The following article was first published in the Straits Times on 12 Dec 2009.
Training the boss as well as the maid
Orientation programmes help employers and maids meet expectations
By Theresa Tan
ASK Jimmy Tay about maid problems and the technician will give you a litany of woes. After all, he has gone through five maids this year.
The first two asked to leave after just one month, claiming they had 'nothing to do'.
The third maid stole from the family, so 45-year-old Mr Tay, who lives with his elderly mother and two brothers, sent her packing.
Maid No. 4 said after three days that she was unhappy and wanted to go home.
The fifth threw a knife on the floor in irritation after his mother asked her to pick some pandan leaves from their garden. She, too, worked for the Tays for just a month.
Said the bachelor, who lives in a landed property: 'We are not fussy or controlling people. I don't know why we had no luck getting good maids.'
Maid trouble is not unique to Mr Tay.
In the first 11 months of the year, 2,812 employers changed their maids four or more times in a year. Last year, 3,007 employers did likewise.
In 2005, the first full year in which the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) started keeping such statistics, 3,483 bosses were classified as employers who changed their maids 'frequently'.
The MOM says the situation is improving. From October 2004, it started making it compulsory for employers who applied to hire their fifth maid in a year to attend its employers' orientation programme.
But merely attending the programme does not guarantee such employers a clean record.
Subsequent applications to employ a new maid can result in an interview with the MOM.
The ministry also blacklists problematic employers - among them abusers and those who fail to pay maids' salaries.
On average, some 300 to 400 are blacklisted every year and are barred from hiring another maid for periods of time.
MOM director of well-being management Phua Boon Leng told The Straits Times its orientation course aimed to help employers be more aware of various problems they can face - for example, in communicating with their maid.
It also tries to get them to moderate their expectations and to see things from the maid's point of view.
The three-hour course is compulsory for all first-time employers - they can choose either to take it online and go through a quiz afterwards to make sure they have absorbed the material, or to take it in a classroom.
But employers who change maids frequently are required to sit through the classroom session.
Madam Chjiraporn Oringa Vathanasin, who has conducted the orientation course for the past four years, tries to impress on employers the need to be more tolerant and patient with their maids.
The main reasons cited by employers for wanting a different maid include: slowness and trouble following instructions, boyfriends, homesickness and poor hygiene.
In order to create better understanding, she often gives employers insights into the maids' lives.
Aside from dealing with homesickness and culture shock, carrying out activities that Singaporeans take for granted - such as using electrical appliances - can be daunting for someone who has never handled an electrical gadget.
Using case studies of employers who were fined or jailed for abusing their maids, she reminds bosses of their legal responsibilities and how they can be taken to task in various situations.
A case cited by MOM as one of the more serious ones regarding errant bosses is that of Zubaidah Sanluan, an employer who failed to pay her Indonesian maid a single cent for six years and two months.
She was fined $4,500 last year and was also barred from hiring another maid, on top of having to pay $19,398 in unpaid wages.
Said Ms Nashidah Begum, a manager at MOM's employment standards branch: 'Zubaidah kept telling the maid she would pay her next month, but never made good on it. The maid's family thought she was dead, as they had not heard from her in six years.'
Madam Sharon Tan, a 36-year-old mother of two, said the orientation course was informative.
However, the manager, who has had four maids this year, felt that some employers can be 'played out' by maids, and MOM should be more understanding towards these bosses.
Madam Vathanasin said that while no one has walked out of her class yet, some employers are clearly resistant to the idea of changing the way they treat their maids.
She added: 'Some people feel they have every right to do whatever they want with their maids. But with the news coverage of maid abuse cases, I feel bosses are less demanding now than before.'
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Manpower Ministry says foreign maids faring better today than 5 years ago
The following article was first published in the Straits Times on 12 Dec 2009.
Life looking better for foreign maids
More maids here now but fewer deaths, abuse cases and pay disputes
By Theresa Tan
Dec 12, 2009
Straits Times
FOREIGN maids are faring better here today than they did five years ago, according to statistics from the Manpower Ministry (MOM) and interviews with advocacy groups and embassy officials.
The number of maid abuse cases and deaths in accidents or by suicide has come down.
