What this lesson teaches
I can explain how competition for resources such as jobs and housing can cause tension in a diverse society.
Syllabus K336, Issue 2, Guiding Question 2, Experiences and effects of living in a diverse society. Competition for resources
Make a guess
School places in an area become harder to get. Some residents blame newcomers. What do you think they should check first?
- Which newcomers arrived most recently in the area.
- Whether demand, places or the rules really changed.
- Which group to stop from applying for places in future years.
Show the answer
Whether demand, places or the rules really changed.
Competition causes tension when places are scarce. Check the facts before blaming any group; the cause may be something else.
When there are not enough jobs, homes or places for everyone who wants them, competition can create tension between groups.
People may compete for jobs, housing, school places or shared facilities. Demand is the number of people wanting something. Capacity is the number of places or slots available. Pressure grows when demand rises, places fall or access is restricted. Neither is fixed over time.
Missing out can cause frustration. If people believe another group is getting an unfair share, they may resent or blame that group. This is possible, not certain. People can also accept a fair process, or work together on the problem.
Check the facts before blaming anyone. Eligibility means meeting the stated requirements. Allocation means deciding who gets what is available. A ballot is a random draw for places. Look at these rules alongside changes in demand and places. Rising prices or crowding alone do not prove that a particular nationality or ethnic group caused them. A person's group also tells you nothing about their intentions.
Jobs are a common source of tension in Singapore. In 2021, claims spread online that a trade agreement with India, the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), let Indian professionals take Singaporeans' jobs freely. On 6 July 2021, ministers told Parliament the agreement does not force Singapore to let in professionals from India, and work pass rules still apply. They warned that such claims were fuelling distrust and xenophobia, a fear or dislike of foreigners.
Governments can also make competition fairer. From September 2023, new Employment Pass applications must pass COMPASS, a points test. A firm gets more points when few of its professional staff share the candidate's nationality. It also gets more points when it employs more locals than similar firms. Fair rules reduce the sense that one group is getting an unfair share.
- Demand
- How many people want something.
- Supply or capacity
- How many places are available.
- Fair allocation
- Clear rules, such as a ballot, for who gets what.
Real examples to use
CECA debate, July 2021
On 6 July 2021, ministers told Parliament it was false that the India-Singapore trade agreement let Indian professionals take jobs freely. They said such claims fuelled xenophobia. Use it for how competition for jobs can turn into blame on a nationality.
COMPASS, from September 2023
A points test for new Employment Pass applications that rewards firms with a diverse mix of nationalities and a strong local core. Use it for a government response that makes job competition fairer.
Ti2 Logistics, 2020
Fined for falsely declaring that it had considered local applicants fairly, after it ignored all 22 local applicants for a job. Use it to show unfair hiring, not foreign workers themselves, as the cause of a grievance.
Worked example: Job competition and CECA, 2021
Some Singaporean professionals felt anxious about competition for good jobs. Online posts blamed the India-Singapore trade agreement, CECA, and Indian nationals. On 6 July 2021, ministers explained in Parliament that the agreement does not give Indian professionals automatic entry. Singapore still decides who gets work passes.
- Competition: there are only so many professional jobs, and some locals feared losing out.
- Tension: the fear turned into blame on one nationality, partly through false claims.
- Response: checking the facts, as Parliament did, and fair hiring rules such as COMPASS address the worry without blaming a whole group.
Watch out for this
If access gets harder, a newly arrived group must have caused the problem.
Check demand, supply and allocation rules first. Shortages often have other causes.
Check your understanding
How does COMPASS, the points test for new Employment Passes from September 2023, try to reduce tension over job competition?
- It sets a fixed quota on how many Indian professionals each firm may hire.
- It rewards firms that hire a mix of nationalities and employ more locals.
- It lets employers skip advertising jobs to locals if they pay higher salaries.
Show the answer
It rewards firms that hire a mix of nationalities and employ more locals.
Right. Fair, published rules reduce the sense that one group is getting an unfair share of good jobs.
Check your understanding
Ti2 Logistics was fined in 2020 after it ignored all 22 local applicants for a job. What does this case show about job competition?
- Unfair hiring by the firm, not foreign workers, caused the grievance.
- Foreign workers took the job by applying in larger numbers than locals.
- Locals lost out because they lacked the skills the firm needed for the job.
Show the answer
Unfair hiring by the firm, not foreign workers, caused the grievance.
Right. The firm broke the rules. Blaming the foreign worker who got the job would miss the real cause.