(Our Bureau, May 19) Singapore is facing a shortage of manpower due to the travel restrictions imposed on India and its neighbouring countries, according to PTI. A number of migrant workers left the island nation last year as their contract ended amid the pandemic’s peak. They have not been able to return as Singapore shut its doors to long-term passholders and short-term visitors from India on April 24, followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on May 2. As of June 2020, there were around 362,000 Indian residents in Singapore. Landscaping and construction firms who relied on migrant workers from Indian and Bangladesh are facing project delays, a report in Channel News Asia said. While the clamour to fully seal Singapore’s border grows among a cross-section of Singapore’s population, the ministry of manpower told the media that “businesses have been appealing for more workers to be allowed to enter Singapore to address manpower shortages”. As of December 2020, Singapore had 1.23 million migrant workers.
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