I refer to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Job Vacancies, 2013 report, released on 28 January.

Wow – 66% vacancies hard to fill by locals?

I was surprised to read that “The proportion of openings hard to fill by locals remained unchanged from a year ago at 66%. Largely reflecting the concentration of lower-skilled occupations among hard- to-fill vacancies, unattractive pay (47% of hard-to-fill vacancies) and physically strenuous job (41%), remained the top difficulties employers cited with respect to hiring locals.”

What does this mean?

Unfilled vacancies for foreigners?

– That there is widespread discrimination against hiring locals? And we are not even talking about Singaporeans, as locals refer to Singaporeans and PRs.

Does it mean that employers actually have jobs (34%) that are in a way, reserved for foreigners?

If this is the case, what’s the point of the Fair Employment Framework (FEF) to be implemented requiring employers to advertise jobs for Singaporeans first for 2 weeks?

Increasing number of vacancies unfilled for more than 6 months?

As to “while vacancies unfilled for extended periods i.e. six months or more held steady at 40% over the year”

– don’t you find it rather odd that year after year, the number of unfilled vacancies for six months or more, seems to keep increasing?

If an employer really needs to fill a vacancy – wouldn’t she have increased the pay and/or enhanced the working conditions, to get the vacancy filled?

The fact that so many remained unfilled for so long, may mean that there may not be a real need to fulfil the vacancy in the first place.

The problem is the low pay and long working hours?

For example, the type of jobs with the most vacancies, such as shop sales assistants is also coincidentally the job category that has seen a drop in real wage growth, with a median basic pay of only $1,074.

As to work conditions, the job category that has vacancies – security guards – only has a basic pay of $800, and requiring typically 12 hours a day for 6 days a week.

So, isn’t it rather obvious that the solution is to increase pay and have reasonable working hours.

After all, after the up to 20% employee CPF contribution, how many Singaporeans can survive on a take-home pay of around $1,000 or less?

So many Singaporeans struggling to make ends meet?

With 114,000 full-time local workers earning less than $1,000 gross wages, and an estimated 400,000 and 600,000 locals (full-time, part-time workers and the self-employed) earning less than $1,200 and $1,500, respectively – do you think the increasing vacancies situation will improve?

Uniquely Singapore!

Leong Sze Hian