<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffeeshop Chit Chat - biz retrench the more expensive SG 1st</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">12:15 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 5) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>6240.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Feb 1, 2009
Jobs being cut during crisis
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : start --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Nationality not always a factor in layoffs
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nur Dianah Suhaimi & Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->If jobs have to be cut, should foreigners be the first to go?
Ask union leaders and MPs and they agree - in principle - that employers should try to save jobs for Singaporeans first in a downturn.
However, the reality, as noted by academics and businessmen, is that firms tend to retain the best and most cost-effective workers - regardless of nationality.
To be sure, the country's pool of foreign workers has acted as a buffer in past downturns.
In the recession years of 2001 to 2003, foreign employment contracted by 71,600 while local employment grew by 35,600.
While it is acknowledged that the country still needs foreign labour to remain competitive, many feel that Singaporeans should be favoured in a recession.
Indeed, similar calls to preserve jobs for the locals have also surfaced in the United States and Britain.
Mr Cyrille Tan, vice-president of NTUC and general secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, said: 'Foreigners are here to grow the economy. If the economy is not growing, and is in fact shrinking, then they are not required here any more.'
Mr Michael Lim, president of the Singapore Bank Employees' Union, agreed: 'In this downturn, we must save jobs for Singaporeans. They have families here and they need a livelihood.'
Mr Chan Chong Beng, chairman of interior furnishings firm Goodrich Global, shares that sentiment. Of its 450 workers, 40 are foreigners.
'We're a very closely knit company and we know our local employees' families. It is very difficult to face their family members if we take away their jobs,' he said.
In practice, however, nationalistic sentiments rarely play a big part for most firms when they decide on who to retain in a downturn.
This is when they especially need their most capable and productive workers, regardless of nationality, said labour experts.
Labour economist Cheolsung Park noted that if companies are retrenching more expats than Singaporeans, chances are it is because of cost and not nationality. He said expats get allowances for housing and other perks so it may be more cost-effective to retrench them.
Labour economist Hui Weng Tat, a lecturer at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said some companies may actually prefer foreign workers during a recession. Without families here, they are more willing to work round the clock, compared to local employees.
Most companies queried by The Sunday Times said they do not take nationality into consideration when retrenching staff.
OCBC Bank said it does not discriminate against nationality. Instead, performance is key.
Mr Ang Yuit, chief executive of The Adventus Consultants, adopts a similar policy. Of the 30 people on the company's payroll, six are foreigners.
'If a company has to shed jobs, the first thing it will do is to eliminate inefficiencies. Naturally, it will base its decisions on performance rather than nationality,' he said.
Mr Inderjit Singh, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC and owner of several SMEs, cautions that blindly targeting foreigners for retrenchment can affect the long-term competitiveness of companies.
However, he noted that the Jobs Credit scheme encourages employers to favour Singaporean workers. It gives bosses a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for Singaporeans and PRs on their CPF payroll. 'It all boils down to who is the best person for the job. But if there are two workers who are equally capable for the job and one is local while the other is a foreigner, then the Jobs Credit scheme will help the employer decide in favour of the Singaporean,' he said.
[email protected]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Jobs being cut during crisis
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : start --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Nationality not always a factor in layoffs
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nur Dianah Suhaimi & Jamie Ee Wen Wei
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->If jobs have to be cut, should foreigners be the first to go?
Ask union leaders and MPs and they agree - in principle - that employers should try to save jobs for Singaporeans first in a downturn.
However, the reality, as noted by academics and businessmen, is that firms tend to retain the best and most cost-effective workers - regardless of nationality.
To be sure, the country's pool of foreign workers has acted as a buffer in past downturns.
In the recession years of 2001 to 2003, foreign employment contracted by 71,600 while local employment grew by 35,600.
While it is acknowledged that the country still needs foreign labour to remain competitive, many feel that Singaporeans should be favoured in a recession.
Indeed, similar calls to preserve jobs for the locals have also surfaced in the United States and Britain.
Mr Cyrille Tan, vice-president of NTUC and general secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, said: 'Foreigners are here to grow the economy. If the economy is not growing, and is in fact shrinking, then they are not required here any more.'
Mr Michael Lim, president of the Singapore Bank Employees' Union, agreed: 'In this downturn, we must save jobs for Singaporeans. They have families here and they need a livelihood.'
Mr Chan Chong Beng, chairman of interior furnishings firm Goodrich Global, shares that sentiment. Of its 450 workers, 40 are foreigners.
'We're a very closely knit company and we know our local employees' families. It is very difficult to face their family members if we take away their jobs,' he said.
In practice, however, nationalistic sentiments rarely play a big part for most firms when they decide on who to retain in a downturn.
This is when they especially need their most capable and productive workers, regardless of nationality, said labour experts.
Labour economist Cheolsung Park noted that if companies are retrenching more expats than Singaporeans, chances are it is because of cost and not nationality. He said expats get allowances for housing and other perks so it may be more cost-effective to retrench them.
Labour economist Hui Weng Tat, a lecturer at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said some companies may actually prefer foreign workers during a recession. Without families here, they are more willing to work round the clock, compared to local employees.
Most companies queried by The Sunday Times said they do not take nationality into consideration when retrenching staff.
OCBC Bank said it does not discriminate against nationality. Instead, performance is key.
Mr Ang Yuit, chief executive of The Adventus Consultants, adopts a similar policy. Of the 30 people on the company's payroll, six are foreigners.
'If a company has to shed jobs, the first thing it will do is to eliminate inefficiencies. Naturally, it will base its decisions on performance rather than nationality,' he said.
Mr Inderjit Singh, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC and owner of several SMEs, cautions that blindly targeting foreigners for retrenchment can affect the long-term competitiveness of companies.
However, he noted that the Jobs Credit scheme encourages employers to favour Singaporean workers. It gives bosses a 12 per cent cash grant on the first $2,500 of wages for Singaporeans and PRs on their CPF payroll. 'It all boils down to who is the best person for the job. But if there are two workers who are equally capable for the job and one is local while the other is a foreigner, then the Jobs Credit scheme will help the employer decide in favour of the Singaporean,' he said.
[email protected]
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