Workers from China can switch jobs within sectors

Chinese work pass holders in manufacturing and services will be allowed to switch jobs within their sectors from next Monday, even while in Singapore.

The interim measure, aimed at giving firms more flexibility to deal with labour challenges due to the coronavirus outbreak, will last six months, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said yesterday.

Under current rules, Chinese work pass holders in those sectors cannot switch jobs while they are in Singapore, which means firms can hire them only after they exit the country.

The move was announced during a visit by Manpower Minister Josephine Teo to Wong Fong Engineering Works in Joo Koon yesterday. She said firms with excess manpower will be matched to those facing a shortage, if the firms on both sides agree to a transfer.

"I think this will plug a gap, and we hope that this is also a practical, tangible way in which we can help businesses to manage the current situation," she said.

In its statement, MOM said the scheme will help firms save on search and recruitment expenses, as well as on repatriation costs.

Done in partnership with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the move borrows from an existing scheme for the construction, process and marine sectors.

Firms that want to hire or transfer Chinese work pass holders here can contact SBF at manpowerconnect@ sbf.org.sg. The service is free for the first month, after which SBF may charge employers a nominal fee, to be announced later. Prevailing work permit rules, including a $35 charge for applications, apply.

The move comes amid calls from businesses for more flexibility on foreign manpower, after stricter rules on workers returning from China were introduced.

These restrictions include needing to get MOM's approval for workers who have recent travel history to China before they can enter Singapore. Such workers also have to comply with a 14-day stay-home notice upon return.

On Feb 14, SBF chairman Teo Siong Seng suggested that the Government could allow foreign workers already here, especially those from China, to change employers without returning to their home countries between contracts, or letting firms bring in more workers from non-traditional source nations like Myanmar.

Wong Fong's chief financial officer Jack Wong said that 13 of his company's 40 workers from China have yet to come back. "(The new measure) will help in the overall management of the business. But of course it will take some time to actually bring these workers up to speed."

During the visit, Mrs Teo reiterated that most of the 30,000 work pass holders from China have yet to return to Singapore. In an update on Monday, MOM said it has approved about 220 and rejected about 500 applications each day from work pass holders who have recently travelled to China.