Management Of Foreign Manpower

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief overview of the trends in migration research and discourse in Singapore. It begins with Pang Eng Fong, one of the pioneering migration scholars in Singapore, whose early work dates back to 1976. Pang?s earlier works discussed migration, public policy and social development in Singapore (Pang, 1976, 1979). The chapter identifies an emphasis on cost-benefit analysis of foreign labour import, along with other broader issues, e.g. the philosophy behind immigration policy, imbalance between labour supply and employment creation, evolution of foreign labour policy and implications of foreign labour. It examines the foreign manpower policy and its implementation mechanisms, to highlight the importance of careful and comprehensive policy and transparent management. Broadly, international labour migration policies can be divided into supply-driven and demand-driven systems. The chapter illustrates some of the basic features of low-skilled foreign worker policy in Singapore. Keywords: foreign labour; foreign manpower policy; labour migration policies; low-skilled foreign worker; Pang Eng Fong; Singapore