Singapore companies freak out amid stiffer foreign labour rules

49% worry over rocketing business costs.

According to Achieve Group's Hiring Trends Report, the incremental tightening of the foreign worker labour laws has exacerbated the manpower crunch that companies have been facing. The report investigated briefly how these companies are dealing with this predicament.

Most of those surveyed (46%) were unsure and said they would take a "wait and see" approach. 9% reported that they will be "increasing wages to attract employees" while the next 11% cited "increasing multi-tasking amongst workforce" as a coping mechanism.

This was followed by 17% of companies that said they would be "seeking ways to improve productivity of existing workforce," such as through automation and improving business systems.

The final 17% stated they would be "improving employee retention strategies" by offering more incentives and career progression opportunities, for instance.

Here's more from Hiring Trends:

The report also polled the companies on the impact that they foresee the tighter foreign labour policies will have on their industry in a years' time, assuming that there will be no reversal of the new labour laws.

These are the findings:

• 49% cited higher business costs
• 35% predict that surviving players will become stronger and more competitive
• 10% believe that more companies will relocate their operations overseas
• 6% said that more companies will close down in Singapore