SINGAPORE — Saying “no” to more foreigners will have a major impact on the health, eldercare and disability sectors, where workers are almost exclusively from overseas, Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament yesterday.

If no increases are allowed, the Government will have to “take the quota” from elsewhere, such as from Small and Medium Enterprises, construction, retail and shipyards, impacting other sectors of the economy.

The number of foreign workers required in the eldercare, health and disability sectors is not small, Mr Chan cautioned, and he urged those calling for a halt to increases to “have a care when they say ‘no’ to more foreigners being employed to help care for the old and weak”.

In his speech, Mr Chan also said stay-at-home mums play a big part for the country by taking care of both the young and old, and that saying they can easily join the workforce if their salaries are increased does them a “disservice” — a reference to the Workers’ Party’s call to do more to get such people to join the workforce and thus cut the need for more foreigners.

He pointed out that although the women’s labour force participation rate could grow by another 6 per cent, the rate for males is likely to fall in the coming years due to a higher ratio of the elderly to young, and productivity improvements alone cannot make up for a manpower shortfall.

“It is not that we are not trying to get more locals to join the workforce, but we have to be realistic about what we can achieve,” he said.

Mr Chan also touched on the concerns over the growing income gap and noted that though “not everyone can progress evenly in a society”, maximising opportunities can help fulfil Singaporeans’ potential and diverse aspirations.

“We should not hold back those amongst us who can progress faster or further, just to pretend that we can thus achieve equality,” he said.

“Instead, we should let the stronger ones flourish and bring back a bigger harvest for all of us to share. We must imbue in our more successful ones the sense of responsibility and care to help those who are weaker.”

Calling for slower or no growth, he said, will not lead to more equality — it will only mean that the lower income group will suffer.

Turning to integration, Mr Chan, a former chair of the National Integration Council, said there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The Government is keenly aware of the challenges of integration within schools, National Service, at the workplace and in the community, he said.

The People’s Association is not the only organisation that is promoting integration, he said in another reference to a WP charge — schools and others play an active role too.

Urging the House not to “start drawing lines dividing who is a true Singapore and who is not”, he concluded: “Let us focus on our shared values and identity. Be it left or right, what matters most is that we choose the same path and walk it together.”