If min wage is being considered,
I think credit should also go to the online community who pushed for it very hard recently.

Alas, will the MSM-only news readers know ?
will they think this idea come from some people?

Minimum Wage for a Singaporean is tied to average Wages of Work Permit holder of basic $500 to 600 while employer levy to MOM is about $300.

For Foreign is OK live off employer and cook their own foods. How many Singapore can survied with $500, pls tell the low income people!

2) TrueBlood
How many Singapore can survied with $500.
The minimum wage of say $600 + $300 of the employer levy shld be reasonable. Of course MOM is not happy without earning the levy.

Hi #1) gohlam,

I believe most Netizens are becoming acutely aware that online blabber has yielded results and reactions from the govt. (example is Halimah’s sudden need to clarify her quoted comment on being taken by surprise over the fw issue). There is no denying this and I think we need not have to qualify our comments with such comments in future.

No, don’t get me wrong, this is not a rebuke but to just state a fact and to allow this fact to speak for itself. On our part we must begin to contribute knowing that we are heard by mainstream authorities.

In this regard, it should not matter to us anymore as long as we are heard and MP Inderjit’s call for a minimum wage should be seen as a positive step in the right direction to protecting the welfare of the Singapore worker.

Whether he thinks it is his own bright idea or whether we think it is an online call is immaterial. We have grown more mature than this sort of bickering.

Sounds like a nice initiative but the crux is whether the minimum wage would be implemented at the living wage standard.

sounds positive

Why MP Inderjit’s call for minimum wages, got nothing to his advantage?
He is one of poineers for SME’s employer who doesn’t believe working in
MNC. His role should encourage Singapore Golbal Enterprises but seem not
so sucessful as most Singaporean like to be employee due to lack of ideas and
high business cost.

Why NTUC’s ppl don’t want to comment on minimum wages and
just give handout to low income families without telling them the roots cause.

Is the Internal Security Department ppl with good pay going to close TOC website? Better close down WWW & Goggle!! Just like North Korea and believe
we can prosper forever and forever!

Not a good idea.

A minimum wage system causes inflexibility. We’ll scare away all investors.

Besides, such systems can be abused if the director or chairperson refuses to acknowledge faults, modify the law as and when the time calls for it, and so on.

It creates more problems than it solves.

Examples,

Will this system place an unnecessary burden on Singapore’s currently fragile market economy?

Will the companies who employ workers be able to hire as many as before IF they’ve paying below the minimum wage in question.

Does this legislation mean that people who want to work but cannot find work paying above the minium wage not be able to be employed?

Will this system favour foreigners more since they will naturally be cheaper to hire than Singaporeans with the implementation of this law?

Will companies exploit this legislation and bring down salaries to just meet the minimum wage?

In all, I don’t think this is a credible system. It is idealistic, but unrealistic. Popular, but overall, damaging. It will aggravate our unemployment situation and decrease the numbers of jobs created.

We cannot afford any mistakes here.

Suggest this MP think up something else then copy from other countries. Other countries have the resources to top up company accounts in order for them to have sufficient dollars to pay their workers. Singapore doesn’t have the means for that.

Better late than never. Minister of Manpower should take the views of the lower income who have lost their jobs to foreign workers in considering what should be the minimum wage. Minimum wage should be liveable wage, not $500 per month. It is ridiculous that coffee shops, food courts and hawker stalls employ so many foreign workers these days.

panther ,

minimum wage is implemented in many developed countries and it didn’t cause any problems or scare investors away. often, when it comes to companies not able to cope in a weak economy, it is not that companies are unable to pay employees but rather weak sales compounded by escalating debt and interest.

The right thing to do in a weak economy is therefore not saying “no” to minimum wage but rather to help SMEs see through the times by helping them with financing. In fact, this is what the Singapore Government is doing. Singapore’s financial bailout package was only launched in December 2008, featuring government-backed loans, bridging loans and private equity funds to help companies to see through the bad times.

Hi #8) gohlam,

Valid point and good illustration.

However, if I am the govt, I cannot help but view these ‘visits’ with trepidation, even though the number might seem insignificantly small by comparison to the country’s population. I say this because, it must somehow play at the back of the govt’s mind, that there might be more than 33% of Singaporeans who share these views, even though they have not articulated with comments online.

Our views make good representation of this 33%, if there is a need to put any figures to thoughts. Figures can sometime flatter or under-represent to deceive. Will the govt take any chances? I think not.

