The Ministry of Manpower in Singapore has reminded companies that it will only grant work permits after they have registered a legitimate address of lodging for their work permit holders (WPHs).
Employers are required to list a legitimate address where their work permit holders (WPH) will be housed, and this address may be a dorm, a hostel, or public or private housing.
Employers are therefore expected to make sure their WPHs have suitable housing in Singapore, which may include dorms, hostels, public housing, or private residential housing.
The Ministry was responding to a parliamentary inquiry about the potential for increasing housing supply before awarding more work permits for foreign workers.
As mentioned in the response, MOM has been collaborating with the necessary ministries to increase the number of dormitory beds available. Since December 2022, 17,000 additional dormitory beds have been added.
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In addition, MOM stated: “Businesses know that to thrive in the long run, they need to transform, increase their productivity, and reduce their reliance on WPHs.” This was in response to a point about committing to productivity initiatives prior to work permit approvals.
In order to do this, sector agencies have introduced 23 Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) as part of initiatives to boost productivity across the economy. As a result, firms now have access to a range of enterprise incentives provided by sector agencies in order to adopt automation and technology and change their operations.
As stated by MOM, “It is not practical for MOM to require each firm to commit to productivity measures and ascertain if targets have been met, before approving work pass applications.”
Instead, it was stated, MOM adjusts foreign workforce regulations, notably the Dependency Ratio Ceilings (DRCs), which set a cap on the number of WPHs that firms can hire, in conjunction with sector agencies, to support the drive for higher productivity.
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