Singaporean Urges Gov’t to Hire Fewer Pinoys
MANILA – A Singaporean is urging his government to cut the number of Filipinos working in the country.
The open letter written by a certain Jafri Basron was addressed to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. It was uploaded on user-generated content site, The Real Singapore on Tuesday morning.
Basron said he wrote the note “to represent the concern of ordinary Singaporean over the perceived influx of Filipinos holding Employment Pass (EP) and the S-Pass in the employment sector”.
He explained that the presence of overseas Filipino workers in Singapore is causing social problems and resentment among the locals who find it hard to look for employment.
He pointed out citing “personal experience” that OFWs are not really professional in their jobs. But employers prefer to hire them because they are willing to work despite the low pay.
He also stressed that several offensive statements against Singaporeans were made on social media by some Filipinos due to their failure to assimilate into their new society.
Recently, a Filipino nurse was fired by the hospital he worked in after he wrote offensive remarks against Singaporeans on his Facebook account. The nurse claims that his Facebook account was hacked.
For his last point, Basron urges the government to lessen job opportunities for OFWs as there are other nationalities that are “as good and competent like the Filipino workers”.