For this reason, I feel we could make use of this need by the govt to connect with us, by writing constructive and well thought-out comments and ideas which may be picked up by whoever is tasked with scrutinising our comments.

Our goal must not only to expose the PAP govt’s shortcomings but to also help shape the social environment of our neighbourhoods and living standards.

This is why I made the call for maturity. We need to know that what we say and comment here WILL bear fruits. The other PAP-linked platforms like Reach will eventually fail because the govt cannot live up to its promise of having every comment answered to.

Even if it can do that, do you think commentators are so stupid to believe those replies given to them, when they come from people trained to write up the PAP govt’s policies and propaganda, are the answers they seek? I can bet my last dollar that these replies will be replications of what you would already hear, loud and clear, in the mainstream media. Nothing will excite you.

Panther, what if you are the one who’s earning way below standard wages rates? Say, $600/mth? Would you be supporting the stand for minimum wages of, say, $1.2k/mth then? The less fortunate has been exploited long enough & are not living on liveable wages.

Scare away investors ‘cos people here have a minimum wages standard to meet? It’d sure scare away investors who’s pro-slave-trade, paying slaves slave rates.

The spectre of runaway wages leading to high costs and scaring away investors from Singapore is a bogey man concocted by the government to shut up Singaporeans and deflect attention away from another big cause of high business costs in Singapore, namely inflated land prices. I would dare say it is as big a problem, if not bigger than wages that contribute to said high costs.

Singaporean wages, when compared with its contemporary economies, are nowhere near exorbitant. Of course, its high compared with places like China, Vietnam and India, but please compare apples with apples. Whoever thinks we’ll be able to compete with the above 3 examples (as I think our dear million ministers have done before) is living in cloud cuckoo land.

And panther, as smallvice585 has suggested, step into the shoes of the lower income, and see if you can still say what you’ve just said.

MOM should just directly credit the levies it collects from these foreign workers to Singaporeans who are willing to take up similar low paying jobs.

For example, if for every 10 cleaners out there, maybe only 3 are Singaporeans, then MOM should just give the $2100 (7x$300) it collects from the foreign workers and pass it on to the Singaporeans. In this case, each Singaporean gets $700 a month plus their own wages.

In this way, more Singaporeans will be willing to take up such low paying jobs without being disadvantaged and be able to survive in this expensive little city of ours.

“A rich middle-class society encircled by the material pleasures of life, happily oblivious of social inequalities and the suffering of the less fortunate among us, will never become a civil or gracious society.

“On the other hand, a country with little financial reserves, a middle class that is not wealthy but is socially active, that tries to lift the lowest common denominator in that society, is one that would be heading in the right direction.”

From the article by Lee Wei Ling RIGHTING A WRONG COMES FROM THE HEART – Sunday Times 18th Jan 2009

Foreign countries are able to implement this minimum wage system because they know that they will not scare away any investment. Why is this so? It is simply because other countries have many other benefits to offer. Let’s say there are two countries, A and B.

Country A is rich in naural resources, it has minimum wage legislation, it has a large population, it is huge, corruption and bribery are common, but in the process of being eradicated. Country B has a small population, it is currently safe and incorruptible, little natural resources, knowledge inclined, investor friendly and so on.

Which country do you think the investors will choose?

Country A, despite having minimum wage systems in place, has huge and abundant natural resources which would undoubtedly be cheap. Because of the huge population, wage limitations can’t be that demanding either, since the govt would want everybody to be employed as far as possible.

On the other hand, country B is so small that land space is limited or expensive. Labour is hard to come by and the minimum wage system further increases labour costs. Raw materials have to be imported and further costs are incurred.

Needless to say, country B is be Singapore and A can be China, USA, France, Malaysia, et cetera.

Singapore currently relies on it’s status as a corrupt-free country with a skilled workforce to attract investments. There are nothing else to offer. NS itself is a problem. Many other countries such as India and China are beginning to stamp down corruption. They have a huge and hardworking labour pool, especially China. They have a huge market as well with abundat resources and virtually unlimited land area which are undeveloped, especially in the countryside for China.

There is a reason why Singaporeans are increasingly sidelined in National Examinations with top results going to foreigners instead. These foreigners have a place to go back to. They know that if they study, back home, they will almost certainly be able to find a job and succeed financially. It’s the same as Singapore years back.

