Singapore to Delay Infrastructure Work to Limit Influx of Foreigners

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

"Singapore is delaying the construction of roughly 2 billion Singapore dollars ($1.6 billion) of infrastructure projects to limit demand for migrant labor and assuage simmering anger over immigration.

The move is part of government efforts to slow Singapore’s intake of foreigners–particularly low-skilled workers widely employed in the construction sector–to a more “sustainable” level, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Parliament on Wednesday.

“The government, we are a significant part of the construction business,” Mr. Lee said. “And we ask ourselves, which government projects need to be built, and which government projects can be deferred.”

Authorities will still go “full steam ahead” on key developments such as public housing and transportation links, “but there are other projects that can wait one or two years,” he said.

Projects to be delayed include new government offices, an extension to the Gardens by the Bay horticultural complex, and a new science center. This would reduce Singapore’s demand for construction workers by 20,000-30,000 people, Mr. Lee said.

Singapore, a tiny island city-state of 5.4 million people, has used liberal immigration policies to fuel economic growth and offset a low birthrate–its population has swelled by 34% since the turn of the millennium.

About 1.3 million foreigners work here, including nearly 1 million unskilled laborers who take up menial jobs usually shunned by citizens. Roughly 319,000 of them are construction workers.

Amid worries that an economic model premised on population growth isn’t sustainable, the government has curbed inflows of foreigners over the past three to four years, hoping to assuage voters disgruntled by stagnant low-end wages, rising living costs and strains on infrastructure–problems many citizens blame on high levels of immigration.

Social fissures have emerged between citizens and the large foreign work force. Thousands of people attended public protests against the government’s immigration policies in the past year, and anti-immigration sentiment flared after several hundred South Asian migrant workers rioted in December in Singapore’s worst outburst of public violence in more than 40 years.

Since the riot, the government has announced steps to curb the construction sector’s reliance on low-skilled migrant workers, such as imposing higher levies on their hiring.

Officials have also pledged steps to ensure that Singaporeans get a fair shot at professional positions, in response to complaints that they have been crowded out of certain sectors by foreigners."

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/201...of-foreigners/


In a similarly titled article but different press outlet:


"Singapore said Wednesday it would defer about S$2 billion worth of government infrastructure projects to slow the intake of migrant labourers amid public concern over immigration in the city-state.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament the move was part of measures to limit the inflow of foreign workers to "a level which is sustainable and which we can physically accommodate in Singapore in the long term".

Lee said the government would continue "full steam ahead" with building more public housing and improving transport infrastructure, but would hold off on less critical projects for one or two years.

The long-ruling People's Action Party has tightened migrant inflows since suffering its worst showing in a 2011 general election, in which the large foreigner presence was a big issue.

"The private sector, they make their decisions," Lee said.

But "the government, we are a significant part of the construction business, and we ask ourselves which government projects need to be built (and) which projects can be deferred," he said.

"We can spread out the demand for construction workers, and then you will be able to manage the total number of construction workers in Singapore."

Lee said among the projects to be deferred are an extension of the Gardens by the Bay botanical complex and a new science centre.

The deferred projects would reduce the number of foreign workers needed by about 20,000 to 30,000, he said.

Lee said the government would also monitor the inflow of foreign professional workers to ensure that Singaporeans get a fair chance at jobs in some fields.

Singapore's low birth rate prompted the government to grant an average of 18,500 new citizenships every year between 2008 to 2012 – helping the population surge by 30 per cent since 2004 to 5.4 million last year.

Out of a foreign population of 1.55 million, about 700,000 are mainly Asian work-permit holders employed in construction, marine industries and other sectors shunned by Singaporeans. Some 200,000 others work as domestic helpers.

Singaporeans have accused foreigners of competing with them for jobs, housing, schools, medical care and space on public transport.

Some have also complained that the rapid influx in previous years is eroding national identity."

http://features.insing.com/feature/s...w/id-f2433101/


Convenient to point to construction workers as the cause of angst amongst local whereas in reality it is those Singaporeans in PMET and service industry positions that have been displaced by the private sector "village resettlements" in Singapore approach.

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