The declines are significant because the number of maids has risen from about 160,000 in 2005 to 190,000 now.
In the first 11 months of this year, nine maids died of unnatural causes such as accidents or suicides, sharply down from 40 who died in 2004.
Two of those who died this year fell accidentally while cleaning windows or hanging out the laundry, down from eight such cases in 2004.
Complaints against employers who fail to pay their maids are also down. There have been 219 complaints up to last month this year, compared with 347 in 2005 and 234 last year.
MOM's director of well-being management, Mr Phua Boon Leng, said the statistics showed that the ministry's efforts to protect maids were working.
His department was set up in 2004 to look into the welfare of foreign workers. Since then, several measures have been introduced related to the working conditions of maids and the unrealistic expectations of some employers.
Since 2004, all new maids and first-time employers have to attend a mandatory orientation course, during which the women are told about safety issues and where to go for help, and employers are reminded to be patient and understanding when dealing with the foreigners in their homes.
The minimum age for new maids was raised from 18 to 23 in 2005, bringing in more mature women to work here. Maids also have to pass a basic literacy and numeracy test and have at least eight years of formal education.
Non-profit advocacy groups for migrant workers and embassies say maids are now more aware of their rights and where to seek help.
Ms Bridget Lew, founder of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, observed that the abuse cases her groups sees these days are not as bad as before.
The consul-general of the Philippine Embassy, Mr Neal Imperial, said that last year, 119 Filipinas, mostly maids, complained that they had been ill-treated. There were 169 such complaints in 2007.
In tackling the abuse problem, MOM decided to give all new maids a pre-paid envelope which they could mail to the ministry if they were ill-treated.
Mr Phua said: 'We know that some maids can't use the phone. We have had cases of maids who wrote about their ill-treatment on pieces of paper which they threw out of their employer's house and members of the public brought the notes to us.'
The police said there were 53 substantiated cases of maid abuse last year - just a third of the 157 cases in 1997.
Stricter penalties for maid abuse were introduced in 1998.
While those interviewed cheered the ministry's efforts to fix the more serious problems, they felt that more needed to be done to improve the welfare of maids.
Top of their list is giving maids a day off, to meet friends or go to their places of worship.
But, reiterating the ministry's position not to legislate compulsory rest days, Mr Phua said MOM preferred to leave employers and maids to work out these arrangements, as agreed upon in their contracts.
Life looking better for foreign maids
More maids here now but fewer deaths, abuse cases and pay disputes
By Theresa Tan
Dec 12, 2009
Straits Times
FOREIGN maids are faring better here today than they did five years ago, according to statistics from the Manpower Ministry (MOM) and interviews with advocacy groups and embassy officials.
The number of maid abuse cases and deaths in accidents or by suicide has come down.
The declines are significant because the number of maids has risen from about 160,000 in 2005 to 190,000 now.
In the first 11 months of this year, nine maids died of unnatural causes such as accidents or suicides, sharply down from 40 who died in 2004.
Two of those who died this year fell accidentally while cleaning windows or hanging out the laundry, down from eight such cases in 2004.
Complaints against employers who fail to pay their maids are also down. There have been 219 complaints up to last month this year, compared with 347 in 2005 and 234 last year.
MOM's director of well-being management, Mr Phua Boon Leng, said the statistics showed that the ministry's efforts to protect maids were working.
His department was set up in 2004 to look into the welfare of foreign workers. Since then, several measures have been introduced related to the working conditions of maids and the unrealistic expectations of some employers.
Since 2004, all new maids and first-time employers have to attend a mandatory orientation course, during which the women are told about safety issues and where to go for help, and employers are reminded to be patient and understanding when dealing with the foreigners in their homes.
The minimum age for new maids was raised from 18 to 23 in 2005, bringing in more mature women to work here. Maids also have to pass a basic literacy and numeracy test and have at least eight years of formal education.
Non-profit advocacy groups for migrant workers and embassies say maids are now more aware of their rights and where to seek help.
Ms Bridget Lew, founder of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, observed that the abuse cases her groups sees these days are not as bad as before.
