Did the stupid unions and workers push for wage inflation? The people of this government live on a higher plane than the common people and they speak and understand only a higher form of English. So next time, just tell them I need more money to buy food for my family because prices have gone up but not my pay unlike yours.

I have absolutely no friggin’ idea what he is talking about.

For the past 10 years, the lowest income bracket has not moved up while inflation and economic growth had exponentially grew.

So it is only due back to them – be it wage inflation or wage increment.

Stupid is as stupid does. Don’t we wonder why we are paying these ministers millions of dollars to come up statements of no value?

Kaffein

Kaffein,

I agree with you. I highly recommend Mr Lim to get this book asap.

Goodness! Good grief! I don’t even know how to respond to the gobbledegook that he just spilled.

Should wage increment be higher or kept lower than inflation?
I just had my annual increment and is lower than inflation rate.
However, many of my friends are getting AI higher than inflation rate.

hongjun

I get his point, but seriously, he needs to improve his Engrish… lol
And quote “Wage inflation means you are pushing up wages to fully offset the inflation.” unquote is definitely not the correct definition for wage-push inflation.

When you are dealing with dim bulbs, the best solution is, change the bulb. Let’s just see whether he will eat his words when it is time to adjust his package.

No, I think so, these people are just simply out of their minds. What a sorry state we are in now. Sad.

The worse thing that any country does at a time of high inflation would be for its government to proceed with increasing the already astronomical pay of its ministers without merit while at the same time preaching that wage inflation is different from wage increment where wage inflation means you are pushing up wages to fully offset the inflation.

Here’s a cock selling a bull’s story.

Ah Sway says cannot push up workers’ wages to offset inflation but OK to increase Ministers’ pay. Penny wise, pound foolish. Overpaid Mandarins throwing our goodmoney after the bad and self-remunerating for it..How can Ah Sway lead the workers? Shame shame!

Smoke out! This looks like a fine example of obfuscation. Clearly a requirement for million dollar politicians. C’mon, there is definitely a clear message behind this and it sounds like, “workers and poor folks should bite the bullet and don’t be too audacious to ask for more wage increase because the country’s competitiveness will suffer and that will hit our economic growth”. Oh, and if one can’t afford to buy groceries anymore, there’s always a lodge somewhere that doles out free food. How sad!

“I agree with you. I highly recommend Mr Lim to get this book asap.”
There is absolutely nothing wrong with his English because it is a form of Lim’s Sweet Say. Sweet word for his Darth Vader.

Lim, go fly kite & retaken you o level english.

I agree absolutely with what he said, and hope that wage increment would nearly meet the inflation.

Adjusting wages to keep up with inflation is necessary and is only fair to the workers.

Wage cost is only a component of the total cost. The other components are material, rental and profits.

If material cost goes up 10%, and businesses increases their price by 10%, it is only fair that the worker’s wages also go up by 10%.

If worker’s wages increase by less than 10%, their share of the total value will diminish. It will mean more profit for business and for property owners.

In recent years, the gap between the low and high income earners have widened. The low income workers, which are the weakest members of our society, have seen their wages stagnated. Top managers and shareholders have taken a higher share of the value chain.

We need to have a fairer distribution of the value chain, and a fairer society.

Yeah, to lead and have impact with speeches, the system must set the exemplary conduct in all areas including salaries, lifestyle, spending, behaviour and character.
So far there are unforgetable embarassments in “peanuts”, mas selamat, and increments despite the high salaries.
But there is always good news in the Straits Times.

TOC team all going for a break of several days all together ??!!!????????

Wow, they must be onto something!

Time to Harvest the ‘INTELLIGENCE’ ?

IP 123.120.123.122 >>>> sector1
IP 838.222.222.111 >>>> sector2
IP …..
:
:
IP 273.244.534.121 >>> sector 66.6

Now, can where are the Pros and Cons….

Okie…. time to draw the borderies….

maybe can bring it forward….

[...] Inflation – Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Rising poverty in affluent Singapore… – Extreme Prejudice: One step at a time [一步一步来] – TOC: More money is bad [...]

[...] Inflation – Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Rising poverty in affluent Singapore… – Extreme Prejudice: One step at a time [一步一步来] – TOC: More money is bad [...]

Lim Swee Say, you are lucky to be the union chief of Spore, if you are the MTUC chief in malaysia, you will be kicked out long time ago. Keep enjoying your million dollar salary, you care more for pap than the workers. You are the wolf in the sheep skin. I will kick you out if you contest in my area.

More money is bad because it is often said that money is the root of all evil.

So guess who are the ones getting the most money …. LOL.

Erh.. a ‘Union’ Chief calling for NO Wage increase to HELP Workers?

Only in Singapore that people stupidly think by joining this ‘Union’ they will be protected. In fact it’s the opposite.

