THE NATION: Singapore tightens rule

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Singapore tightens rules on hiring of foreign construction
workers

posted at 16:35 hrs (Bangkok time) 

SINGAPORE, April 12 -- Singapore has tightened procedures on the hiring of foreign workers in
the construction sector in a bid to curb an influx of illegal immigrants, television reports said Sunday. 

The new procedures place a bigger responsibility on the main contractors of a construction project
for the workers it hires, and gives the manpower ministry the authority to decide how many foreign
workers are needed, Manpower Minister Lee Boon Yang said. 

''We have changed the system from the first of April,'' Lee was quoted as saying Sunday when
asked about steps being taken to curb the entry and the hiring of illegal immigrants. 

Under new rules, the number of foreign workers ''is given to the main contractor on the basis of
scale of job, the nature of the job ... or the contracts he had,'' Lee said. 

The main contractor, apart from deciding how he will farm out the number of foreign workers
allocated to him, will now have to certify the work that the subcontractor is to do, he added said. 

Only with the certification can the subcontractor apply to the manpower ministry for work permits
for the foreigners. 

The new rules were drawn up last year initially to weed out errant employers who provided false
information on their workers, or treated their workers badly. 

But the rules took on an added importance as government began a crackdown on illegal immigrants
last month, fearing the threat of an exodus to Singapore of people fleeing poverty-stricken
neighboring countries to find employment. 

Police raids to flush out the illegals have also included construction sites, where several hundred
illegally employed foreigners have been arrested. 

Lee said he hoped the new rules would lower the incidence of illegal employment in the construction
sector. 

Harsh penalties, such as caning, a jail term and steep fines await illegal immigrants, as well as those
who employ them. (AFP)