The US government has raised the nation’s minimum wage to USD 6.55 per hour (SGD 9) as part of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. The previous revision was made in 1997. A final increase, scheduled for July 24, 2009, will raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour (SGD 10).

The government’s efforts may not be enough to help struggling workers, according to labor-backed Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Even with the increase, the institute believes that a full-time, minimum-wage worker earns below the poverty line for a household of two.

Businesses are concerned that higher labor costs will make an already adverse enconomic environment even more difficult.

Foreign worker levy
Conservative 500,000 foreign workers (likely more than 600,000 by now)
500,000 x $200.00 (average) = $100,000,000 monthly = $1.2 billion min. annually

For every foreign worker (FW) here, a Singaporean would have been affected by the low wage that a FW commands. Therefore, the govt should use the levy collected to assist those Singaporean low wage workers in the badly affected sectors such as services, manufacturing, etc.

A minimum wage law is still necessary to protect low wage workers (both Singaporeans and FW) from exploitation. Govt help for Singaporeans is only logical and expected since they have to contribute taxes, national service and being stakeholders of the country beside having to compete against FW for jobs.

Thanks sgcynic for borrowing your comment.

patriot.

I congratulate you on a well written piece. Please send an email to me at kinlian@gmail.com. I like to discuss this matter further with you.

The problem is that most of these casual and contract workers are not represented by a trade union.

Previously, when they were employed by the public sector, they were represented by a trade union which negotiated the wages for them. After outsourcing, these workers become contract workers and are not covered by the trade union.

If we keep sticking to black and white rules and pushing the entire population through some economic concepts studied in schools without an eye and a heart on the ground, one can be regarded as no different from a robot.

The ultimate goal of government must be to serve its people. If you say life must go on and turn your head the other way, then the only way you will understand what it means to be a human being is suffer that same misfortune your neighbours are going throough..

Comments edited by moderator. Pls no personal attacks. Thanks.

These workers are able to accept the low wage and still have some savings to send back to their families in their home countries. Most of live near their place of work and share a rented room with other workers.

The Singaporean worker is not able to accept these low wages, as they have to pay for the installment of their expensive HDB flat and also travel to work (and the cost of transport is quite high). The current Workfare Income Supplement is not able to meet the higher cost of living for the Singaporean worker. As a result, many of the older Singaporean workers are unemployed.

I hope that the wages for Singaporean workers can be increased to an adequate level, or the foreign workers should not be allowed in most service-oriented industries.

The argument has been put forward that we need to be competitive to attract Foreign Direct Investments into Singapore. This does not apply to the service oriented industries, except for tourism.

My sincere apology!

patriot.

Upgrading of skill, is but a smoke screen and it is a sound good advice
but we need to look deeper into this political exhortation. It is a ploy so beautiful that many are taken in and brainwashed.

“And all our leaders could tell us is for us to upgrade, upgrade! They are taking us, the Citizenry, as morons. They think we are blind to those professionals and managers getting displaced, replaced and retrenched, became jobless, went into taxi driving, security job that pay them peanuts. Why are these people suffering such fates? THE FAULTS LIE WITH NATIONAL POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN AND BEING DISHED ONTO US, SHOVED ONTO US!

DOES ANYONE WANTS TO UPGRADE TO WHERE THE SAID PROFESSIONALS AND MANAGERS WERE AND SUFFERS THEIR FATES, AFTER SPENDING MONEY AND TIME AND NEGLECTING ONES’ FAMILY IN THE PURSUIT OF UPGRADING?”

May I add here that many job applicants are rejected because they are ‘over qualified’ and many that were retrenched were because their pays were much higher than the many new candidates, including foreigners available in the market who are able to replace them(current employees) at a much lower cost(salary).

This is a very vicious development, which of not arrested, could result in serious turmoil in time to come.

We, the people, must carefully scritinize the words of our leaders and check if there are substances in what they spout(say).

patriot.

Most people are familiar with the tendering approach, as follows:

> specify the standard of work
> award the work to the contractor that gives the lowest cost.

The consequence is that the contractor will find the cheapest source of labour, including foreign workers. Eventually, the standard of service deteriorates. Wages continue to be depressed.

There is another way of approaching this outsourcing of non-core work, as follows:

> specify the contract price, including the wages to be paid to the workers
> award the work to the contractor that is able to give the best standard of service.

If a specified wage is given, the focus is to select the best candidates for the job. This will ensure better standard and quality of service. The contractor’s task is to ensure that the human and other resources are organised efficiently to meet the changes in requirement.

I hope that more attention can be paid to this new method of outsourcing, which is based on quality of service, rather than reducing cost.

They should set a certain contract (which is based on a fair rate of wages for the contract workers) and judge the contractors based on their standard of service.

This will help to establish a fair wage for the workers and get the focus on upgrading the quality of service.

The wages of cleaners have stagnated for the past 10 years. They suffered a real drop in earnings after discounting for inflation. The wages at the top earners have increased more than inflation.

The gap between the high and lw wage earners have widened. This is the result of the “free market”. It has led to inequity and depressed wages for the weaker sections of our society.

Answer: The same way a compulsive gambler who loses a fortune but simultaneously refuse to give give some money to his wife to buy food for their hungry children.

The people should NOT subsidise the Government in making bad investment decisions.

It is the Government who should subsidise the people on SOME commodities !

If you are prepared to lose billions in bad investments then you should also be prepared to make some subsidies……………….

Let me ask you people one question :

How do you justify losing billions to bad investments but simultaneously – absolutely refuse to spend on SOME subsidies ? On what moral ground ?

To me if you are prepared to lose billions in bad investments – then you should also be prepared to spend a few on SOME subsidies !