EP -> SPASS

[rajagainstthemachine]

The tests required is Chest Xray and HIV test. I am not sure if we can make out anything from this, why they are doing this.

by the way this is needed for people who have been PR approved as well.
do you have a choice to pick the testing center for these tests?

[smoulder]

The tests required is Chest Xray and HIV test. I am not sure if we can make out anything from this, why they are doing this.

by the way this is needed for people who have been PR approved as well.
do you have a choice to pick the testing center for these tests?

Yes, you can choose where you want to test. I now recall that I tested when I became a PR as well as a citizen.

[Wd40]

The tests required is Chest Xray and HIV test. I am not sure if we can make out anything from this, why they are doing this.

by the way this is needed for people who have been PR approved as well.
do you have a choice to pick the testing center for these tests?

Yes, you can choose where you want to test. I now recall that I tested when I became a PR as well as a citizen.

My employer has a tie up with Parkway Shenton, so I just went there to keep it simple.

[rajagainstthemachine]

by the way this is needed for people who have been PR approved as well.
do you have a choice to pick the testing center for these tests?

Yes, you can choose where you want to test. I now recall that I tested when I became a PR as well as a citizen.

My employer has a tie up with Parkway Shenton, so I just went there to keep it simple.

good! a much better choice of healthcare provider.
by the way just curious as to why your company didnt bother to hike your salary but ok to pay SPASS levy ? its a bullshit reason, maybe your boss didn't push enough all the way.

[Wd40]

Yes, you can choose where you want to test. I now recall that I tested when I became a PR as well as a citizen.

My employer has a tie up with Parkway Shenton, so I just went there to keep it simple.

good! a much better choice of healthcare provider.
by the way just curious as to why your company didnt bother to hike your salary but ok to pay SPASS levy ? its a bullshit reason, maybe your boss didn't push enough all the way.

I work for a large investment bank and they have their own bureaucracy. Salary revision happens only twice a year. Once a year is the regular appraisal cycle and then exceptional cases mid year too.

Honestly there is no real case for me to push for the hike. The company is okay with paying the S Pass levy and my privileges dont go down due to the S Pass. My boss pushed for hike last year and will push again during this year appraisal cycle. So, I will just focus on that. This S pass thingy is a minor inconvenience compared to the big picture. In fact who knows when the COMPASS thingy comes into effect S Pass might become the norm(S Pass is not subject to COMPASS)

[rajagainstthemachine]

Interesting to note COMPASS only applies to EP holders, i can see a whole bunch of peeps getting SPASS in the near future, especially those in their forties

[Wd40]

Interesting to note COMPASS only applies to EP holders, i can see a whole bunch of peeps getting SPASS in the near future, especially those in their forties

Yeah it is a bit odd that EP falls under COMPASS and S-Pass doesnt. The logical thing would have been to make EP lucrative based on higher salary and apply stringent measures on S-Pass but allow for lower salary, because it is the S Pass people who compete with locals. The current S Pass quota system based on the total count of employees in an org, won't have the desired effect, because the front office and operations jobs is done by locals and PRs. The IT jobs are done by foreigners. So in a bank like my employer they will easily have the quota for applying for S Pass, so the tech roles will all go to foreigners.

I have a feeling this is not the end of the tweaking and the whole thing will need to be revamped very soon. Like other developed countries, they should seggregate by the occupation and not by the industry or company.

[NYY1]

...
Honestly there is no real case for me to push for the hike. The company is okay with paying the S Pass levy and my privileges dont go down due to the S Pass. My boss pushed for hike last year and will push again during this year appraisal cycle. So, I will just focus on that. This S pass thingy is a minor inconvenience compared to the big picture. In fact who knows when the COMPASS thingy comes into effect S Pass might become the norm(S Pass is not subject to COMPASS)

Yeah it is a bit odd that EP falls under COMPASS and S-Pass doesnt. The logical thing would have been to make EP lucrative based on higher salary and apply stringent measures on S-Pass but allow for lower salary, because it is the S Pass people who compete with locals. The current S Pass quota system based on the total count of employees in an org, won't have the desired effect, because the front office and operations jobs is done by locals and PRs. The IT jobs are done by foreigners. So in a bank like my employer they will easily have the quota for applying for S Pass, so the tech roles will all go to foreigners.

I have a feeling this is not the end of the tweaking and the whole thing will need to be revamped very soon. Like other developed countries, they should seggregate by the occupation and not by the industry or company.

Glad to hear that you are OK with the pass change. At one point, it seemed to be bothering you, although practically speaking it looked like you still had all of the same privileges (DPs being the key item).

I think the thing to keep an eye on is whether a company's SPass quota gets tight at some point (as more people switch passes)? EP will still be easy to get if one has a high salary (absolute or relative) and top qualifications (for the latter). However, the diversity and local employment points are still impacted by total EP and SPass employees (relevant for moderately high salary without top qualifications)?

Anyways, like you say things may be tweaked as we move forward.

[malcontent]

Once you’ve achieved FI, a lot of things can be accepted without much care because you can always tell ‘em to take that Spass and shove it (where the sun don’t shine).

[Wd40]

Glad to hear that you are OK with the pass change. At one point, it seemed to be bothering you, although practically speaking it looked like you still had all of the same privileges (DPs being the key item).

I think the thing to keep an eye on is whether a company's SPass quota gets tight at some point (as more people switch passes)? EP will still be easy to get if one has a high salary (absolute or relative) and top qualifications (for the latter). However, the diversity and local employment points are still impacted by total EP and SPass employees (relevant for moderately high salary without top qualifications)?

Anyways, like you say things may be tweaked as we move forward.

Thanks! Actually it is a few things which all happened at the same time. My house renewal and the big shoot up in rent and then the downgrade to S Pass.

But I read recently that housing is not a problem limited to Singapore, rents have shot up in Canada, UK and US too.

The main base for me is that my job is going on okay, my daughter's schooling is going on okay and my wife's finds enough things to do here to keep herself occupied. So I don't want to rock that boat and just carry on.