Singapore - should it reduce foreign workers?

2 Singaporean ministers have cautioned against calls to reduce foreign workers as a way to improve the productivity of Singaporean workers. Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong suggested it is too simplistic to assume that such a move will automatically lead to higher worker output.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan at a different event said that 'Just zeroing in on foreign workers alone is not the total solution.' But he did concede that 'it is something that needs to be looked at'.

Their comments come a day after labour MP Josephine Teo called on the Government to re-tune foreign worker policies, saying that easy access to foreigners could be one reason productivity is sliding.

In the first quarter of 2009, productivity slipped by 15.4 per cent, compared with the same period last year, continuing a steady decline since the last quarter of 2007.