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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 6:28 pm

You have no idea, but had you done some research on this forum you would already know the efforts that have been made and the sector I work in. Who I've badgered and the contacts and efforts made by myself with a Director of MOM (at his invitation). That's what happens when a newbie doesn't bother to do any research on a forum when joining. They are receptive to feedback but implementing it is a horse of a different colour. I am the hiring manager of my company as well. Been there, done that. And a PR as well. Welcome to the rat race.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 6:47 pm

'The inconvenient truth Mr Cameron ignored in his 'crackdown' on immigrant benefits... Migrants handed £5billion tax credits
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I immediately guessed the reason behind the headline, and just had to scan down the article to find it laid out in black and white...

And here it is.

'Mr Cameron’s announcement side-stepped the issue of in-work benefits entirely. Ministers are aware that, if they tried to limit the access of EU migrants to working tax credits, the move would be ruled unlawful by Brussels.'

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Post by Mi Amigo » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 7:24 pm

myprhui wrote:Banks are constantly changing and restructuring especially foreign banks with their bases in US and Europe. These are not necessarily related to the FCF or the new labour regulations. Singapore is international city and major financial hub in Asia and there are few cities in this part of the world which can rival its current status. Hong Kong has major flaws which makes it a less ideal location for expats as compared to Singapore.

I do believe the government is doing all these partially to appease the angry local folks but they are implementing all these with a good level of confidence.
Forgive my bluntness, but your efforts at being a propaganda mouthpiece for the gahmen are exemplary; I'm sure they are pleased that they gave you PR.

The arrogant attitude of 'Singapore is better than everywhere else, so companies will stay whatever we do' may have been (somewhat) true in the past, but those days are long gone. If I were today repeating the exercise we undertook a decade ago, Hong Kong would have become the APAC base, not Singapore.

Yes, it seems clear that they are implementing the changes to try to appease the more rabid, vocal element in the local population, but if you look at all the comments online, many of them are calling for all foreigners to be expelled, so the FCF, etc. won't satisfy them anyway. But what it may well do is drive more companies away and encourage those remaining in Singapore to further reduce their staffing levels.

When I first moved to Singapore, I was very fortunate to be able to hire some outstanding Singaporean employees. These people had all the qualities I was looking for, including a great hard-working, customer-focussed attitude and excellent skills and experience. The fact that they had all previously worked for MNCs was not coincidental. We paid them very well and they are still with the company. But over the years I also experienced the other side of the coin - Singaporeans who couldn't be bothered to even show up for an interview, who tried to negotiate their salary before I'd even met them, etc. The fact is that we ran out of 'jewels' (as Lynx put it earlier) and had to start looking further afield for candidates of the right calibre (and without the sense of entitlement that blights many young Singaporeans).

I am totally opposed to foreign companies setting up in Singapore and then only hiring 'their own', and I welcome any reasonable steps to deal with that. But I believe that the gahmen are danger of causing serious internal injuries to the Golden Goose (as JR8 so eloquently put it).
Be careful what you wish for

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Post by rajagainstthemachine » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 9:31 pm

Watch out for the FCF police, they are coming for you!! Myprhui seems to be the soothsayer that goes around waving the the world is going to end sign. :lol:
in the telecom sector Singapore represents a miniscule piece of business for my company, even the whole of asean south Asia and ANZ regions put together don't quite cut the revenues that NA or Europe generates.
Singapore isn't really priority here, its just a place to do business!
if batam/bintan had the same facilities that Singapore did, my company couldn't care less, it would just move there.
in our business, if we need to deploy a Telco engineer in Singapore, chances are this person is going to be installing systems all over Asean, Singaporean or not doesn't matter if million dollar projects are at stake.
To get there early is on time and showing up on time is late

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Post by myprhui » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 10:28 pm

Well you guys are right! I am indeed the new ang moh spokesman for MOM. You will see me in CNA shaking hands with the director of FCD. I will also be meeting our dear Mr Tan later for coffee and I will definitely put in all your suggestions to him.

Jokes aside, I am not clear about the specific situations that you guys are facing but in my company we are still hiring EPs without too much difficulty. There may be a slight increase in rejections/appeal but overall we are still getting most of the people that we need. Compared to our peers, we have a strong HR track record and also a very good ratio of Singaporean PMETs. Other than a few silly ang mohs like me and a handful of Indians, we have quite a sizeable pool of local (Singaporean/PR) managers.

We also have our own Singaporean only graduate recruitment program and yes, I admit a lot of those kids quit in less than a year but those who remains usually stayed with us for a very long time. In fact in recent months, our HR has even launched a flexible employment scheme which targets former PMETs who are now homemakers. I am not sure how it works but we are actually commended by MOM for this initiative.

Its a system and there are rules to follow. If you know what the system wants and the right way to play, you can still get what you need. We are not a manufacturing firm where we can hire cheap labour and move equipment all around the world to chase profits. Many of our senior management and expats have large families here in Singapore and it is still considered by many as an excellent place to stay in. In fact many of our directors choose to relocate to Singapore rather than to our Hong Kong office. We have a growing presence in the Middle East and as a Singapore based company, we have managed to open many doors by leveraging on the strong international reputation of Singapore. Trust me, not every country/city can do that.

