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中國時報【張舒婷／台北報導】, 8 April 2010   新加坡大舉來台招兵買馬了！星國政府招募海外專才而設的部門「聯繫新加坡」(Contact Singapore)，該部門官員昨抵台指出，目前已釋出上千名職缺，以醫療領域為大宗，再者星國尤其看好台灣科技業、文化創意產業的人才素質，ＩＣ、動畫和線上遊戲專才將是此番徵才的主要目標之一。待遇部分，底薪 (basic salary) 將比台灣平均薪資至少高出二到三成。 「聯繫新加坡」是全球唯一由政府設置、供海外人才專用的求職網站，今年一月全新改版。聯繫新加坡執行董事黃秀娟昨天特別抵台指出，近年來星國科技業、製造業皆快速起飛，但出現人才短缺，因此急需徵求外地菁英的補強。 黃秀娟強調，目前約有五到六萬名台灣人任職於新加坡，由於語言、文化相近，台灣人在星國的適應能力也極強。 而且，星國官員和業界也相當肯定台灣人才的養成過程和高素質，故當地政府一直號召台灣人才，以新加坡為跳板，打開國際視野。 她進一步指出，目前「聯繫新加坡」網站上，提供潔淨能源、精密工業、生化科技等十八個產業的產業及職缺簡介。因為星國今年至少還有三家綜合型政府醫院開張，政府估計兩年內將新增四千五百名醫護人員，其中一千名由海外招募，故目前「聯繫新加坡」的一千多名工作機會中，醫療、護理、藥劑師相關工作的佔比最高。 至於被視為台灣經濟命脈的科技業行情，根據一一一一人力銀行資料庫的數據指出，以二○○八年大學畢業的新鮮人工程師為例，台灣的起薪是三、四萬元，但星國開出的起薪為台幣五萬五千到六萬六千元，許多工作有三到五年經驗者，月薪更突破十萬元。 黃秀娟也直言，台灣科技產業的雄厚根基，最為星國青睞，目前當地對ＩＣ設計領域的人才，只會增加、不會減少，若不計績效獎金和分紅，今年業界提供的待遇將優於以往行情。 除了醫護、科技業，文化創意產業（如動畫、線上遊戲）人才也是此波「搶人大戰」的重點。　根據統計，最低階的美術創意人員、動畫師，起薪大約在新台幣四到五萬元（新加坡幣一千八到兩千二）之間；若有三到五年工作經驗，月薪則有新台幣十五萬元（新加坡幣七千元）以上水平。 Source: China Times  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In yet another sign that public anger against the PAP is fast reaching an all-time high, fliers critical of the PAP were found in the mailboxes of HDB flats in Pasir Ris-Punggol and Marine Parade GRCs. Printed on A-4 sized papers in both English and Chinese with the title "The truth that every citizen must know", the fliers made "allegations about corruption and exploitation and complained about cost of living, among other things" and urge residents to take "collective and concerted action to go against the PAP", the Straits Times reports today. As expected, the state media dared not publish the content of the filers and jumped to the defence of the embattled PAP by casting aspersions on the credibility of the fliers. TODAY published an article with the misleading headline "Poison pen letters hit Sengkang" while the Straits Times interviewed one resident who felt it was not "appropriate" for such content to be circulated this way to give the erroneous impression to the public that the distribution of anti-PAP fliers is wrong. A police report was made and the Singapore Police is now investigating the matter involving a political party under the Sedition Act, where the offender could be fined up to $5,000 and/or given a maximum jail term of three years. It is most befuddling that the state media chose to slant its articles in such a way to mislead readers into thinking that a criminal offence has been committed when the content of the fliers remain a mystery. At the very least, they should publish the content in full for readers to judge for themselves if they are indeed "seditious". It is hardly a surprise that the PAP MPs in the two GRCs have dismissed the fliers. PAP MP Charles Chong who sparked an outcry two years ago by describing Singaporeans as "lesser mortals" said the allegations against the PAP were too "broad and wild" to warrant a response. "It looks like someone wants to have a head start this time...We will respond if they are more specific and credible...The public could draw its own conclusions about the allegations," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. If this is indeed so, why then is the media hiding the content of the fliers from Singaporeans? Mr Chong's response is in line with what PAP Minister Lim Swee Say said in Parliament last month: "We (PAP) are DEAF to all criticisms!" Every Singapore citizen has the right to criticize the government and its policies and to call on collective action by the citizenry. The Singapore police should not waste precious taxpayers' monies on such frivolous police reports to criminalize legitimate civil activism as guaranteed under our Constitution. Readers who have received a copy of this flyer, please scan it and email to us at [email protected] We would like to call on all Singaporeans to stand behind this brave Singaporean who dares to go against the despotic, undemocratic and paranoid regime. In the event that he/she is arrested by the PAP's police, we will set up a fund to fight the case for him/her in court. Let the whole world knows how dictatorial, repressive and totalitarian the PAP is!   