Twelve years ago on 29 June 2005,
PM Lee triumphantly went to India to sign the free trade agreement,
the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement or CECA, with the
Indian government. At the official dinner hosted by the Indian PM for
him in New Delhi, PM Lee happily announced that a “New India” is
emerging
....
Cleverly hidden clauses
In the
agreement, Chapter 9 provides for the movement of people between the 2 countries.
In particular, it provides very laxed rules for the so-called “
intra-corporate transfer”
of employees, encompassing some 127 different type of professionals
described in Annex 9A: IT professionals, architects, civil engineers,
electrical engineers, doctors, biochemists, pharmacists, lecturers,
accountants, auditors, financial analysts, psychologists, career
advisers, etc.
In Article 9.5, Clause 1, it talks about providing a “long-term
temporary entry” to “intra-corporate transferees”. In fact the name
itself should have raised a red flag to PM Lee. How can an entry be
simultaneously “temporary” but yet “long-term”?
The clause stated that “each party shall grant temporary entry to an
intra-corporate transferee of the other party, who otherwise meets its
criteria for the grant of an immigration visa, for an initial period of
up to two years or the period of the contract, whichever is less. The
period of stay may be extended for period of up to three years at a time
for a total term not exceeding eight years”.
Bottom line is an “intra-corporate transferee” can stay up to 8 years before he is “rotated” out of the country.
And the person shall be exempted from any labour market testing or economic needs testing, as specified in Article 9.3:
“Neither Party shall require labour market testing, economic needs
testing or other procedures of similar effects as a condition for
temporary entry, in respect of natural persons upon whom the benefits of
this Chapter are conferred.”
That is to say, economic needs testing like Singapore’s fair
consideration framework which ensures fair hiring of Singaporeans cannot
be applied to “intra-corporate transferees”.
To top it all, CECA Article 9.6 even allows the “intra-corporate
transferees” to bring in their spouses or dependents to work too:
“A Party shall, upon application, grant the accompanying spouses or
dependents of the other Party the right to work as managers, executives
or specialists, subject to its relevant licensing, administrative and
registration requirements.”
In cases where their spouses or dependents are not professionals, they shall be allowed to work in other areas:
“Such spouses or dependents can apply independently in their own
capacity (and not necessarily as accompanying spouses or dependents) and
shall not be barred by the Party granting them the right to work from
taking up employment in a category other than that of managers,
executives, or specialists solely on the ground that they as the
accompanying spouses or dependents are already employed in its territory
as managers, executives or specialists.”
India IT companies exploiting the “intra-corporate transfer” loophole
Hence with CECA, Indian IT companies like Wipro or Infosys can
exploit the “intra-corporate transfer” loophole, to move large number of
Indian IT workers into Singapore since CECA does not set any quotas.
They do not have to hire a single Singaporean in their Singapore-based subsidiaries.
Before the PAP govt notices, tens of thousands of Indian IT workers
have already quietly entered Singapore with many of them working and
settling in the East side of Singapore, creating their own enclaves.
In recent months, driven by higher unemployment among Singaporean
PMETs as well as discriminatory hiring complaints from Singaporean
workers, the PAP govt started to slow down the approvals of Indian IT
professionals to work here....
The above is part of an article posted in theindependent.sg on 4 May 2017 by a Voltaire.
The most dangerous and most unequal part of this Agreement is Chapter 9 on the Movement of people between the two countries. 127 professions were highlighted, now 128 with the recognition of Indian nursing degrees in the upgraded CECA in 2018. See Annex 9 below for the list. The free movement of people apparently looks so innocuous and fair on paper. But in practice and in reality it is something else.
Millions and millions of Indians would be moving into Singapore to work freely. On the other hand, NOT a single Singaporean would want to work in India. OK I might have exaggerated, maybe 1 or 2 Singaporeans would want to work in India and be paid in rupees. What, for earning rupees and in jobs that paid 10% of what it would be paying in Singapore?
Look at the picture above of the Indian masses in Singapore's Chennai Business Park in Changi, oops I mean Changi Business Park. It is the same in MBFC aka Mumbai Financial Centre in Marina Bay.
From the pictures you will know how serious CECA has turned jobs in Singapore into jobs for Indians from India, not for our PMETs. Who are the big employers of Indian nationals? GLCs? Are GLCs giving good jobs to Indian nationals and sacking Singaporeans in the process, causing undue financial hardship to Singaporean and their families?