I believe most good companies have long term business goals/objectives and you do not achieve them overnight. You will usually need to plan progressive evolutions to achieve that targeted state. To do that, you need to operate in a location which provides strong stability, excellent regulatory/legal framework, access to world class infrastructure and human resources. We can probably put people everywhere but it is proven that people still work better when they are all located in the same place. Like I have mentioned previously, there are not many of such places right now in Asia.

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 10:58 pm

Feck me.... meanwhile, during all this 10,000 word side-chat, do any of the grocers have a special on beer?

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Post by singapore eagle » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:08 pm

I think that some of the earlier posters are a bit too down about Singapore's future prospects.

If you think what got the country where it is today, it's a combination of geography, a highly educated population, strong (and in the field of business at least) fair rule of law, liberal use of cheap foreign labour, and the chinese work ethic. The government is watering down one of these sources of competitive advantage, but the other things still remain.

Singapore might be in for a period of restructuring and slower growth, and this may be painful for specific industries and specific firms, but I don't see that predictions of rampant unemployment are warranted.

(For balance, I also don't see any hope in the near future of Singapore raising its game to match the Londons, New Yorks and Sydneys of this world. The things that I mention above only take you so far, and the folks here lack the initiative and invention that will take them to the next level.)

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Post by Mi Amigo » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:13 pm

myprhui wrote:I am not sure how it works but we are actually commended by MOM for this initiative.
... And that free Kool-Aid dispenser they gave you is obviously working well. :twisted: J/K - I'm pleased that everything is working out so well for you, but if you read other people's comments you'll see that things are not universally rosy in the garden. I still believe that Singapore faces challenging times as the gahmen seek to placate the baying population (with one eye on the next GE), whilst trying to maintain an economy focussed on relentless GDP growth.

Just curious - you say that you're an Ang Moh, but a lot of your posts read like they were written by a Singaporean. I guess that's just my imagination though, right?
Be careful what you wish for

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Post by Brah » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:25 pm

singapore eagle wrote:I think that some of the earlier posters are a bit too down about Singapore's future prospects.
I too agree with the Golden Goose analogue, and in doing so disagree with you.

With companies who only just laid down roots here a decade or less ago now pulling up those roots, not too long from people will be looking around puzzled, saying "gee, where did everyone go?".

Foot. Shoot. Self.

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Post by myprhui » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:27 pm

Interesting. No wonder some people are calling me fake ang moh or bloody ang moh. I really need to learn how to write like an ang moh to maintain my upper class status.

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Post by JR8 » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:39 pm

myprhui wrote:Interesting. No wonder some people are calling me fake ang moh or bloody ang moh. I really need to learn how to write like an ang moh to maintain my upper class status.
So what are you? You know, Country, age, family, visa etc?

Make it easier for us.

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Post by Mi Amigo » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:55 pm

myprhui wrote:Interesting. No wonder some people are calling me fake ang moh or bloody ang moh. I really need to learn how to write like an ang moh to maintain my upper class status.
Here's the thing, and the reason for my earlier question. From time to time we get Singaporeans coming onto the board, pretending to be expats and posting content of dubious veracity, for reasons best known to themselves. Nothing wrong with Singaporeans posting here of course, but when they pretend to be someone else it gets tedious.

I'm sure that none of this is applicable to you, but I thought I'd explain why there was just a soupçon of suspicion.
Last edited by Mi Amigo on Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Be careful what you wish for

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Post by Mi Amigo » Fri, 01 Aug 2014 11:58 pm

Brah wrote:I too agree with the Golden Goose analogue, and in doing so disagree with you.
I feel sorry for the goose! Shouldn't be allowed; worse than the fois gras trade. :twisted:
Be careful what you wish for

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Post by myprhui » Sat, 02 Aug 2014 12:11 am

I am from the southern part of Europe and my country has became quite famous a few years ago due to all the wrong reasons. I admit I am not a native English speaker. I have worked in the middle east region for many years (its near to my home country) before moving into Hong Kong (only a few months) and then Singapore. Turning 45 this year, 2 sons who will be serving NS and wife who was originally from Malaysia but she is now Singaporean. I am PR and I am sorry to say this but I will not take up citizenship.

For those who disagreed with me, its fine. You have your rights to your own opinions. No more long messages from me. This forum is getting too addictive and I am spending too much time.

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Post by Mi Amigo » Sat, 02 Aug 2014 12:22 am

Thanks for the info and please do stick around. The way you came out of the gate with three rapid-fire posts in this thread was what got us all going, but I hope you'll continue to contribute here. Of course it's fine to have differing opinions and the only time people get into trouble is if they start to become abusive. You've shown that you can take a bit of gentle prodding with composure, so I think you'll fit in well here. :cool:
Be careful what you wish for

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