The Telegraph newspaper website in the United Kingdom has reported that Singaporeans are complaining that “foreigners are taking our jobs”.
“Despite a new policy designed to give Singaporeans priority over expats in the job market, young graduates from the city state feel they are being overlooked,” the Telegraph said.
In the report, published on 4 November, the newspaper quoted some Singaporeans’ complaints:
“The government said companies must list a job for 14 days before it goes to an expat, but they [the employers] put things in the job description that a Singaporean wouldn’t have, like a specific qualification not really taught here or experience in a small field, that we could pick up easily.
“Most Singaporeans speak at least Chinese and English and when I spent a year in Europe, these skills alone were really valued but it seems to mean nothing here. It shouldn’t be so easy for an expat to get a job here when we have the skills.”
“What person with a degree, who has studied hard for years, wants to then get a low-paid job in a coffee shop? We want to get a graduate job, work in a bank or big company. Now the expats keep coming and there aren’t enough jobs for everyone.”
“Friends who work in banking say there is a big difference between how we work and how the expats work. When they finish their work, they are done for the day. The Singaporeans will work and work until nine or 10 at night, but it is not them that get the promotion, it is the expat.”
The Singapore government, under Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has always denied that foreigners take away jobs from Singaporeans, citing high employment figures.
Read the full article on the Telegraph here: ”
‘Foreigners are taking our jobs’ complain Singaporeans“
