Crane operator complaints of too many foreigners in the industry pushing down salary

Dear Mr Gilbert Goh,

A brief introduction: I’m a crane operator.

I have spent almost 3 years in this trade.

I’m just sharing what our government has done to the crane industry.

As we all can remember, somewhere about 1 year ago, this was a pretty hot topic with headlines like “$4000 basic and $7000 salary for Crane Operators in Singapore”.

The response was overwhelming. There were hundreds (or even thousands) of local sign- ups.

The waiting period for the course was like 6 months and beyond.

The course fees went up and that did not discourage locals from signing up.

Well, as far as I can remember (correct me if I’m wrong), when I joined this trade in 2012, I was told that this position was reserved for locals and PR!

In 2012, when I joined the industry, I saw foreigners holding S-Pass in the trade.

Perhaps there’s not enough operators, so the government lossens the rules a little.

The salary also decreases as a result.

There are many people leaving the trade with reasons like the salary was too low or they couldn’t get the job.

Last year, when the HDB & LTA launched many projects, the demand went up for crane operators.

Granted, it was a lot.

However, the positions were filled out by foreigners holding work permit.

A lot of the local operators were replaced by cheap labour or low wage workers.

The main point is, while the government encourages local workers and pays for the apprenticeship course fees, they open the gate for the foreigners till it is now chock-full.

They came in with work permits, snatching all of our jobs, pushing down our pay very badly.

There are currently more than a hundred jobless local operators.

Please refer to Facebook page, Brother of The Hook Singapore for more info.

Regards,
Ajit