But now, everything has changed. Getting good results doesn’t necessarily lead to success anymore. That’s the reason why inreasing numbers of people are questioning our education system. I, myself find that I am working more for the $1 certificate than for myself. This isn’t the mentality for success.

Look, without this system, wages will be more competitive. This order has served us well. Why do we want to change it? It’s like discarding a gun for another unproven sidearm. It will only exacerbate Singapore’s unemployment situation at a time when job vacancies are diminishing and the unemployment pool is swelling.

Unless this system is modified to ideally suit Singapore, I will never support a fully mimicked version of wage control.

^-^

I think minimum wage CANNOT be implemented or, be expected to solve ALL problems of wage inequality without revisions of other policies in place.

As panther has pointed out, there are some real issues and loopholes that can be exploited.

However, the answer isn’t to do nothing about it, as it is SOCIALLY UNJUST to have people not able to earn wages that could at least ensure three meals a day, and a roof over their heads, and pay for education for their children.

All legislators should know therefore that implementation of minimum wage has to be in tandem with other policy changes so that we can all reap the most benefits from the system without hurting the economy.

What we need are creative solutions to the ‘challenges’ that minimum wage poses, and not simply sweep it under the carpet by saying it creates problems. Of course it creates problems. Every policy no matter how good will always have some level of negative side effect. The question is to minimize it.

I’m just wondering if our socially-conscious MPs will have the political will to push it through the skulls of the hardliners.

It is better to have a job than not at all.

“Demand will be distorted” – standard answer by Ministers nowadays!

They know not what they are talking about!

There is nothing new in the article – all first world countries practise minimun wage (MW). The TOC website has many arguing for MW years ago.
The new ministers, president, and MPs have a long way to go and a lot to learn from the people if they are to think they are deserving of the million bucks pay they are getting even in this economic crisis. It is incredible – look around bankers are now the bane and some are just asking for US$ 1.00 only – contrite and asking to be forgven? How about you guys ?

Anyone who has more than 10 yrs of working experience should be getting minimum of SGD4000 – SGD5000 monthly income.

“I think minimum wage CANNOT be implemented or, be expected to solve ALL problems of wage inequality without revisions of other policies in place.”
Joshua right. Nothing will ever solve all problems. Nothing is perfect. The only thing in singapore is that the solution must benefit more towards the government than the people before gov start to implement policy. Nothing new here.

Panther’s argument is always the same line of reasons given by gahmen. It is simply cannot be done. The strange thing is that as long as it benefit the gahmen it can be done, but as long as it does not benefit the gahmen, they will have millions of excuses to backup their claim.
If a gov can’t even take care of its citizens first , it is not the government, it is just exploitative businessman running the country. Period. The government now is running the country as a business to provide service at obscene profitability. This is bane business not governing.

I agree with Panther.

Having minimum wage will raise the costs to all employers.
As long as the views are pro business and pro govt – why bother about the workers?

Rather than a minimum wage, why not increase the mandatory Singaporean to foreigner ratio for employment?

When JBJ said it for decades, no one listened.

If you ask me, min wage is not only fair, it is the moral thing to do.

Look at the various TOC articles on foreign workers’ plight. Come on Singaporeans, just because they came from disadvantaged countries, we exploit them with obscenely low wages.

They should be paid based on an equal wage structure based on the skills expended in their jobs.

Only when foreigners and locals are paid equally based on skills, can there be real competition and progress for the country.

In the long term, Singapore wins. The government’s current vision is very short-sighted.

If we continue to use sub-standard cheap labour, investors will be turned away eventually.

Despite the media bashing on our own workers, my work experience tells me a singaporean middle manager is anytime better than one from India or China. These people can work hard and accept orders but most simply can’t go beyond that. And the better ones from these countries have only one thing on their minds, migrate to US or Australia.

Yea yea. Go on.. continue accusing me of being a what PAP adherent and so on.

Post No. 21 accuses me of lifting from the govt’s reasons why NOT to implement a wage control or minimum wage system. Yet, I have never ever come across such reasons before. Fancy accusations.

As for post 24, that makes it worse. JBJ is no economist. He doesn’t understand the system at all.

And then for the others, only when this implement goes through and 25% of Singaporeans go out of jobs will we wonder what went wrong. By then, it’s too late. All our once staunchest companies would have relocated safely to China.

