Singapore: Locals come first

Companies operating in Singapore from now on are required to advertise vacancies to local residents for two weeks before they can apply to fill positions with overseas workers. The recruitment notices must be posted to a central job bank to be administered by a government employment agency, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Manpower.

Singapore has already taken steps this year to make it more difficult to import workers, including increasing levies on overseas hires and reducing the allowable ratio of foreign to local employees at companies in the service, manufacturing, construction and maritime sectors.

Singapore is a major hub for regional and multinational companies operating in Southeast Asia, and such measures have raised concerns in the foreign business community about the ability to meet staffing needs, given Singapore’s aging population. In January, nine foreign business groups, including the American, Australian, British, Canadian and European chambers of commerce, sent a letter expressing these concerns to local labour officials.

Source: The New York Times