A picture tells a thousand words.
When Tan Chuan-Jin was still Manpower Minister, he said this in parliament: (He is no longer a minister)
“We have also heard of situations
where Singaporeans were retrenched or made to resign in the name of
down-sizing, only to realise later that their positions were given to
foreigners, who were coincidentally from the same countries as the
business heads.”
“Let me be quite blunt. Would these
practices not sound discriminatory? Would any respectable progressive
company endorse these practices? If this hiring is indeed because they
care only about choosing familiar candidates and not about hiring the
‘best man for the job’, then such practices have no place in Singapore’s
workplaces. Discrimination will not and cannot be tolerated.”
Annex 9A LIST OF PROFESSIONALS
1 System Designer & Analyst 2 Network System & Data Communication Analyst 3 Software Engineer 4 Computer and Information Systems Manager 5 Computer Operations and Network Manager 6 Application Programmer 7 Systems Programmer 8 Multi-media Programmer 9 Network System & Database Administrator 10 Database Administrator 11 Information Technology Auditor 12 Information Technology Security Specialist 13 Information Technology Quality Assurance Specialist 14 Building Architect 15 Interior Architect 16 Landscape Architect 17 Town Planner 18 Civil Engineer (General) 19 Dredging Engineer 20 Dock and Harbour Construction Engineer 21 Structural Engineer (General) 22 Building Construction Engineer 23 Sewerage & Sanitary Engineer 24 Soil Mechanic & Piling Engineer 25 Trenchless Technology Engineer 26 Quantity Surveying Engineer 27 Transportation and Highways Engineer 28 Electrical Engineer (General) 29 Electromechanical Equipment Engineer 30 Electrical Traction Engineer 31 Power Generation & Distribution Engineer 32 Lift Engineer 33 Electronics Engineer (General) 34 Telecommunications Engineer 35 Computer Engineer 36 Computer Systems Engineer 37 Computer Applications Engineer 38 Computer Hardware Design Engineer 39 Semi-conductor Engineer 40 Audio & Video Equipment Engineer 41 Instrumentation Engineer 42 Mechanical Engineer (General) 43 Industrial Machinery & Tools Engineer 44 Marine Engineer 45 Ship Construction Engineer 46 Naval Architect 47 Aeronautical Engineer 48 Automotive Engineer 49 Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Engineer 50 Chemical Engineer (General) 51 Chemical Engineer (Petroleum) 52 Chemical Engineer (Petrochemicals) 53 Manufacturing Engineer (General) 54 Production Engineer 55 Automation Engineer 56 Robotic Engineer 57 Biomedical Engineer 58 Biochemical Engineer 59 Biotechnology Engineer 60 Materials Engineer 61 Industrial Health, Safety & Environment Engineer 62 Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineer 63 Metallurgist 64 Quantity Surveyor 65 Ceramics and Glass Technologist 66 Food and Drink Technologist 67 Dairy Technologist 68 Leather Technologist 69 Textile Technologist 70 Oil Technologist 71 Pulp, Paper, Paint and Plastics Technologist 72 Biologist (General) 73 Botanist 74 Zoologist 75 Anatomist 76 Biochemist 77 Physiologist 78 Neurologist 79 Medical Pathologist 80 Clinical Pathologist 81 Veterinary Pathologist 82 Pharmacologist 83 Animal Scientist 84 Microbiologist 85 Bacteriologist 86 Immunologist 87 General Physician 88 General Surgeon 89 Specialised Surgeon 90 Anaesthetist 91 Psychiatrist 92 Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 93 Paediatrician 94 Endocrinologist 95 Dermatologist 96 Ophthalmologist 97 Cardiologist 98 Radiologist 99 Industrial Physician 100 Medical Service Physician (School) 101 Public Health Physician 102 Dentist (General) 103 Specialised Dentist 104 Veterinarian 105 Veterinary Epidemiologist 106 Pharmacist (Dispensing) 107 Other Pharmacists 108 University Lecturer 109 Polytechnic Lecturer 110 Accountant 111 Cost Accountant 112 Company Secretaries (who are Accountants) 113 Taxation Professionals (who are Accountants) 114 Auditor (Accounting) 115 Career Adviser 116 Financial Analyst 117 Credit Analyst 118 Fund Manager 119 Treasury Manager 120 Market Research Analyst 121 Advertising Account Executive 122 Economist 123 Sociologist 124 Anthropologist 125 Historian 126 Political Scientist 127 Psychologist