They have lost all morale authority to lead the people with thier own pay increaseS.

You offer NO solution ‘Union Chief’ . Shouldnt you call for Governement fees to be lowered instead rather then giving this cock and bull explanation?

Utter Shame.

Lim Swee Say is both a Union Chief and a cabinet minister. Isn’t this a conflict of interest ?
As Union Chief he is expected to represent the interest of ordinary citizens but can he honestly do so ? Just ask ourselves who is paying his out of this world salary ?

Only a chameleon can play such a role !

Joining the NTUC Union is no longer for the protection of the interest of the workers. It is more for the perks and fun, the rebates to shop, dine and club. We can voice our comments, suggestions, feedbacks and even grievances the ways that things are heading in the dire direction, will the top people take notice of these? Nay! Nay! The love of money is the root of all evil. Government is our role model and their main motivation is to strive to be No. 1 in the world at all expense. Sad to say, they are not No. 1 in paying decent wages to the low income groups.

he talked cock!!!! it’s twister….a chameleon…..a shield and spear salesman…like the insurance salesmen……..like the snake oil salesmen……boh liao

Of his cohort imported from Malaysia, only Christopher Chia (ex-NLB chief) does any real work. Humble, affable guy who doesn’t blow his own trumpet. The rest (incl bo-hoo-boo LSS) just talk.

“Wage inflation” apparently doesn’t equate to inflating wages of the Ministers.

He mentioned today again about retrenchments and retraining for older workers.
There is something terribly wrong with the employment and school system and the type of education geared towards the ( our ) economy.
Everytime there is a impending down turn, there is always this talk, isn’t it one time too many. No doubt there is no such thing as lifetime employment today but I think these overpaid leaders and government bodies just cannot give us some medium to long term solutions to this problem of employment of middle age to older workers, low wages for these people etc. At the end of the day the ordinary people suffer, from reprocession of homes, unpaid bills etc, etc. And you know what these civil servants won’t feel one bit the effects of the downturn.

I am just a layman but I also understand and agree with Mr Tan Kin Lian that
Wage is actually only a component of total cost to competent companies.

Its actually are companies competent, capable and strong enough to compete through better service, product and services and this includes ability to innovate, invent (IP and royalties) and attract investors by demonstrating they are competent.

Its a myth busted that if wage is raised, competent companies will run away. Incompetent ones should because they would not be able to stand the heat of competition with more competent companies anyway. In my view, incompetent companies are the ones who will run away because they cannot cope and their product and services are no longer valued or marketable in a sunset industry.

Lim Swee Say is puking the same rubbish as his predecessor, Lim Boon Heng: Work Longer Hours for Less Pay!!

How can the consumption patterns of 4.5m people have any impact on global food prices or crude oil prices??!!

LIM SWEE SAY
I Suggest you go first quit for job
Go and enrol for the Wise programme for English
and get a job as a cleaner for $800 dollars or a security job that earns $850 or $900 (12 hours shift) and understand singapore life in perspective
or why don’t you stand 5-30am in Orchard or any of the housing estate and see the the rationale of survival where old man or old lady are seen foraging through the trash cans to collect the drink cans to erk a survival.
I pray for your poor soul but basic minded sporeans who understand life
knows what rubbish you are talking.

The ministers including Lim Swee Say are like a pawn in a chess game. As much as he like to say good stuffs to our ears he may be prevented from doing so, after all who is playing the chess game? All these ministers are cowards as mentioned by Francis Seow, they are cowed by the MM. To give decent life to the poor, we got to think and vote the right people in. As long as we keep voting PAP members in this is what you get for your vote.

Most poor sinkies still live in a dream weave by the pap, so perfect a gahmen they have and believe being poor and miserable is not the gahmen’s fault but theirs, and poor fate. The poor blame not the gahmen but themselves for being in such a state. The middle class has themselves to blame for believing in the more good years dream and promises make but never make good. This dream i once have is long over, a good advise to all singaporeans that bad life for the poor and middle class is just beginning starting now. Inflation and poor pay increment will stay for a long time to come.

Try not to put on more debt, all these cheap money offering from banks will one day cease and getting credit will be very tough. Whatever the gahmen says always read between the lines and do your own deep thinking and research, cause nothing good comes from them anymore. For every policy they make is all about money and benefits for themselves and the elite.

Believe in no government in the world is indispensable and especially one that runs an island state.

The ministers including Lim Swee Say are like a pawn in a chess game. As much as he like to say good stuffs to our ears he may be prevented from doing so, after all who is playing the chess game? All these ministers are cowards as mentioned by Francis Seow, they are cowed by the MM. To give decent life to the poor, we got to think and vote the right people in. As long as we keep voting PAP members in this is what you get for your vote.

