Economy after the pandemic Make outdoor jobs attractive to locals
I posed a photo of foreign workers working on a road repair project and added the observation - future jobs for locals.

I wish to underline the point that attractive and well paying office jobs will be difficult to come by in the future, under a changed global environment.

To remain employed, locals have to accept jobs that are now done by foreign workers. This includes the construction jobs, repair jobs, outdoor jobs and other non-office jobs.

What are the changes needed to make these jobs attractive to locals?

Here are the measures:

a) Pay adequate salaries
b) Improve the work environment
c) Make these jobs dignified.

Actually, the total cost to the employer to employ a foreign worker is high. For example, the employer may be spending $1,800 a month on a foreign worker and pay $800 on government levy. If the total cost of $2,600 is paid as salary, the local worker may find the adequate. 

The government will not earn the levy of $800, but they do not need to spend money on various schemes to create jobs for locals.

The locals will not like to work 8 hours a day in the hot sun. The working condition can be improved by asking the worker to spend 4 hours a day on the outdoor work and the other 4 hours in an office. It should be possible to have this mix of office and outdoor work and be productive. 

Actually, the foreign worker did not spend 8 hours working. They probably spend 2 hours or more resting under a tree during the hot afternoon.

The new working arrangement, i.e. splitting the work day into outdoor and office work, may increase productivity.

Combining the outdoor and office jobs may make it more dignified and more productive. However, I like to propose an additional incentive.

We can identify some of the outdoor work as "essential and important work" and exempt the local workers from NS reservist duty.  This will make the jobs quite attractive to both the local workers and the employers.

The Singapore Armed Forces will have less reservists to be trained but they will still have more than enough reservists for their requirements. 

Would you like to have this new kind of jobs?

a) Salary of $2,600 per month
b) 4 hours of outdoor work and 4 hours in the office
c) Exemption from NS reservist duty

Not everyone will like it. But I suspect that there will be enough local workers who will be interested in these jobs. We do not need to rely on foreign workers for these jobs.

Agree or not?

Tan Kin Lian

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