The consul-general of the Philippine Embassy, Mr Neal Imperial, said that last year, 119 Filipinas, mostly maids, complained that they had been ill-treated. There were 169 such complaints in 2007.
In tackling the abuse problem, MOM decided to give all new maids a pre-paid envelope which they could mail to the ministry if they were ill-treated.
Mr Phua said: 'We know that some maids can't use the phone. We have had cases of maids who wrote about their ill-treatment on pieces of paper which they threw out of their employer's house and members of the public brought the notes to us.'
The police said there were 53 substantiated cases of maid abuse last year - just a third of the 157 cases in 1997.
Stricter penalties for maid abuse were introduced in 1998.
While those interviewed cheered the ministry's efforts to fix the more serious problems, they felt that more needed to be done to improve the welfare of maids.
Top of their list is giving maids a day off, to meet friends or go to their places of worship.
But, reiterating the ministry's position not to legislate compulsory rest days, Mr Phua said MOM preferred to leave employers and maids to work out these arrangements, as agreed upon in their contracts.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Employers want more foreign workers
The following article was first published by the Straits Times on 9 Dec 2009.
Employers want more foreign workers: Survey
Almost half in SCCCI poll say business growth hit by quota on such workers
By Cassandra Chew
Dec 9, 2009
Straits Times
Key Findings
COMPANIES that rely on foreign workers want the Government to let them hire more of them, according to a survey.
The call is particularly intense from contractors and manufacturers, who feel the quota should be adjusted for specific sectors. Foreign workers form up to 70 per cent of the workforce in these two sectors.
Overall, almost half of the businesses surveyed are unhappy with the foreign worker quota policy.
They want it raised in order for them to meet orders, which have been increasing in the past few months as Singapore's economy claws its way out of the red.
But such a move could hurt Singapore's competitive edge, said economics professor Davin Chor from Singapore Management University.
'Long-run growth depends on the capacity of our economy to consistently improve on our productivity and the way we tap into cutting-edge technologies,' he said.
'Relying on inexpensive foreign labour would have the reverse effect of discouraging investments in productivity-enhancing innovation.'
The survey, released yesterday, was done by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) in October after its members complained that labour shortages were curbing their business growth.
Most of the survey participants were from the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.
However, their call for more foreign labour comes up against the Government's plan to slow the pace of such workers entering the country, as growing dependence on them is not sustainable.
In June, the policy on hiring foreigners in the services sector was changed to make it more difficult to employ Chinese nationals. It was part of the Government's move to raise the skills bar to stop employers from looking to foreigners as an easier and cheaper option.
Latest official figures show there are 1.1 million foreign workers here, who make up about one-third of the 2.93 million workers in Singapore.
Many are employed by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the bulk of the 328 companies that responded to the survey. Of these, 173 say they have a total of 4,210 job vacancies, mostly for skilled and unskilled workers.
Collectively, these companies hire 21,598 foreign workers, who make up 58.2 per cent of their total workforce.
However, in construction, the proportion is 70 per cent, and in manufacturing, 51 per cent - far higher than the national 37.6 per cent reliance rate.
Although foreign workers help reduce business costs, this is not the main reason employers hire them. Rather, it is the working attitude of locals, said the survey report.
Locals tend to shun shift work and jobs in the more remote areas, said Mr Teo Siong Seng, SCCCI's president and a Nominated MP. As a result, employers hesitate to take new orders, he added.
'Their concern is, what will happen if they cannot hire the workers? This is a concern of all SMEs, not just our members,' he said.
Mr Yeow Kian Seng, 54, managing director of Lucky Joint Construction, suggests introducing hiring quotas based on how labour-intensive the job at hand is, rather than the value of the project.
Employers want more foreign workers: Survey
Almost half in SCCCI poll say business growth hit by quota on such workers
By Cassandra Chew
Dec 9, 2009
Straits Times
Key Findings
COMPANIES that rely on foreign workers want the Government to let them hire more of them, according to a survey.
The call is particularly intense from contractors and manufacturers, who feel the quota should be adjusted for specific sectors. Foreign workers form up to 70 per cent of the workforce in these two sectors.
Overall, almost half of the businesses surveyed are unhappy with the foreign worker quota policy.
