S pass quota reduction, what to expect?

[dilah]

Hi All,

As it has been announced that S pass quotas are being lowered from 20 to 15% in the manufacturing sector, I am wondering whether companies exceeding the quota will lay off foreign workers or use an alternative scheme?

The companies I know, employ S pass not just for mid-skilled workers but in fact a majority are high-skilled (e.g. senior engineers).

Recently, a friend’s firm changed their pay structure to increase basic pay and get some of their employees on EP. Although this is true for that company, it may not be possible for others.

Any idea what scenarios to expect from affected companies when the quota gets reduced? We also heard of government programmes that allow companies to exceed their quota, whether that is an option some companies will choose?

Thanks,

[sundaymorningstaple]

In the past, you were given ample time to convert or otherwise, make adjustments. Normally what will happen is whenever a renewal comes, if it is in the affected pass class, if the company is over quota, it will not be renewed. But you usually have around a year to make the necessary adjustments to your headcounts/pay scales, etc. It's rough but it's been going on for a long time now, in stages, to ween companies off of foreign labour. The problem is, the TFR here is so low that eventually all will be replaced by robotics. Such is life. Procreate or die. A couple years before I retired, we went from S pass quotas of 25% to 20%. The actual date was moved forward once or twice to aid some companies that are traditionally difficult to find local workers for.

[the observer]

Or you can hope and pray that the gahmen has inadvertently led to you getting a bump up in pay to become an EP.

[sundaymorningstaple]

And that is how the kickbacks started.

[dilah]

In the past, you were given ample time to convert or otherwise, make adjustments. Normally what will happen is whenever a renewal comes, if it is in the affected pass class, if the company is over quota, it will not be renewed. But you usually have around a year to make the necessary adjustments to your headcounts/pay scales, etc. It's rough but it's been going on for a long time now, in stages, to ween companies off of foreign labour. The problem is, the TFR here is so low that eventually all will be replaced by robotics. Such is life. Procreate or die. A couple years before I retired, we went from S pass quotas of 25% to 20%. The actual date was moved forward once or twice to aid some companies that are traditionally difficult to find local workers for.

Thanks,

If my understanding is right, new 15% quota will take effect beginning of 2023. Then that means companies would start already adjusting their foreigner headcount in the course of 2022. If they do not, they would have their S pass renewals start to fail in 2023 until the quota is met. Thus affecting random S pass employees based on renewal date. Whether the rules and deadlines can be adjusted if a given company needs more time, i wish I knew.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Adjusting of the given timelines is not company specific, but industry specific. No individual company is a special case.