MANILA – Popular fast food chain Jollibee has opened a branch in Singapore on Tuesday despite the threat of boycott by some Singaporeans who assailed the restaurant’s alleged preference for Filipino workers.
Jollibee’s newest branch is located on the 6th floor of Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road in Singapore.
Some Filipinos decided to line up early before the store opened just to be the very first customers to eat at the branch.
But while the opening seemed successful, a campaign to boycott the restaurant was already online in the past few weeks.
In the website of The Real Singapore (Voices of average Singaporeans), a post urged Singaporeans to boycott the Jollibee there “to send a message that foreign businesses which hire foreigners first are not welcome in Singapore”.
The issue started when Jollibee Singapore posted a message on its Facebook wall urging all “Jollibee fans” looking for careers at Jollibee Singapore to send their detailed resume. However, there is no mention on Jollibee Singapore's Facebook page that it was only hiring Filipinos for its store.
“Unlike other multi-national fastfood restaurants like Macdonalds (sic) and KFC which hire mainly Singaporeans and even the disabled and elderly, Jollibee Singapore intends to hire their fellow Pinoys to fill up jobs in their latest Singapore venture," the post on The Real Singapore said.
A Facebook user reacted to a statement “businesses which targeted the Singaporean market share and profit off Singaporeans should prioritize job opportunities for Singaporeans first”. He pointed out that not many Singaporeans know about Jollibee and that the new branch was specifically opened to cater to Filipinos living or working in the country.
Other comments on the article said it was marred with racial discrimination; while others said Singaporeans should be considered first over other nationalities when businesses open in the country.
Despite the threat of a boycott, the opening day of Jollibee Singapore appeared to be a success with long lines outside the store. Jollibee Singapore’s Facebook account has also been "liked" by nearly 5,000 people and with over 7,000 people talking about it on the said social networking site.
As of December 2011 Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos released by the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, there are 180,000 Filipinos in Singapore.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
