新加坡人力部：客工床位会加4万5，但这件事比建宿舍更重要

2025年4月8日，新加坡人力部高级政务部长许宝琨在国会口头答复杨厝港单选区议员叶汉荣有关确保外籍劳工住房充足且具韧性的长期战略问题。

以下内容为新加坡眼根据国会英文资料翻译整理：

叶汉荣（杨厝港单选区议员）问人力部长：鉴于专用宿舍高入住率及近期部分宿舍关闭，人力部将采取哪些长期战略确保外籍劳工住房充足且具韧性？

许宝琨（人力部高级政务部长，代表人力部长答复）：议长先生，政府持续与宿舍行业密切合作以增加床位供应。具体措施包括：在可行情况下延长现有宿舍租约、允许有空置空间的专用宿舍（PBD）在符合现行标准下提高入住容量，以及简化工厂改建宿舍（FCD）与临时工人宿舍,如临时居住许可宿舍(Temporary Occupation Licence Quarters）的申请流程，以扩大供应来源。

未来几年，市场将新增六座专用宿舍，共提供约45,000个床位，其中包括人力部在裕廊都康新建的2,400床位专用宿舍，预计2026年初启用。

虽然政府已采取措施扩大宿舍床位供应，但如果对工作许可证持有者的需求有增无减，这种做法将难以为继。因此，我们呼吁雇主通过提升生产力减少对外籍劳工的依赖。

议长：有请叶汉荣议员。

叶汉荣（杨厝港单选区议员）：感谢议长先生。感谢高级政务部长的回答。在提升宿舍宜居标准（包括更严格的监管要求）背景下，人力部如何平衡工人福利保障与企业合规成本？如何确保监管升级以高性价比、分阶段方式实施？

许宝琨（人力部高级政务部长，代表人力部长答复）：议长先生，宿舍转型计划采取分阶段推进模式。我们综合考虑工人数量峰值与现有床位供应，逐步将现有宿舍过渡至新标准，避免因转型导致供应短缺。

同时，通过新建宿舍（如前述45,000床位计划）注入新供应，并与新加坡宿舍协会合作，促进有空置床位的宿舍与需求企业匹配。此举既能实现宿舍标准升级，又能稳定市场供需平衡。

随着供需趋稳，宿舍价格已逐步趋缓，过去一年趋势印证了这一效果。

以下是英文质询内容：

Mr Yip Hon Wengasked the Minister for Manpower in light of the high occupancy rates and recent closures of purpose-built dormitories, what is the Ministry's long-term strategy to ensure sufficient and resilient housing for foreign workers.

The Senior Minister of State for Manpower (Dr Koh Poh Koon) (for the Minister for Manpower): Sir, the Government has been working closely with the dormitory industry to increase dormitory bed supply. This includes extending the leases of expiring dormitories where feasible, as well as enabling existing purpose-built dormitories (PBDs) with excess space to increase their occupancy load, while meeting prevailing dormitory housing standards. We have also been streamlining and facilitating applications for new Factory-Converted Dormitories and temporary workers' quarters, such as Temporary Occupation Licence Quarters to provide more sources of bed supply.

Over the next few years, six new PBDs with around 45,000 beds will also be added to the market, including the Ministry of Manpower's 2,400-bed PBD in Jalan Tukang, set to be operational in early 2026.

While the Government has put in place measures to expand dormitory bed supply, this will not be sustainable if demand for work permit holders grows unabatedly. So, we urge employers to adopt productivity measures to reduce their reliance on migrant workers.

Mr Speaker: Mr Yip.

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. With the push towards better living standards in our dormitories, including stricter regulatory requirements, how does the Ministry strike a balance between safeguarding workers' welfare and avoiding excessive compliance costs for businesses? What efforts are in place to ensure that the regulatory upgrades are implemented in a cost effective and phased manner?

Dr Koh Poh Koon: Sir, I thank the Member for his supplementary questions. Briefly, the dormitory transition plan is a phased approach. We take into account the peak numbers of workers at any point in time as well as the existing available number of bed spaces, so that we stage the transition of existing dormitories to new standards in a phased manner, to make sure that as we take the transition of existing dormitories, we do not end up causing a supply shortage.

At the same time, we are also injecting new supply, as I said in my main reply. Together, this will ensure adequate supply, even as we require dormitories to transition to newer standards. And so, it is a progressive approach. We keep in close contact with the Dormitory Association of Singapore Limited, so that we hear the industry's voice constantly. They are also helping us connect employers who may need bed spaces for their workers to those dormitories that have excess spaces, so there is a matching effort that takes place at the industry level. With that, I think we can transit to the desireddormitorystandards over time, without impacting too much ofdormitorysupply.

Over time, as the supply and demand balance is achieved, we will see dormitory prices stabilising. In fact, that has been the case over the past year.