Press Release: (2nd May 2008)LABOUR DAY RELEASE – RESPONSE TO MR SENG HAN THONG We refer to Mr Seng Han Thong’s reported response to WP’s Labour Day press release. It seems that Mr Seng, a labour MP, has conveniently forgotten to address WP’s questions about his ex-boss Minister Lim Boon Heng's insensitive comments. Instead, he side-steps them by querying whether all employees of Hougang Town Council (HGTC) are Singaporeans. For the record, the staff of HGTC are all Singaporeans. However WP recognizes the contribution of foreign workers and is not against their employment. For instance, HGTC does not object to its contractors deploying foreign workers in the estate. The WP Labour day message raised three issues pertaining to workers in Singapore in view of the changing economic circumstances, the government policy on foreign manpower and the government's attitude towards the employment of foreigners. WP said, first, the government's attitude should be to put Singaporeans first; secondly, we should resist any erosion of Singaporeans' societal standing; and thirdly, it is the government’s responsibility to show compassion for the plight of the workers facing the pressure of high inflation. Therefore, the issue here is not of foreign workers’ employment per se but rather how the Singapore Government and the Labour Union will ensure that the dignity and societal position of Singaporeans workers are not compromised in view of globalization and labour mobility. Yaw Shin LeongOrganising SecretaryThe Workers' Party