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Despite the many examples reported in the mainstream media and in Temasek Review that employers are hiring foreigners over Singaporeans, the PAP continues to live in a state of denial. The Chinese papers reported lately of Bread Talk employing Malaysians over Singaporeans and of Old Town White Coffee having more China nationals than Singaporeans on its payroll. We have also published numerous job advertisements here and in overseas seeking specifically for foreigners for jobs in Singapore which can otherwise be taken up by Singaporeans. When asked about the discriminatory job ads, PAP MP Halimah Yacob can only give a vague answer by "feeling" that the problem is "counter-intuitive": "Wise employers know they should look strictly at merit so that they get the best talent for the organisation." [Source: Straits Times, 7 April 2010] The Straits Times reported that "investigations" by Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep) found that the accusations were "unfounded". Tafep co-chairman Bob Tan, who is also vice-president of the Singapore National Employers Federation said: "From an employer's point of view, we want to hire the best. All things being equal, I would prefer to hire a Singaporean. A Singaporean has roots here. Whatever investments we put in, he will stay. Very often, there is some misunderstanding on why foreigners are hired over Singaporeans. It has got to do with the job requirements." One would expect Tafep and Madam Halimah Yacob to come out with concrete facts and figures to substantiate their claims and not just such cursory replies to dismiss the genuine concerns of Singaporeans. If Singaporeans are really preferred, why then are companies like Courts and Keppel Corp putting up job ads in Malaysian newspaper to recruit Malaysian managers, engineers and administrators? Are Singaporeans inferior to them? One of our readers has written to Tafep to complain about the discriminatory job ads against Singaporeans and received a reply that it had “been in touch with the job portal and the foreign recruitment agency to stress the importance of using objective, relevant and non-discriminatory criteria when advertising to fill a position.” However, Tafep has no legislative powers to punish these companies or recruitment agencies. Neither can it coerce them to employ Singaporeans. In other words, Tafep is a "toothless" organization set up by NTUC to "wayang" that it "cares" for Singapore workers. With due respect to Madam Halimah Yacob, her "feelings" and "intuitions" are completely misplaced. There are not that many "wise" employers around in Singapore. Keeping labor costs low is the priority. The PAP must tighten the criteria for the employment of foreigners to restrict them only to sectors shunned by Singaporeans. They should never be allowed to compete with Singaporeans for PMET positions as this is tantamount to snatching their rice-bowls and depriving them of a decent job and livelihood in Singapore. With more stringent labor policies in place to reduce the availability of cheap foreign workers, employers will have no choice but to offer higher pay to hire Singaporeans and to think of innovative ways to boost productivity in order to reduce labor costs. Unfortunately with no independent trade unions in Singapore to fight for the rights of Singapore workers, we have no choice but to put up with the hogwash from Madam Halimah Yacob and her gang for a long time to come.  Read More →