Singapore: Lowered ceilings on foreign staff and higher levies
Description
On 17 February 2012, the government of Singapore announced wide-ranging restrictions to the employment of foreign staff.
Effective 1 July 2012, the "Dependency Ratio Ceilings" (DRCs) has been lowered for both services and manufacturing. Under the new regime, a maximum of 45 resp. 60 percent of total staff may be of foreign nationality.
Companies have been granted two years to adjust to these ceilings. However, from 1 July 2012 new work permits are only issued to companies operating below the stated ceilings.
In a measure tailored to the construction sector, levies on foreign workers with "basic" skills are increased from $550 to $650 in January 2013, and raised once more to $750 in July 2013. Furthermore, the maximum work-load carried out by foreign staff in a construction project (so-called "Man-Year-Entitlements") has been reduced by 5 percent from 1 July 2012.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 1 Jul 2012
GTA Evaluation: Red
Source:
Ministry of Manpower. (17 February 2012). Further Moderating Demand for Foreign Manpower. Available at http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=409
Government Response:
- 357 reads