They want it raised in order for them to meet orders, which have been increasing in the past few months as Singapore's economy claws its way out of the red.
But such a move could hurt Singapore's competitive edge, said economics professor Davin Chor from Singapore Management University.
'Long-run growth depends on the capacity of our economy to consistently improve on our productivity and the way we tap into cutting-edge technologies,' he said.
'Relying on inexpensive foreign labour would have the reverse effect of discouraging investments in productivity-enhancing innovation.'
The survey, released yesterday, was done by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) in October after its members complained that labour shortages were curbing their business growth.
Most of the survey participants were from the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors.
However, their call for more foreign labour comes up against the Government's plan to slow the pace of such workers entering the country, as growing dependence on them is not sustainable.
In June, the policy on hiring foreigners in the services sector was changed to make it more difficult to employ Chinese nationals. It was part of the Government's move to raise the skills bar to stop employers from looking to foreigners as an easier and cheaper option.
Latest official figures show there are 1.1 million foreign workers here, who make up about one-third of the 2.93 million workers in Singapore.
Many are employed by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the bulk of the 328 companies that responded to the survey. Of these, 173 say they have a total of 4,210 job vacancies, mostly for skilled and unskilled workers.
Collectively, these companies hire 21,598 foreign workers, who make up 58.2 per cent of their total workforce.
However, in construction, the proportion is 70 per cent, and in manufacturing, 51 per cent - far higher than the national 37.6 per cent reliance rate.
Although foreign workers help reduce business costs, this is not the main reason employers hire them. Rather, it is the working attitude of locals, said the survey report.
Locals tend to shun shift work and jobs in the more remote areas, said Mr Teo Siong Seng, SCCCI's president and a Nominated MP. As a result, employers hesitate to take new orders, he added.
'Their concern is, what will happen if they cannot hire the workers? This is a concern of all SMEs, not just our members,' he said.
Mr Yeow Kian Seng, 54, managing director of Lucky Joint Construction, suggests introducing hiring quotas based on how labour-intensive the job at hand is, rather than the value of the project.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Trainee teachers volunteer to teach English to foreign workers
The following article was first published by Channel News Asia on 7 Dec 2009.
Trainee teachers volunteer to teach English to foreign workers
7 December 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : A group of trainee teachers from the National Institute of Education wants to equip foreign workers with basic English in just one lesson.
They plan to teach twice weekly at a foreign workers' dormitory on Pulau Brani.
20-year-old Xian Yaping, a foreign worker from China, and 30 other construction workers from Resorts World Sentosa eagerly signed up for the one-and-a-half hour English lessons.
The lessons were initiated by 23 first-year trainee teachers as part of their community service project.
Jenny Tan is one of the trainee teachers involved in the project called ' Project Bridge'. She said the aim is to equip foreign workers with basic English to express common health- and work-related issues.
Ms Tan said: "We hope that through this project, the workers will be able to apply what we have taught them in their daily lives. Through this project...we will be able to...teach them so that they will learn and the teachers will be able to learn their culture and befriend them. "
The teachers employ what they call the translation method.
Ms Tan explained: "In every lesson, we (have) Chinese and Tamil translators (on standby); anytime the participants do not understand the vocabulary or sentence structure we are teaching them, we have a translator to translate it into their language."
The teachers will conduct lessons over a period of three weeks, reaching out to 180 of these workers.
Although the numbers may not seem significant for a dormitory with 4,000 workers, the trainee teachers said it is a first step that will allow some workers to be able to interact with Singaporeans. - CNA/ms
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Trainee teachers volunteer to teach English to foreign workers
7 December 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE : A group of trainee teachers from the National Institute of Education wants to equip foreign workers with basic English in just one lesson.
They plan to teach twice weekly at a foreign workers' dormitory on Pulau Brani.
20-year-old Xian Yaping, a foreign worker from China, and 30 other construction workers from Resorts World Sentosa eagerly signed up for the one-and-a-half hour English lessons.
The lessons were initiated by 23 first-year trainee teachers as part of their community service project.
Jenny Tan is one of the trainee teachers involved in the project called ' Project Bridge'. She said the aim is to equip foreign workers with basic English to express common health- and work-related issues.
