Singapore: Singapore’s perceived shortage of qualified, competitive maritime staff has come home to roost.
At the end of last year maritime company Prime Gold International was barred by the authorities from hiring foreign workers for two years after it was found to have discriminated against Singaporeans.
Prime Gold had laid off 13 Singaporeans, who were working as ship captains, officers, engineers and seamen, and hired foreigners in their place.
The ruling was a landmark case becoming the first time that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has taken action against a company which has discriminated against Singaporean employees.
Under Singapore’s Fair Consideration Framework (FCF), all firms must consider Singaporeans fairly for job vacancies.
The ruling will have sent a shudder across Singapore’s diverse maritime community, which has been warning for a number of years on a coming human resources crunch.
In a poll carried by SeaShip News last year, 77% of respondents said the local talent pool was not large enough or of high enough quality while 53% of voters found current work restrictions on foreigners were affecting their businesses. Most damningly, 59% of readers said the government had not been effective in getting more people interested in a maritime career.
The poll formed a core part of SeaShip News’s annual Singapore magazine. The full 60-page special can be accessed for free here. [05/01/15]
