Singapore will continue with balanced approach in managing employment of foreigners

The Singapore government will continue with its balanced approach in managing the employment of foreigners in the country as it cannot open the floodgates and drown Singaporeans, but neither can close the borders and reject foreigners in the workforce, a senior minister has said.

To ensure the Singapore economy continues to grow and good jobs are created for Singaporeans, the Government cannot take extreme positions on the intake of foreign workers, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing was quoted as saying by the Channel News Asia.

Chan said the real competition is not between the Singaporean (citizens) versus the permanent resident (PR) here versus the foreigner in the City State that has grown into Asian financial centre and industrial hubs for multi-national corporations.

"The real competition is Team Singapore, comprising Singaporeans, PRs and foreign workers here, competing with the rest of the world to give our fellow Singaporeans the best chance possible to win, not just in Singapore but across the entire globe," he told Parliament on Monday.

"We cannot open the floodgates and drown Singaporeans. But neither can we close our borders and reject foreigners in our workforce," he said.

Singapore must firmly reject more extreme positions as it strives for what Chan called the "Goldilocks balance".

"Above all, we must firmly reject efforts to stoke anti-foreigner sentiments by spreading falsehoods or creating invidious comparisons out of context. That is not the kind of politics we want," said the minister.

Singapore also depends on foreign labourers and workers in services sectors, mostly coming from Southeast Asian countries, China, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.