Ms Tan said: "We hope that through this project, the workers will be able to apply what we have taught them in their daily lives. Through this project...we will be able to...teach them so that they will learn and the teachers will be able to learn their culture and befriend them. "
The teachers employ what they call the translation method.
Ms Tan explained: "In every lesson, we (have) Chinese and Tamil translators (on standby); anytime the participants do not understand the vocabulary or sentence structure we are teaching them, we have a translator to translate it into their language."
The teachers will conduct lessons over a period of three weeks, reaching out to 180 of these workers.
Although the numbers may not seem significant for a dormitory with 4,000 workers, the trainee teachers said it is a first step that will allow some workers to be able to interact with Singaporeans. - CNA/ms
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Foreign domestic workers pay more to come to S'pore despite regulations
The following article was first published by Channel NewsAsia on 6 Dec 2009.
Foreign domestic workers pay more to come to S'pore despite regulations
6 December 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Despite better regulations introduced three years ago, foreign domestic workers are still bearing more of the cost to come to Singapore to work.
They are also suffering from fatigue due to long work hours.
At a news conference, to mark the UN Human Rights Day and International Migrants' Day later this month, foreign worker NGOs noted that many workers are still paying off the costs of coming here - by going without pay for six to ten months.
To hire a maid, employers are charged between S$2,500 and S$3,000. It is common practice for agencies and employers to deduct that amount - not just the commission - from workers' salaries.
The NGOs are advocating for changes in agency practices, such as lowering the cost of coming to work in Singapore, and making the breakdown of charges more transparent to the workers.
- CNA/sc
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Foreign domestic workers pay more to come to S'pore despite regulations
6 December 2009
Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: Despite better regulations introduced three years ago, foreign domestic workers are still bearing more of the cost to come to Singapore to work.
They are also suffering from fatigue due to long work hours.
At a news conference, to mark the UN Human Rights Day and International Migrants' Day later this month, foreign worker NGOs noted that many workers are still paying off the costs of coming here - by going without pay for six to ten months.
To hire a maid, employers are charged between S$2,500 and S$3,000. It is common practice for agencies and employers to deduct that amount - not just the commission - from workers' salaries.
The NGOs are advocating for changes in agency practices, such as lowering the cost of coming to work in Singapore, and making the breakdown of charges more transparent to the workers.
- CNA/sc
(c) 2009 MediaCorp News Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Maids are not free to change jobs at will
The following letter was published in the Straits Times on 5 Dec 2009.
Maids are not free to change jobs at will
Dec 5, 2009
THERE have been several letters recently from employers of maids who have complained about their behaviour and suggested they are too free to decide their conditions of work and who they will work for ('Are errant maids, agencies misusing free ride home?', Nov 23; 'Strike a balance to protect interests of maids' employers', last Saturday; and 'Transfer - the new mantra of street- smart maids', Tuesday).
We disagree. Maids are not free to change jobs at will.
They are tied to a specific workplace and employer by the terms of their work permit, and can leave them and take work with another employer only with the consent of their existing employer.
Workers do not seek to change employers for frivolous reasons; usually, there are charges attached to their transfer by their agency that mean they may work from one to four months more before they receive any benefit at all from their labour. There is no legal restriction on the hours a maid may be required to work, nor any mandatory day off.
Two Sundays ago, we heard women from the shelter operated by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) talk about their experiences at the hands of employers. The beatings, insults, sexual molestation, inadequate food and rest these still distressed women described may be the experiences of a small minority among the nearly 200,000 maids here, but they testified to the great inequality in the relationship between employers and maids.
These women were not just the victims of bad employers; they suffered from disempowerment. Some were afraid to seek help or refuse to do dangerous or illegal work out of fear that their employer would send them home, before they had paid off their debt. Most were not allowed to go out and were cut off from the outside world. Their passports and other documentation were taken away from them by agents and employers in order to control them.
It should be unacceptable for any employer to be allowed so much power over workers. Maids should benefit from all the protections contained in the Employment Act and such others as may be necessary to ensure they are treated with respect and consideration, asked to work reasonable hours and at duties they may fairly be asked to undertake, and have the freedom to come and go that other adults in Singapore take for granted.
