Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in SG?

[makapaaa]

Published: 12 Dec 2013 12:13AM (Singapore) Share this <TBODY> </TBODY> <TBODY> </TBODY>

<TBODY>
</TBODY>

Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future

On 11 December 2013, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam met some 40 foreign workers at Kranji Lodge 1. Minister Shanmugam addressed their concerns following the 08 December 2013 riot at Little India and assured that as long as they continue to abide by the law, they would not have to worry about their future in Singapore.

By Charissa Tan <TBODY> </TBODY> <TBODY> </TBODY>

Prior to the dialogue session, foreign worker Mr S Saravanan was worried about his work prospects in Singapore following the 08 December 2013 riot in Little India. During the dialogue, Minister Shanmugam noted the worries of the foreign workers with regards to their contract renewal due to possible negative perceptions in the wake of the Little India riot on 08 December 2013. He assured them that as long as they are here to make an honest living and are law abiding, they had nothing to fear. PHOTO: Mabel Yap <TBODY> </TBODY> Along with many of his peers, he was concerned that his contract would not be renewed due to general misconceptions after some of his fellow countrymen had participated in the riot. During the 30-minute dialogue with some 40 foreign workers of Indian nationality at Kranji Lodge 1 on 11 December 2013, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam listened as the workers voiced their concerns over their future of working in Singapore. Many also expressed regret over the actions committed by their fellow countrymen, and their worries of being implicated even though they were not involved in the incident on 08 December 2013. Minister Shanmugam assured the workers that since they are here to make an honest living and are law abiding, they have nothing to fear. With regards to the small minority who were involved in the riot, firm actions will be taken against them should they be found guilty as there is zero tolerance for such misbehavior, said Minister Shanmugam. He also urged the foreign workers to voice out any other concerns with regards to their wages and living conditions. One worker responded, saying he was happy working in Singapore as unlike other countries in the region, Singapore offers him opportunities to upgrade his work skills here. His view was echoed by many others. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam (left in white) chats with foreign workers at Kranji Lodge 1 after the dialogue with some 40 workers on 11 December 2013. PHOTO: Mabel Yap <TBODY> </TBODY> Following their positive responses, Minister Shanmugam added that should the workers have any grievances, there are different proper avenues they may turn to. He also directed them to several foreign workers unions, whose representatives also participated in the dialogue. After the chat with Minister Shanmugam, 29-year-old Mr Saravanan shared that he and his peers felt relieved and assured that they do not have to worry about their future in Singapore. Mr Saravanan has been working in Singapore for the past seven years, and is doing construction for SMRT Corporation. His colleague Mr D Veeraraj, who has been working in Singapore for 12 years, also added that the reason why they gather at Little India every Sunday is to meet up with their friends from the other dormitories and do their weekly groceries shopping. Both men were not opposed to the alcohol ban. Like many of their peers, their purpose of being at Little India is simply to catch up with their friends. Minister Shanmugam would be visiting other dormitories in Singapore the next day. <TBODY> </TBODY>

<TBODY>
</TBODY>

 

[laksaboy]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

One worker responded, saying he was happy working in Singapore as unlike other countries in the region, Singapore offers him opportunities to upgrade his work skills here.

Today he's a construction worker, tomorrow he'll be an accountant or computer programmer.

 

[no_faith]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Minister ensures them that FT is the future.

 

[Annunaki]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Today he's a construction worker, tomorrow he'll be an accountant or computer programmer.

In time to come he could be your boss

 

[Leongsam]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

 

[jw5]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

hehehehehehe...................................................

 

[laksaboy]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

Please refrain from insulting our highly esteemed PAP leeders: intelligent, wise and full of compassion.

 

[I_Hate_Pappies]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

I found something to add to my signature. :p

 

[ChenHaoNan]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

Knn what happened huh? I thought this bugger all along my supporter why now he calling me clown? Maybe His account got hacked?

 

[makapaaa]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

[video=youtube;mAp945mVjjM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAp945mVjjM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[Asterix]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

Anybody who read first book of Old Fart’s autobiography
With a critical mind would have seen this coming
I read the “Sinking Pot Story” as all signs indicated to me
That Goh Choke Dong is nothing but a seat warmer

By his own admission Old Fart and his brothers were
Matching odd job labourers with contractors
And earning fees as middlemen after British returned
Even mentioned British officers were corrupt

One wonders how he knew they were not clean
This and other unsavoury things mentioned therein
Made my mind up for me so glad to say
I have never looked back ever since so go figure

 

[Asterix]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Perhaps that StewPIG Ah Neh MiniStar
Did not read nor understand this
What a bunch of useless BLUR FUCKS

The coming war over talent, the world's most valuable currency
Andrew Sheng says ageing advanced economies need to act now as their labour force shrinks

Forget about currency wars. The dollar may rise, the yen may fall and the renminbi could be the next big currency. But what determines the value of the currency will be the quality of talent. Real value is not gold or GDP, but sheer human power.

I was recently invited to Kiel, just outside Hamburg, to attend the 2013 Global Economic Symposium, organised by the think tank Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The symposium got together a diverse group of people to immerse themselves in lively debate about everything.

Many conferences I go to are based on a theme, populated by specialists who you know will talk about their pet themes. You could not imagine a closing plenary on the subject of success, comprising a Nigerian unionist, an Egyptian banker, a Hong Kong fund manager, an American feminist, a Polish-American economics professor and a US writer on China.