Most poor sinkies still live in a dream weave by the pap, so perfect a gahmen they have and believe being poor and miserable is not the gahmen’s fault but theirs, and poor fate. The poor blame not the gahmen but themselves for being in such a state. The middle class has themselves to blame for believing in the more good years dream and promises make but never make good. This dream i once have is long over, a good advise to all singaporeans that bad life for the poor and middle class is just beginning starting now. Inflation and poor pay increment will stay for a long time to come.

Try not to put on more debt, all these cheap money offering from banks will one day cease and getting credit will be very tough. Whatever the gahmen says always read between the lines and do your own deep thinking and research, cause nothing good comes from them anymore. For every policy they make is all about money and benefits for themselves and the elite.

Believe in no government in the world is indispensable and especially one that runs an island state.

Why my comments cant be posted? Censorship at work?

What can I say? He simply dont understand the people’s plight.

This is a big problem.
How can they know our plight if they are million dollar man?
How can they know our plight if they are travelling around with cars?

hongjun

[...] Inflation – Singabloodypore: Soaring Prices Hit Singapore’s Poor – Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Rising poverty in affluent Singapore… – Extreme Prejudice: One step at a time [一步一步来] – TOC: More money is bad [...]

Swee Say is as his name say, can swee swee say, but you workers can swee swee die, he doesn’t care an iota. It’s not going to affect his golf games in the weekend or affect his sweet dreams at night.

But Singaporeans, you deserve it. After all, you vote for this government, right.

How many union in effect are there in singapore?
I have no clue at all.
This is why a question is born.

Being able to recite from economics textbook is one thing. But being able to take the appropriate action to show that it is possible is another. Action speaks (much much) louder than words.

When a union leader speaks, he must put his conscience to the test first. Inflation does not kill people (not right-away anyway). It usually calls for tighting of belts, prudent spending, less luxury, more cautious use of savings, and basically, living a more humble lifestyle.

The problem is, will Minister Lim show us how?

Will he put himself into the 3-million pairs of shoes and lead these other 3-million lesser paid citizens by his example? And show that living a simpler life with less money is not only possible and also more desirable, better for the country, and makes perfect sense – by his example.

Will he conquer his own obssesion with high wages and be able to convince his wife, children, parents and all who are dependent on him as a breadwinner for his family that they too should cut all frivolous spending and will still be well-fed, given a roof over their heads and a comfortable bed at the end of each day? With just $800 a month for his entire household?

Will he and his family try to survive for a month with just one day’s pay from his salary package? (His daily wage is about $5,000 based on a $1.8-mil annual package.)

Show us that it can be done and it *will* be done.

As a labour union chief, it is essential for the leadership to show all the workers under his care and charge that he is capable of feeding his dependents, providing them with a bed and home, completing their education, paying for the medical bills and the basic luxuries of life, with a 5-digit annual income.

If the (so-believed and so-called) most capable, intelligent, hardworking, responsible, cream-of-the-crop talent with the greatest sense of integrity in this country, a selfless person of great compassion and love for his compatriots and for countless nameless workers who toil their blood, sweat and youth away, is not capable of supporting his own family and dependents with a 5-figure annual pay, let alone a 6-figure income (oh gosh, as I was typing this, I realised his is 7-figure!), then who else on this island can be smarter, humbler, fitter and more able to do that with an income that is less than one-per-cent (1/100) of his?

Buy less, eat cheap, spend little, “downgrade”, sell car, recycle more, drop out of school earlier, work longer hours, take second job, etc, etc. Do it already. Show us you can do it, too. As a union chief, you are in this game too.

Don’t scared. Don’t shy.

You jump, I jump.

I see his face also fed up, a little like Akuah, sissy, I will vote him out in the next GE

His 1 day pay is already higher than many people’s 1 month pay. He reminds me of footballere leh…

hongjun

Perhaps Lim Swee Say will like to lead by example and call for a reversal of the last 2 obscene ministerial pay raises? If not, he should STFU and stop putting his foot in his mouth.

What he says is not terribly difficult to understand for anyone who has passed A level economics or taken any business or accountancy course. If wages get raised beyond the underlying productivity, that’s going to increase the prices for the services which workers provide ( like cleaning services), which in turn increases business costs artificially, which then leads to more price increases. And so you get what economists call a “wage price spiral”

Of course, what Lim Swee Say also knows but doesn’t want to say is that prices don’t rise if what the government does is to redistribute income from higher wage earners to lower wage earners. The government doesn’t want to do this because they are afraid that if they increase taxes on rich people, these rich people will either work less hard or flee their nice houses and condos for some other country with a lower tax rate.

@36) this begs the question

Union in effect? no. Union in facade? yes. Effective 9th August 1965.