A more equitable relationship needs to be established, and we need to hear the voices of maids as we work towards that.
John Gee
President
Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2)
Dana Lam (Ms)
President
Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware)
Maids are not free to change jobs at will
Dec 5, 2009
THERE have been several letters recently from employers of maids who have complained about their behaviour and suggested they are too free to decide their conditions of work and who they will work for ('Are errant maids, agencies misusing free ride home?', Nov 23; 'Strike a balance to protect interests of maids' employers', last Saturday; and 'Transfer - the new mantra of street- smart maids', Tuesday).
We disagree. Maids are not free to change jobs at will.
They are tied to a specific workplace and employer by the terms of their work permit, and can leave them and take work with another employer only with the consent of their existing employer.
Workers do not seek to change employers for frivolous reasons; usually, there are charges attached to their transfer by their agency that mean they may work from one to four months more before they receive any benefit at all from their labour. There is no legal restriction on the hours a maid may be required to work, nor any mandatory day off.
Two Sundays ago, we heard women from the shelter operated by the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) talk about their experiences at the hands of employers. The beatings, insults, sexual molestation, inadequate food and rest these still distressed women described may be the experiences of a small minority among the nearly 200,000 maids here, but they testified to the great inequality in the relationship between employers and maids.
These women were not just the victims of bad employers; they suffered from disempowerment. Some were afraid to seek help or refuse to do dangerous or illegal work out of fear that their employer would send them home, before they had paid off their debt. Most were not allowed to go out and were cut off from the outside world. Their passports and other documentation were taken away from them by agents and employers in order to control them.
It should be unacceptable for any employer to be allowed so much power over workers. Maids should benefit from all the protections contained in the Employment Act and such others as may be necessary to ensure they are treated with respect and consideration, asked to work reasonable hours and at duties they may fairly be asked to undertake, and have the freedom to come and go that other adults in Singapore take for granted.
A more equitable relationship needs to be established, and we need to hear the voices of maids as we work towards that.
John Gee
President
Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2)
Dana Lam (Ms)
President
Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test
The following article was first published in the Straits Times on 3 Dec 09.
Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test
Cassandra Chew
3 December 2009
Straits Times
SINGAPOREANS know too well the frustrations of not being understood by service staff from foreign lands when out for a meal or shopping in Orchard Road.
New rules, however, are going to be introduced to help resolve the problem.
From the third quarter of next year, new foreign workers have to clear an English proficiency test before they can get a work permit as a skilled worker.
This will also lower their foreign worker levy, saving an employer $90 a month for each hire.
The new requirement is part of a government move to raise standards in three industries where speaking English is key to delivering good service: retail, food and beverage (F&B), and hotels.
Employers are delighted with the change, which was announced yesterday by the Minister of State for Manpower as well as Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan.
Said Mr Lee: 'English is the working language in Singapore. This is particularly important in industries such as hotels, retail and F&B, where workers interact regularly with customers.'
He made the point at the graduation ceremony of a basic conversational English course for foreign workers. It was held at the NTUC LearningHub's campus in Mountbatten.
The course was initiated by the NTUC LearningHub and the Migrant Workers Centre, a non-profit organisation that offers aid to foreign workers here.
It came about after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said recently that the Government was looking into ways to address the problem of foreigners in service jobs who cannot understand basic English.
PM Lee gave the assurance after Singaporeans had complained long and loud about foreigners who do not understand even simple phrases like 'chilli' or 'no chilli'.
To encourage the learning of English, Mr Lee Yi Shyan said employers who hire foreigners proficient in the language will pay $150 a month for the skilled worker, who must also possess relevant skills certification.
Otherwise, the employer will pay $240, the levy for an unskilled worker.
More details on the proficiency test, and how the rule will affect existing foreign workers, will be released next month.
The three sectors hire a total of 320,000 workers. Of these, up to half could be foreigners.
Minister of State Lee said the new rule is propelled by the need to boost productivity in the service sector, which has been on the decline.
Last year, productivity among hotels and restaurants fell by 9 per cent, and continues to drop further this year.
He said: 'There is a lot of room for productivity improvement in the service sector. And if you want to improve the productivity of service workers, apart from functional skills, the ability to communicate is also very important.'
