5 myths and facts about the trade pactSINGAPORE - In a ministerial statement on Tuesday (July 6), Health Minister Ong Ye Kung - formerly the deputy chief negotiator for the US-Singapore FTA - and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng debunked misconceptions about the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca).The free trade…
 SINGAPORE - Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Manpower Minister Tan See Leng delivered ministerial statements in Parliament on Singapore's free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca), on Tuesday (July 6).Here are the highlights:1. FTAs, Ceca made 'political scapegoats'The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has…
SINGAPORE - From 2005 to last year, the finance and infocomm sectors accounted for 40 per cent of the increase in Employment Passes (EPs) handed out to foreign professionals. But these two sectors saw even stronger job creation for local professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), said Minister for Manpower Tan…
SINGAPORE - Great Eastern Life Assurance will be providing free Covid-19 protection coverage for all Singapore residents.Known as the GREAT Covid Care Plan, the post-vaccination protection plan will provide a cash payout of $200 per day of hospitalisation, up to a total of $2,000, should one get hospitalised due to…
SINGAPORE - More foreign workers and foreign domestic helpers will soon be allowed to enter Singapore to work, said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong on Thursday (June 24)."This will ease the immense pressures our companies have been under since the start of the pandemic," he said, adding that…
Delays and stop-work orders because of COVID-19 shows this is the right time to re-think the way we do business, says labour economist, Kelvin Seah.Foreign workers at a construction site in Singapore. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)SINGAPORE: For a long time, Singapore’s strategy of augmenting its workforce with a large pool…
SINGAPORE - About one-fifth of foreign workers living in dormitories have been fully vaccinated. As at May 31, these 55,000 workers have received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (June 8).Another 67,000 have been vaccinated with one dose, with their second dose…
With COVID-19 travel restrictions limiting the number of foreign workers coming to Singapore, CNA examines how this has implications for sectors other than construction and what a longer-term solution might be.Black garbage bags thrown at a public rubbish chute area at a Housing Board block in Tampines North. (Photo: Chew…
 SINGAPORE - He was offered a job in construction with a monthly pay of $1,600, and was shown an in-principle approval (IPA) letter reflecting this.But when he received his first pay cheque, Ahmed (not his real name) discovered that his basic wage was only about $200.For seven months, he continued…
SINGAPORE - Electricians have any number of high-tech tools at their disposal these days such as laser measurement devices but the whizzy gadgets still cannot replace skilled tradesmen. No matter how advanced equipment gets, most still require a trained operator and many of these roles are filled by foreign workers. Mr…