JayCee wrote:movingtospore wrote:sundaymorningstaple wrote:v4jr4, no, I wouldn't assume that at all. As you have already read, quota's have been chopped for both S passes AND WORK PERMITS. The Services sector has been chopped over all by 5 percent and the sub-quota for S pass holders has also been cut by 5%. The WP's are your low level workers. They are being reduced.
What is happening is that they are upping the levies to astronomical levels and cutting back the overall quotas. This will eventually lead to a point where it doesn't make any economic sense to bring in foreigner. Then, in order to get the picky locals to take up these jobs, the companies will be forced to pay a decent wage in order to get the local to accept it, even though it goes against the grain. The employers are the ones who get screwed as their costs go up, but their productivity doesn't, due to the shoddy work habits of locals and their constant just walking off the job. They employers will have no choice but to keep hiring locals as the gahmen continue to reduce the quotas.
This will keep up until a number of MNC shift their operations to Malaysia and/or Thailand because of labour costs. Then unemployment WILL make itself felt (it's been 0% for years - well 2% structural which is nothing). When that happens, the locals, the gahmen, Singapore......All screwed. The PAP will be voted out if they don't get rid of a lot of foreigners and when the MNCs start leaving because they cannot get manpower, they PAP will get voted out. Damned if they do and damned if they don't. The local population doesn't realize that as long as they have a decreasing fertility rate, it's going to get worse. It's coming, mark my words.
And the Philippines...they are coming on strong, decent education, entrepreneurial, they work in English, and are hungry to grow. I think they are going to surpass this tiny place in no time.
I don't see it, the crippling corruption is a major reason why the Philippines is behind most Asian countries nowadays, 50 years ago I'm reliably informed it was way ahead of Singapore, Malaysia etc... unless something major changes in that respect, it will remain one of the poorer nations. One paper though I agree, a large English-speaking, reasonably well-educated population should be doing well, it's just that the politicians there make the EU leadership look like the most competent and honest people on the planet!
It's corruption... and another issue... Filipinos are just too nice. I mean, introducing real accountability into a management structure.
One of many examples that I've come across over the years. It's a Manila based service desk. Client is a large MNC within offices from ANZ to India.
Australians are complaining bitterly that no one answers the phone. Finally, I fly to Manila. I get up so that I can be at the call center at 4:30 in the morning (Australia start of business, 3 hours ahead).
There are supposed to be two ANZ agents... there are none. There is one overnight agent, a dear. I ask her, "the ANZ agents are not here. Have you reported this?" No, she says... I didn't want to get anyone in trouble.
I meet with the service desk manager. I ask him if he has reviewed the telephony login logs. Yes, he says. Then, I says, you must know the ANZ agents have not been at work, else you would have seen their logins.
Yes, he says, they are not logging in... I didn't want to get anyone in trouble.
And folks, this is the essence of the issue for me. Great people, gentle people, and so hard to enforce accountability, so hard to get someone to kick another in the balls when it is so richly deserved.
I can't say much about other aspects of Philippine employment, but I can say that it seriously affects the ability to create a premium product when the deficient are not being weeded out by managers who don't want to offend or get someone in trouble.
Thanks.
