• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Netizens question MOM why now only realise for the high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities, as all the employment passes are issued and approved by MOM

by S.Ling
06/08/2020
in Comments
Reading Time: 5 mins read
90

Due to the suspected discriminatory hiring practices in their workforce profile, another 47 employers were added to the watchlist of Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), said Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (5 Aug).

“These employers will have their Employment Pass (EP) applications closely scrutinised, and those who are recalcitrant or uncooperative will have their work pass privileges cut back,” MOM added.

According to MOM, those companies comprise both large and smaller firms, with the largest employing nearly 2,000 professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).

Of those, 30 are in the financial and professional services sectors while the remaining 17 are in administrative and support services, manufacturing and education.

Those employers include banks and fund managers, management consulting firms as well as firms providing project management and engineering services.

Comparing to industry peers, the Ministry highlighted that 30 employers from the financial and professional services sectors have a high concentration of PMETs from single nationalities while 18 of the firms have foreigners comprising more than half of their PMET workforce.

The Ministry went on to give example of a wealth management firm which about three-quarters of their PMETs are of the same nationality, as well as another example of a bank who have about two-thirds of same nationality PMETs.

“We will subject their hiring to closer scrutiny to ensure that there is no nationality bias against locals, which is unacceptable and not in line with fair, merit-based hiring,” the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, MOM will also further investigate another 240 firms which have been identified through data analytics for possible pre-selection of foreigners or not adhering to the spirit of the job advertising requirement under the FCF.

Over 1,200 employers have been scrutinised and a total of 3,200 EP applications have been rejected or withheld by MOM since 2016 

Since the introduction of FCF watchlist in 2016, over 1,200 employers have been scrutinised and a total of 3,200 EP applications have been rejected or withheld by MOM, or withdrawn by employers.

Beyond this, the employers on the watchlist have hired more than 4,800 Singaporean PMETs over the same time period, according to MOM.

On top of the 30 employers from financial and professional services sectors that added to the watchlist on Wednesday, MOM revealed that 190 firms from the same sectors have been placed on the watchlist since 2016, but 100 have since been removed after showing their strong commitments to improve hiring practices.

Earlier in March, the Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo revealed that there are still 350 companies on the government watch list of entities that unfairly hire foreigners over Singaporeans. Of the 610 companies that were on the list, 260 have been taken off.

According to Ms Teo, the objective of putting the errant employers to the watchlist is not just to penalise errant employers, but also “want them to improve” in fairly considering Singaporeans for employment offer.

Launched in August 2014, FCF was part of the government’s effort to increase the representation of Singaporeans in the workforce, setting out expectations for companies to fairly consider Singaporeans for job opening.

In July last year, the FCF requirements were expanded so that more companies have to advertise more vacancies to locals before MOM will accept their EP applications.

Netizens wonder why MOM only take action now as the issue of higher number of foreign PMETs is not a new thing in Singapore

A bunch of critical comments were emerged on the social media after the MOM made such announcements. Penning their thoughts on the Facebook page of The Straits Times and Channel News Asia, the netizens wondered why MOM only realised about this issue presently given that the issue of unfair hiring practices have been happening for a long time.

They also pointed out that all the EP and work passes are issued and approved by MOM, questioning whether MOM have chose to “sweep the issue under carpet” or did all these just for”a drama and a wayang”.

A couple of netizens also criticised MOM for “double standard” on setting the quota and levy for work permit but not for EP.

One netizen, who self-profess to be in a Human Resource (HR) position claimed that “recruiters and employers were engaged in all kinds of discriminatory recruitment practices”, but just the Government “closed both eyes to it”.

Another netizen also shared her experience of working in the sectors which always hire foreign PMETs. “The worse is if HR department got one of their own kind then the whole organisation will be flooded with their people,” the netizen wrote.

A handful of netizens also called out the MOM to take immediate actions instead of just placing the errant employers on the watchlist.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well
AFP

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?
Housing

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament
Singapore

Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

07/02/2023
Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?
Asia

Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?

07/02/2023
Forum Asia calls for India to revoke arbitrary ban on BBC documentary
Civil Society

Forum Asia calls for India to revoke arbitrary ban on BBC documentary

07/02/2023
AFP

Google to release ChatGPT rival named Bard

07/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
90 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

07/02/2023
Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?

Can Malaysia review its current practices on foreign worker management?

07/02/2023
Forum Asia calls for India to revoke arbitrary ban on BBC documentary

Forum Asia calls for India to revoke arbitrary ban on BBC documentary

07/02/2023

Google to release ChatGPT rival named Bard

07/02/2023
Earthquake kills more than 3,800 in Turkey, Syria

Earthquake kills more than 3,800 in Turkey, Syria

07/02/2023
Leong Mun Wai calls for a reset of housing policies to deliver affordable and accessible HDB flats and protect retirement adequacy

Leong Mun Wai calls for a reset of housing policies to deliver affordable and accessible HDB flats and protect retirement adequacy

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
104

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
47

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
11

...

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

Singapore Law Watch removes commentary on CPIB’s decision to not prosecute former Keppel executives

by The Online Citizen
02/02/2023
19

...

August 2020
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Jul   Sep »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz