Singapore puts a halt to VTL holders

Last Friday, Singapore had announced the tightening of rules for VTL travellers in view of Omicron. The S Pass allows mid-level skilled foreign staff to work in Singapore

The Singapore government said employers of S Pass and work permit holders in construction, marine shipyard and process sectors would not be allowed to make new applications for their employees to enter the country via the vaccinated travel lanes (VTL).

The nation was reacting to the Omicron variant. Last Friday, Singapore had announced the tightening of rules for VTL travellers in view of Omicron. The S Pass allows mid-level skilled foreign staff to work in Singapore.

The Ministry said that S Pass and work permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors, as well as other dormitory-bound workers, should come in via the work pass holder general lane. They may also enter Singapore via ongoing industry initiatives such as programmes with “upstream testing” and isolation in the source country, it said.

“The number of workers entering under these lanes meet industry needs while allowing the entry of these workers to be done at a pace where they can be safely onboarded before entering the dormitories and worksites as these are higher risk settings,” the Channel News Asia quoted the Ministry of Manpower (MoM) as saying.

The entry of workers under these lanes is done at a pace where they can be safely onboarded before entering high-risk settings like dormitories and worksites, said MOM in a statement. For instance, workers have to show verification of vaccination and go for medical examination under these lanes.

The Ministry said workers, who have obtained approval prior to the effective date to enter Singapore via VTLs, will still be allowed to do so. “They will need to take an on-arrival Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction test and self-isolate while waiting for the results. Those who test negative will go through the five-day on-boarding programme. More details will be communicated to the employers,” it added.

The three associations said in July that restrictions related to Covid-19 safety measures had resulted in project delays and significant labour cost increase, which in turn affected the viability of businesses

The Singapore Contractors Association Limited, the Association of Singapore Marine Industries and the Association of Process Industry, was quoted saying that the number of work permit holders in these sectors has declined by more than 15 per cent or 60,000 since end-2019. The three associations said in July that restrictions related to Covid-19 safety measures had resulted in project delays and significant labour cost increase, which in turn affected the viability of businesses.

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