Foreign worker levy rebate for construction, marine shipyard and process extended till June 2022

These measures were set to expire at the end of this month, including the foreign worker levy rebate. - LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): The current foreign worker levy rebate for construction, marine shipyard and process (CMP) work permit holders will be extended for another three months, at S$250 per month for April and May and $200 for June.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) and Manpower Ministry (MOM) announced this on Sunday (March 27) as part of the extension of several support measures that were put in place to help alleviate the pressures of continued manpower shortages and high business costs for CMP sectors.

These measures were set to expire at the end of this month, including the foreign worker levy rebate. Introduced in 2020, the rebate was to help businesses amid challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the joint release, the ministries said that the lower foreign worker levy rebate for June this year reflects the improving manpower inflow for the CMP sectors, with manpower costs expected to moderate accordingly.

"The Government will continue to monitor the situation before deciding closer to June 2022 whether an extension of the rebate is necessary," said the statement.

"As the foreign worker levy rebate is meant to be a temporary support, we encourage firms to press on with longer-term productivity improvements to be more manpower-lean and resilient against future manpower disruptions."

A provision under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act - allowing contractors to seek a determination from an assessor to adjust the contract sum, to take into account an increase in foreign manpower salary incurred due to reasons relating to Covid-19 - will also be extended.

While it was meant to conclude in end-March, the relief period under this provision will now be further extended for an additional three months, till June 30.

MND and MOM said that this relief, provided to the built environment sector, is meant to be time-limited.

"As the sector continues to recover and Singapore shifts towards living with Covid-19, firms will need to partner one another even more closely to ensure business sustainability and longer-term resilience of the built environment sector," they said.