02. Pegged Sing $ to US$ to fight inflation. S$1=US$1 rate after revison. They won’t do something like that….they will be depreciating SGD to boost export in order to get a higher score for their report card.

—————————–

interesting….

by Lee Kuan Yew

After the dramatic drops in the New York Stock Exchange following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, stock markets and property values in eastern Asia declined significantly. China’s Shanghai index has fallen about 70% this year. Property prices have also dropped, varying in levels among different cities. Visiting Beijing and Shanghai in late October, I found political leaders and businessmen were apprehensive about the coal and iron ore stocks piling up at their wharves as export demands fell. [/quote]

and the point being?
this is directed @ the mental1…
singapore merchants are facing the same dilema everyday
when was the LAST time did you ever visit simwonghoo inc?
just because our local mini manufacturers do not have the qualifications to invite your expensive visits/times to their little warehousing quarters
when was the LAST time did you ever check the daily warehousing charges as setup by YOUR son governorships
who is going to pay for all this overdued storages spaces?
from your overpaid ministers pockets?
or the consumers?
now you know why even sony inc and the other BIG giants have to cut down on production ecetra ectera which also have the domino effect on our daily break and milk peasants
YET
your son governorships still INCREASED their productions/maintainance/expenses as well
TALK IS CHEAP
especialLEE when you don’t have a factory or warehouse to maintain and upkeep the COSTINGs..

Thank you very much for your reply. May I just say you are a very suspicious person. I also noticed. You only seem to respond to questions which you want to answer and probably feel it gives you a platform to state your case and bent on a particular subject.

I asked a valid set of questions that corresponded to what the author is trying to forward in this essay. Allow me to just elaborate in detail how it relates to the issue of renumeration and jobs.

1. You mentioned Singaporedaddy that MOM should look at the whole issue of creating a new category to support businesses. This is my second time asking this question. You have not supplied an answer as to why you believe additional cost and time should be incurred to create a new categorization. I am not saying the current classification is top notch (and please stop using 1st division. If I am not mistaken this is a term of endearment that is used by the PAP. I am talking abt the civil service which has never used this mascot to describe themselves.). I just do not seem to understand. Why you even felt the need to create a new classification and how might that add value to the present system.

2. My objective in highlighting high end research and development is to tie in with many of the efforts pursued by the Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council.

Singaporedaddy, I am sure, you know about this body. They were charged with growing the Contract Pharmaceutical firms in Singapore. With the hope of offering one day a full range of contract research activities including clinical trial management, regulatory affairs, central laboratory and possibly even Clinical Trial Supplies service.

This was once identified by EDB as far back as 2000 as being high growth areas which was supposed to compliment our spectrum of otherservices such as the financial services and others.

The reason why I asked this question is perhaps this area can be revitalized to support other less well off areas which are currently hit by the economic crisis.

I think, I asked very reasonable questions. Why do other people get their questions answered. And I don’t?

Dear singaporedaddy, no insult intended. I’ve reread your post 7) and I realised that I overlooked your last para and thus misunderstood your point. My bad.

My take after understanding your point is as follows (please pardon me if I’m not parsimonious for I do not have the habit of writing at length and I don’t the luxury of time to organise my arguments).

I accept the point that “contract staff do ACTUALLY morph into permanent full fledge employees” and that part-time work may be temporary or interim state of employment (just think of students doing vacation jobs or firms hiring on a project basis).

Looing at the statistics (I can’t help it): The Median Gross Monthly Income of Part-Time Employed Residents has stagnated at $600 over the 10-year period from 1999 to 2008. Factoring inflation, this median income would have experienced negative growth. This is even though Singapore has experienced positive real growth in GDP over the same period. (Other readers have shared the possible reasons.)

Notwithstanding the complex nature of “contract staffing”, whether as a short term stop gap measure by companies to fulfil business requirments or otherwise, the fact is should you fall into this category in Singapore, you’re screwed. Hopefully it is a temporary state of affairs. And there is a (sizeable?) group of residents that fall permanently in this category (Occam’s razor?). I think we can guess on which half of the median $600 monthly income they fall into. For this group of people, that is the picture of the employment market. I do not know what proportion of this group would eventually morph into full fledge employees, I doubt it helps matters much for them.

