16-09-2021, 10:10 PM
In the speech, Lee, who ruled Singapore with a velvet fist from 1959 until 1990, promised that the country would have a wholly Singaporean workforce by 1991. Lee said that countries like France, the United Kingdom and West Germany were facing political, social and economic problems due to their large migrant work forces. Arguing that this was not desirable for Singapore, Lee promised that work permits for the country’s migrant workforce in the non-traditional sector would not be renewed and that by December 31, 1984, all such workers would leave.
But Lee never fulfilled this promise and Singapore has seen a steady growth in its population of foreign workers. In 1986, as economic growth picked up after a period of recession in the early 1980s, restrictions on foreign workers were relaxed. Since then, the country’s foreign workforce, which sat at just 10 percent of the work force in the early 1980s, has grown to 36 percent, or around 1.5 million people
But Lee never fulfilled this promise and Singapore has seen a steady growth in its population of foreign workers. In 1986, as economic growth picked up after a period of recession in the early 1980s, restrictions on foreign workers were relaxed. Since then, the country’s foreign workforce, which sat at just 10 percent of the work force in the early 1980s, has grown to 36 percent, or around 1.5 million people