a genuine emotive force on the ground for them to tap into in the first place," said Mr Singh.
"Some Singaporeans question our FTAs because they struggle to see how their lives and those of their compatriots have actually improved because of them."
He accepted there had to be give and take between foreign businesses and local workers.
"But foreign companies who make profits here must take the effort to be one of us and also understand their responsibilities to Singaporeans. In turn, Singaporeans must accept that foreign companies are essential to Singapore, not only as a means to the end of wealth and prosperity, but also because they bring jobs, vibrancy, new ideas, new people and yes, even discomfort, to keep us on our toes."
He said: "The SICC and your member companies are already partners of Singaporeans and have shown yourselves to be for nearly 200 years. Better managing nativism and the fight against xenophobia needs your help, too."
