Replicating Parts of Korean Employment Permit Scheme in Recruitment of Low-wage Bangladeshi Migrant Workers
Ministry of ManpowerSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Leon Perera’s inquiry into the feasibility of replicating South Korea’s Employment Permit Scheme to reduce high recruitment fees for Bangladeshi migrant workers. Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng replied that the scheme was previously found unsuitable due to Singapore's higher migrant worker volume and the long waiting times reported in South Korea. He clarified that while Singapore limits recruitment fees for local agencies, the government has no legal jurisdiction over fees incurred within workers' home countries. To address this, the Ministry is exploring approaches to reduce reliance on foreign intermediaries, including a potential direct recruitment channel for returning workers. This proposal is currently in the early stages of consideration as a way to leverage workers' familiarity with Singapore's employment laws and recruitment processes.
Transcript
36 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will study the feasibility of replicating elements of the Korean Employment Permit Scheme in the recruitment of low-wage Bangladeshi migrant workers to regulate and improve oversight over parts of the recruitment process that are prone to exploitation and which may lead to overly high recruitment fees.
Dr Tan See Leng: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had previously studied South Korea’s Employment Permit Scheme and found it unsuitable, given the higher number of migrant workers in Singapore. This was previously addressed in MOM’s Committee of Supply debate in 2018. Foreign workers entering South Korea are also reported to face waiting times of one to two years.
MOM does recognise that migrant workers may face high recruitment fees from intermediaries in their home countries. We have introduced legislation to limit the recruitment fees paid by migrant workers to employment agencies operating in Singapore. However, we have no legal jurisdiction to influence the recruitment fees incurred in their home countries.
This is a complex issue that is not easily addressed, but we are open to and are exploring approaches that can help reduce the dependence of migrant workers on intermediaries in their home countries and, hence, recruitment fees. One idea we are considering is to facilitate direct recruitment channels for returning workers as they are more familiar with our employment laws and may be less dependent on intermediaries. This is still at an early stage of consideration.