Background for Public Dialogue
The recent strike by foreign SMRT drivers due to unfair, discriminatory wages and working conditions prove that we cannot be overly reliant on foreign workers for essential services. (Over 20 percent of SMRT's pool of drivers are reportedly from the People's Republic of China.) But an Occasional Paper released by the National Talent and Population Division on 12 November 2012 projected that an aging population will mean that over 30 per cent of healthcare workers (currently 26 per cent) in Singapore will be foreigners in time to come. SingHealth, the country's largest public healthcare cluster, recognises the risks and has recently said that it will be reviewing its business contingency plans in the wake of this strike.
Will these risks make us more prone to economic, social, political and psychological weaknesses, which may be exploited? What are the implications of the Government's immigration and foreign labour policy on social and industrial harmony?
The public dialogue – organised by Online|Offline and The Online Citizen - seeks to discuss the implications of being overly reliant on foreign workers.
Speakers
Dr. Vincent Wijeysingha
Vincent is a politician and civil activist from Singapore. He is currently the Treasurer of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and was a candidate in the 2011 Singapore general election. Vincent studied at Victoria School in Singapore, before heading to the United Kingdom where he studied at the University of Lincoln and received his doctorate from the University of Sheffield. Vincent lived in England for almost 16 years before moving back to Singapore. He was formerly the Executive Director of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), a non-government organization advocating the rights of low-waged migrant workers. Vincent also lectures and publishes scholarly papers on social work.
Tony Tan
Tony was awarded a Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship to study engineering at the University of Cambridge and graduated with first class honours. Upon graduation, he served in the SAF and was promoted to the rank of major when he was 27. He ended nine years of his career in the civil service at age 31 and is now a business owner. Tony is a member of the National Solidarity Party (NSP). In the last General Election, he contested in Choa Chu Kang GRC. He is married with 2 boys.
Leong Sze Hian
Sze Hian is the Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He is also an alumnus of Harvard University, and has authored 4 books, and has been quoted frequently in the media. He has been host of a money radio show, a daily newspaper money column. Sze Hian is a Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for The Online Citizen and Malaysiakini, and has been invited to speak more than 100 times in about 25 countries on 5 continents. He has served as Honorary Consul of Jamaica and is a founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications.
Braema Mathi
Braema is a former Nominated Member of Parliament in Singapore, a two-term former President of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), and former Vice-President of Action for AIDS. She led Transient Workers Count Too and its precursor, The Working Committee 2 (TWC2) from 2002 to 2007, and is a founding member of MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism). Braema is also the Regional President of the International Council of Social Welfare (Southeast Asia and Pacific) and has previously worked as a teacher, a journalist, in senior management and in research.
Moderator
Ravi Philemon
Ravi is a blogivist - an activist with a blog. He has championed several social causes, including the call for parity in public transportation for persons with disability, and for appropriate shelter for the homeless. He is one of the founders of the socio-political discussion platform, 'onlineloffline', and is a member of National Solidarity Party.
Date: 15 December 2012
Time: 2 - 5pm
Venue: Park Mall, 9 Penang Road, #13-15 (nearest MRT station: Dhoby Ghaut)
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About Online|Offline
Online|Offline is a local socio-political discussion platform. The idea for it was hatched during the time of the last by-election in Hougang, on 25 May 2012. Despite being new, we have so far hosted discussions on topics such as xenophobia, press freedom and local political leadership, where our special guests included Members of Parliament.