As for the role of auditors, my knowledge is cursory. I have always thought an auditor typically provides an independent report as to whether a company’s financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with regulations. Unless the auditor has been specially charged to dig into the company’s affairs.

I agree with you that one does not need to use statistics to establish EVERY point of contention; not every time at least. I agree that some people like to use statistics bc, it makes them look professional and serious. (Just think of politicians. :) ) Hey, it is possible look professional and serious without using statistics. LOL

At least F1 wayang last few months a way to show them we can stage what monaco can stage at night at the expense of singaporeans.

3 wise man wish to say this recession will be longer than previous ones since no one in he world believe the biggest bank in the world will be in such dire state.

As far as we know, the Biotech Companies are mainly foreign investments here that hardly employ more than two to three hundred staff and not all are Singaporeans. True, A-Star is a state concern that has some of our brightest scholars in it, is it able to make as much as SIA, PSA? I don’t know, therefore I ask.

We are dealing with a large segment of Singaporeans employed under contract terms with very low salaries. There are enough examples given and I need not reiterate them. Lucky Tan and singaporedaddy have both offered their very enlightening views and opinions which are obviously true to all of us. There should be no argument.

As a small country without any resources and developments reaching saturations in every aspect such as land became concrete jungle leaving no space for mass productions of primary products through farmings. Our sealine are barren as they are reclaimed and developed and few can depend on the sea for incomes. Singaporeans today by and large are at the mercy of foreigners to provide us the jobs, foods and even foreigners to consumed our goods(mainly imported) for retailers and hawkers to survive.

Someone, anyone kindly help me to take away our commoner’s worries.

puppy.

I was shocked that NTUC would pay so little even to full-timers who had worked almost all their lives there. My part-timer salary was 4.20 an hour (back in 2000), and this could only happen in a country without minimum wages.

not sure how much they donated to charity?

and should they let singaporean know their total wealth so that there will more transparency?

you must be jesting
right?
where in the whole wide world
do you find a union chief
who also happenned to be over a $100,000/month minister?
it liked as though
asking ms belinda ang to be little red robbin hood as well?

1. Ensuring that Singapore’s employment laws like Central Provident Fund Act, Employment Act and Workmen’s Compensation Act are included in the contracts.

2. Ensuring that all contract workers have a written contract, which specifies their rights like appointment, working hours, salary, benefits, etc.

3. Not awarding a project to the highest bidder, but check if the bidder has sufficient cash outflow. This will prevent the problem of financially distressed employers not paying their contract workers.

4. Abolishing the law which says that a contract worker has got to be in employment for a minimum of 6-months before he or she can qualify for employment benefits.

And these pointers should not be mere guidelines or ‘advisory’, but should be enforced as regulatory as it is already enshrined in the labor laws of Singapore.

My thoughts are here: http://singaporesocialactivist.blogspot.com/2008/12/rights-are-not-mere-advisory.html

ah halima,
ah lim

say something leh.

I URGE companies be urged.

I like to seek your advise.

1. Does Minimum Wage means an official lowest salary PER job?
OR
1 minimum wage for the whole country for 1 job only?

in short, is it about 1 $ value or multiple minimum salaries, 1 per job title?

01. More casinos tender to be grant to operator with minimium $1 billion investment business plan in every neighbour to increase gambling revenue.

02. Pegged Sing $ to US$ to fight inflation. S$1=US$1 rate after revison.

03. Scrap mom annual employment report since numbers are not revelant in this fast pace economy.

04. HDB listed as billion dollar private company to be listedin forbes magazine as most promising real estate company, can price the first $1.5 million 5 room flat.

05. No change to help unemployment since survey shows singaporeans got enough saving to live till they died.

The 3 wise man wish every singaporeans a happy golden age 2009, wih more good years but be caution, this recession may last longer than 2009 leh.