He also urged employers to view the cost of training staff to meet the language requirement as an investment towards staying competitive.
Employers in the three sectors hailed the language rule.
Said managing director Hensley Teh of womenswear retailer M)phosis: 'There is a need for both locals and foreigners in the service line to have a command of English, but the requirement may be more essential for foreign workers.'
Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei suggests that the tests focus on service-related communication skills, rather than generic English proficiency.
She said: 'The kind of communication required of someone working in a fashion store would be quite different from that required of someone working in an electronics store, and this must be reflected in the assessment process.'
The human resource director of Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel, Ms Eileen Ang, however, is worried that the shortage of English-speaking workers will worsen with the opening of the integrated resorts.
But Mr Raj Giri, training and operations manager for cinema operator Golden Village, believes it is a matter of looking in the right places.
'In China, a lot of people are progressing, upgrading and I'm sure if we knock on the right doors, we will be able to find workers who can speak English.'
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
Foreigners for skilled service jobs must clear English test
Cassandra Chew
3 December 2009
Straits Times
SINGAPOREANS know too well the frustrations of not being understood by service staff from foreign lands when out for a meal or shopping in Orchard Road.
New rules, however, are going to be introduced to help resolve the problem.
From the third quarter of next year, new foreign workers have to clear an English proficiency test before they can get a work permit as a skilled worker.
This will also lower their foreign worker levy, saving an employer $90 a month for each hire.
The new requirement is part of a government move to raise standards in three industries where speaking English is key to delivering good service: retail, food and beverage (F&B), and hotels.
Employers are delighted with the change, which was announced yesterday by the Minister of State for Manpower as well as Trade and Industry, Mr Lee Yi Shyan.
Said Mr Lee: 'English is the working language in Singapore. This is particularly important in industries such as hotels, retail and F&B, where workers interact regularly with customers.'
He made the point at the graduation ceremony of a basic conversational English course for foreign workers. It was held at the NTUC LearningHub's campus in Mountbatten.
The course was initiated by the NTUC LearningHub and the Migrant Workers Centre, a non-profit organisation that offers aid to foreign workers here.
It came about after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said recently that the Government was looking into ways to address the problem of foreigners in service jobs who cannot understand basic English.
PM Lee gave the assurance after Singaporeans had complained long and loud about foreigners who do not understand even simple phrases like 'chilli' or 'no chilli'.
To encourage the learning of English, Mr Lee Yi Shyan said employers who hire foreigners proficient in the language will pay $150 a month for the skilled worker, who must also possess relevant skills certification.
Otherwise, the employer will pay $240, the levy for an unskilled worker.
More details on the proficiency test, and how the rule will affect existing foreign workers, will be released next month.
The three sectors hire a total of 320,000 workers. Of these, up to half could be foreigners.
Minister of State Lee said the new rule is propelled by the need to boost productivity in the service sector, which has been on the decline.
Last year, productivity among hotels and restaurants fell by 9 per cent, and continues to drop further this year.
He said: 'There is a lot of room for productivity improvement in the service sector. And if you want to improve the productivity of service workers, apart from functional skills, the ability to communicate is also very important.'
He also urged employers to view the cost of training staff to meet the language requirement as an investment towards staying competitive.
Employers in the three sectors hailed the language rule.
Said managing director Hensley Teh of womenswear retailer M)phosis: 'There is a need for both locals and foreigners in the service line to have a command of English, but the requirement may be more essential for foreign workers.'
Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei suggests that the tests focus on service-related communication skills, rather than generic English proficiency.
She said: 'The kind of communication required of someone working in a fashion store would be quite different from that required of someone working in an electronics store, and this must be reflected in the assessment process.'
The human resource director of Royal Plaza on Scotts hotel, Ms Eileen Ang, however, is worried that the shortage of English-speaking workers will worsen with the opening of the integrated resorts.
But Mr Raj Giri, training and operations manager for cinema operator Golden Village, believes it is a matter of looking in the right places.
'In China, a lot of people are progressing, upgrading and I'm sure if we knock on the right doors, we will be able to find workers who can speak English.'
(c) 2009 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
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