Singapore to rely less on foreign workers
Published on: Tuesday, June 02, 2020
By: Bloomberg
Migrant workers in essential services wearing safety vests cross a street at Orchard Road, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Singapore, May 27, 2020. (Reuters photo)
SINGAPORE: Singapore will have to find ways to rely less on foreign workers and accelerate automation of some tasks in its post-pandemic economy, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah told reporters Monday. “It should be less and less repetitive manual operation and those should be replaced by automation, and the local population can do more on higher value-added activities,” said Indranee. “But this has to be done in stages with caution because we can not just take out all the manual power all of a sudden.”ADVERTISEMENT
The topic of foreign workers has come to the fore in the city-state as Covid-19 infections among those living in dormitories have surged, accounting for more than 90% of total confirmed cases in the country. Singapore now has one of the highest number of recorded infections in Asia, with almost 35,000 cases. Separately, Indranee said Singapore will redesign its infrastructure system, with investment focused on partnerships across the clean energy, public health, information and communications technology sectors, while promoting a “friendly regulatory environment,” she said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Indranee also further outlined a previously announced programme with the World Bank Group and Singapore Management University to train senior and mid-level regional government officials involved in project preparation.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, international financial sources remain available and very keen to support clean energy projects, said Indranee, who is also minister in the prime minister’s office.