Dear Netters:
The article below from today's Times of India (17 8 2011) will be of
interest to some of you. I understand that there is quite a good number
of Indian
computer experts in Singapore; possibly not many from Assam.
-bhuban
The Manpower Ministry said the move would also ensure that local
workers, whose salaries would rise going forward, would not be
disadvantaged by Employment Pass holders who were coming in at lower
wages.
The city state's EP holders come from around the world, but are mostly
Asian, including Indians.
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also the Manpower
Minister, said the new EP criteria and tightening measures were aimed
at creating a more level-playing field between foreigners and locals
vying for white collar jobs.
He, however, underlined that Singapore would continue to remain open
and attractive to foreign talent, while the government wanted to ensure
that Singaporeans remain the core of the workforce, especially at the
professional, managerial and executive level.
The ministry said The demand for EP for employing foreigners, which has
increased rapidly since the economic recovery in 2010, was likely to
keep growing.
It added that its educational qualifying requirements would be
tightened so that only those from good quality institutions would be
eligible for the EP.
Under the revised measures, the qualifying salary for single EP would
be raised to SGD 3,000 per month from SGD2,800. The ministry said it
would also look at the qualification and experience of the EP
applicants.
The qualifying salary would be raised to SGD 4,500 per month from the
current SGD4,000 for P2 pass holders, which is a bar higher than the
EP.
However, the salary of P1 pass holders would remain at SGD 8,000 per
month for the higher ranking professional pass holders.
The new rulings would be phased in over the next one to two years for
existing EP holders, and giving businesses time to make necessary
adjustments, said the Ministry.
EP that expires before Jan 1, 2012, would be given a two-year renewal,
and those EP expiring between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, would
be given one-time renewal. But EP expiring after July 1, 2012 would be
subject to new EP criteria, it said.
He added that some 30,000 EP holders were likely to be affected by the
tightening measures.
Singaporeans had been increasingly complaining about losing jobs to
foreigners especially who come in at lower salaries
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