The companies have been found to be favouring foreigners over Singaporeans in their hiring of PMETs
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About 350 companies in Singapore are on the watchlist for unfair hiring practices, said manpower minister Josephine Teo.
The companies have been found to be giving preferential treatment to foreigners during the recruitment process. Teo added that the roles recruited for were typically PMETs with a salary ranging between $3,000 and $10,000.
Being under the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) watchlist, firms will have their Employment Pass (EP) applications scrutinised and experience longer processing times, the minister said.
The number has not decreased since it was first announced earlier this year, which prompted MP Patrick Tay to question Teo in parliament on the lack of changes, especially due to widening FCF requirements.
The FCF ensures companies consider Singaporeans fairly for job opportunities.
“The number on the watchlist is largely stable,” Teo said. “We continue to work with each one of them to improve their hiring practices.
“As and when we are told of companies that have practices that are suspected to be discriminatory, TAFEP will engage the companies. The number that we work with is not a fixed target but it does give an indication of the intensity of effort that we are applying.”
TAFEP assists companies on the watchlist to improve their hiring practices. According to the minister, more than 2,000 Singaporean PMETs have been hired by those firms to date.
The companies tend to be from the administrative and support services, construction, education, infocomm and professional services sectors.