Amy Khor says WP's proposals will result in fewer jobs for Singaporeans

Minister of State for Manpower, Dr Amy Khor, has rebutted several points raised by Chairman of the Workers' Party, Sylvia Lim, during the debate on the White Paper on Population.

Speaking in Parliament, Dr Khor explained that based on the Workers' Party's proposals of lowering the GDP growth proposed by 0.5 to 1 percentage point, the corresponding total workforce growth worked out to 0.5 per cent per annum for the next two decades. 

This was less than one sixth of the 3.3 per cent total workforce growth over the last 30 years. 

She noted that businesses were already feeling the pain of tighter foreign manpower restrictions over the last few years. 

Dr Khor argued that the Workers' Party's proposal to sharply cut workforce growth would exact punishing costs on the local businesses and even some MNCs. 

She said under this scenario, many companies are likely to fold or move out of Singapore whilst others will not be attracted to set up shops here, resulting in fewer jobs for Singaporeans.