Still No Singaporeans First

RE: New guidelines to ensure Singaporeans remain core of workforce

After all that posturing and gesturing... The government is still not giving us Singaporeans First.

Just a lot of talking to gloss over the problems. For example:

"Employers should make reasonable efforts to attract and consider Singaporeans for job positions on merit, and to train and develop their potential and careers," said Mr Tan (Chuan Jin).

You mean such a statement is gonna help?
Moral suasion is better than law? WOW.


And they are still refusing to budge on the issue of imposing a quota on foreign worker permits and talent passes.

If you are white collar, just be aware that nothing has really changed. The (foreigner) employer can still deny you of the job and/or your promotion by filling positions with his friend(s) from abroad, simply because there's still no Singaporeans First.

And filling those juicy positions will be a breeze, especially when the economies in the rest of the world are still in shitez. Many of your boss' friends are uber willing to come to Singapore, even at a paycut. Sure beats having NO JOB back home.

How are you gonna fight against the tide of the WORLD's talent pool?!

Of course, Singov is saying that if you feel aggrieved, you can go lodge a complaint against your employer. That's the theory.

But in reality, if you were not even selected for interview, how do you lodge a complaint? On what basis? Unless you have friends from inside the company, you wouldn't know why you were not selected, and/or that the eventual person hired for that position was a foreigner or of same nationality as the foreigner hiring manager etc.

Also, if you are already a minority in your department, lodging any complaints against your manager/company = career suicide. It'd be really obvious who had lodged the complaint, wouldn't it?


Such 'open arms' policy is great for Singapore and the rich, but not so great for you, the average Tan Ah Kow.

Telling you to work harder to prove your mettle is simply euphemistic.

Yeah... You wanna play fair too. You wanna play 'meritocracy'.
But is everyone in this employment equation playing fair and meritocratic?

Singov's latest attempt to send signals to employers is merely superficial. Yelping, but no bite.
Maybe this is the first of many more steps to resolve this problem.

In my opinion, if Singov is serious about its latest "Singaporean Core" concept yet wishes to stop short of legislation, it can still go beyond just talking. Minimally, Singov can call up the major employers of each industry to volunteer for a hiring practice audit. Then MOM can report the findings publicly, i.e. which employer refused to participate, which employer passed the audit with flying colours etc. No need for legislation. Just requires some will, guts, and effort on the part of MOM and the rest of Singov.

Or maybe this latest announcement is all there is to Singov's solution. Only time will tell.

But in the meantime, for the past few years and many more to come, how many Singaporeans have been denied of job opportunities?
Instead, they settle for some other lesser jobs. Or some have no jobs.

Still no Singaporeans First.

.................................................................

With that, are you sure you don't wanna fight to secure some advantages for yourself, e.g. by unlocking the value of your national service?

Or do you want the benefits but don't wanna fight for them?

SIGH.