On the question of whether money is a good indicator of success, the economics professor had the last word: "Money is necessary, but far from sufficient."

The Hong Kong fund manager shared the most practical and wise insight. He had to go into socially responsible impact investing, because if he didn't, his next generation might give all the money away. The next generation cares about more than just making money.

The best thing about such conferences is not just the people you meet, but the material you get to read. I found a bland-looking study funded by the Bertelsmann Foundation called "Competing for talent: The global struggle for the world's most valuable resource". But inside were four papers with stunning data on what is happening in the war for talent.

Here's a big-picture number: in order to sustain growth to 2030, an ageing US will need 25 million workers and Europe will need 45 million, equivalent to recruiting the entire labour force of the Philippines or Vietnam.

With a shrinking labour force, both the US and Europe need to up the ante through migration and training. In the past decade, new immigration accounted for 70 per cent of labour force growth in Europe and 47 per cent in the US.
Immigration is on the rise. In 1990, there were only 156 million migrants, but by 2010, there were 214 million.

According to recent UN figures, the US, Russia and Germany attracted the most migrants. Migration is big money. The total estimated migrant remittance was US$479 billion in 2011. In other words, it's not just cheap labour that the importing countries will be going for, but the best talent. It is estimated that skills-based immigration to the US could triple, to over half a million annually by 2018, to make up 35-41 per cent of total migration. So, a number of countries will be training people for the US if they don't appreciate their home-grown talent better.

By 2021, China will be home to 28 per cent of the world's graduates, followed by the US (25 per cent), India (13 per cent), Russia (11 per cent) and Japan (7 per cent). However, quality concerns mean that not all the graduates can move abroad. The study suggested that only 25 per cent of Indian and 20 per cent of Russian professionals could be employable by multinationals.

Talent, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. If you think your graduates are inferior, they will be of no use to you. Many talented individuals migrate because they think they are not appreciated by their own country. Some go because there is less pollution, corruption or just because they are offered better terms and opportunities.

Talent is also self-driven. Migrants are self-selected. They move because they have the most initiative, the willingness to take risks, and are probably the most creative.

Why is the talent war so critical? Because it takes more than 10 years to train decent talent in any profession. The best brain surgeon is useless without the best surgical nursing team. Lose enough nurses and you will lose the surgeon. It's not just about talented individuals, but talented clusters.

The problem is not just supply push, but also demand pull. Countries like Canada are actively going out to attract talent. There are also innovative skill transfer schemes, such as the German "Senior Expert Service", which has 10,000 retired experts who can go out on short-term consulting to train people around the world.

The pull factor from the advanced economies can only get stronger. The best people will get the highest pay. Those countries that do not retain and nurture their best talent will be stuck in the middle-income trap.

I am delighted that next year's symposium will be held in Kuala Lumpur. This means the Germans are thinking globally and acting locally. Asians have much to learn from the way the German Mittelstand, or small and medium-sized enterprises, have been able to train workers on a lifelong learning cycle, which grooms them to be resilient in downturns.

Talent will flow both ways, for the good of all.

http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight...war-over-talent-worlds-most-valuable-currency

 

[halsey02]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Foreign workers with no skills upgrade themselves in Singapore.

Sinkies with skills become taxi drivers.

What a fucked up country run by a bunch of clowns.

Pardon me Sir!, what happened to the, "they have taken us from the sleepy fishing villages, swamps & farms"?? now the farmer had upgraded himself to a Matser Degree in Aeronautical, now driving TAXIS...what clowns..that is the work of geniuses. Unique!

 

[zeddy]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Clever of Pinky to send Shanmugam..

The kelings workers regarded Shanmugam as one of their own due to the same skin colour and their shared ancestors..

 

[Taboo]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

No worries, they have a lot of bright future in SGP, sinkies can go and fly kite.

 

[halsey02]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

No worries, they have a lot of bright future in SGP, sinkies can go and fly kite.

That is what they are doing for a bright future, they work hard, send money home, buy land, buy lembu, buy wife, go back home become wealthy land owner, while SINgaporean's fly kite at Marina Barrage...a whole life of debts, car, house, children...

 

[longbow]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

No one is saying no more foreign workers but why not moderate their use. Adjust levy system so that it makes sense to hire some Singaporean.

IF we have insufficient IT talent, then work with the MNCs on the type of IT education they want, put together a program, partially funded by the gov (can use the levy $ to fund this) and have MNCs commit to hiring these students when then graduate (provided they meet the grades). That way you can enter the program assured of a job after 2 or 3 years and the MNC by offering internship and some OJT can get an employee familiar with their system.

 

[Imperfect]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

assurance for fw from s. asian sinkie ministers, trashing for all sinkies by elected sinkie ministers. no not right la!

 

[Leongsam]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Pardon me Sir!, what happened to the, "they have taken us from the sleepy fishing villages, swamps & farms"?? now the farmer had upgraded himself to a Matser Degree in Aeronautical, now driving TAXIS...what clowns..that is the work of geniuses. Unique!

I haven't been paid for Nov 2013 yet. It's now mid Dec.

 

[eatshitndie]

Re: Minister Shanmugam affirms foreign workers of future. And SGs Have No Future in S

Knn what happened huh? I thought this bugger all along my supporter why now he calling me clown? Maybe His account got hacked?

that pic shows a "hello kitty" in distress pose.