~sigh~

As for post 24, that makes it worse. JBJ is no economist. He doesn’t understand the system at all. – Panther (#26)

So are you. You are just a kid.

interestingly, nobody talks about capping elites pay.

hmm…in fact, the culprit of all our economic woes may rest in the “more” side of our reward system rather than ensuring fair wages for under appreciated workers.

put it this way, we may need to keep adjusting “minimum wage” if over glorified leaders/talents( not necessary civil servants) keep upping their personal value.

the instability caused will unravel all the good intentions.

But isn’t capping elites’ pay the most obvious thing to say? Around the world, top management’s compensation packages are increasingly under scruntiny since the explosion of the global financial crisis.

The government of Singapore often seem to speak the globalised language, which does not have the same meaning. Take workfare as an example. The ‘minimum wage’ must be scrutinised and studied properly. But if it is indeed true, it is a departure from the ‘no free lunch’ mentality of the government of Singapore.

capping elite’s pay is more complex than what you have observed. it is about valuing people.

i don’ know, we may need to regulate businesses too.

Can a minimum wage be at S$8 per hour for the lowest post for everyone including foreign workers? Example in restaurant : S$8/hr for dishwasher/cleaner, S$10/hr or more for service staff /cashier etc.

So that Singaporean can prove how hardworking they can be…? (like how hardworking they are when working in another countries that offers them higher salaries – same goes to these foreign workers, obviously they are hardworking because of good pay that they couldn’t get in their countries and also they had invested their money paying agent fees, isn’t it no wonder we look lazier?)

This way, employer will also consider employing locals first and a guarantee that Singaporean are not put aside by companies. And only talented English speaking foreigners should hold customer service jobs in Singapore, please.

There are some first world countries with plenty of natural resources but they don’t implement a minimum wage, so i’m not sure how the argument that “abundance of natural resources” is directly related to the minimum wage set in a country.

Perhaps we might like to look at the minimum wage question a little closer: for whom are we trying to help by implementing a minimum wage. Do we need to help everyone, or people who are employed in certain jobs which have low wages as compared to other sectors.

Germany does not have a national minimum wage, but it has a exception for construction and cleaning staff. This is obtained through collective bargaining by unions (which we don’t have). Hong Kong too, has a minimum wage for Domestic Workers. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland & Italy do not have minimum wage laws but they obtain a sort of “minimum” wage by collective bargaining between Government and Unions/Interest Groups/Workers Groups, like Germany.

While setting a minimum wage for certain specific employment groups is a good idea, i am not sure it can be done here at the moment. Not even sure whether we can even get to the level of collectively bargaining with the government, since labour and union laws are itself repressive, but it’s food for thought.

I am neither an economist either. But I guess, factors affecting economy or whether MNCs stay or go are more than just LABOR costs alone. (though I don’t know if labor takes up majority of the cut)

The truth is, costs of doing business is very high nowadays. That’s what I meant when i said other policies have to be looked into to make minimum wage viable. Minimum wages can be implemented without increasing OVERALL business costs can be done.. by reducing the costs in other areas, for eg. I always have a sense that these OTHER business costs are somewhat kept artificially high to the benefit of only a very SMALL group of people, while everyone else suffers.

I shake my head sometimes when i read the Sunday Times and find news stories of people getting rich not so much through ingenuity or doing anything productive or beneficial to the economy as a whole, but by simply being in the right place at the right time. Somehow our concept of success have become very skewed.. (but I’m digressing)

If not, then daily costs of living have to be reduced.

The government is right to say that there should not be any free lunch. But it is also its duty to ensure lunch is affordable to the people who have the ability to work without relying on handouts.

The problem is not minimum wage. With so many “foreign talent” willing to do job for less wages,surely any boss will employ them instead of the singaporean on higher pay? Unless singaporean are willing to accept higher inflation by employing only singaporeans, the problem of low wage will not be solved.

does any one here really understand the meaning of min wage?

1 wage for all types of jobs ?
min wage for each types of jobs?

what? u know? u sure you know? I challenge all of you!

“Post No. 21 accuses me of lifting from the govt’s reasons why NOT to implement a wage control or minimum wage system. Yet, I have never ever come across such reasons before. Fancy accusations.”

Oh really ? I thought you are very smart and read widely or did you ever attend any talk from the gahmen ? Let me tell you then. You are just as smart as the gahmen when sprouting out one-sided view as long as you win the argument. You lack compassionality and humanity and no amount of rationality and nonsense can make up for that, and for this , you should stop talking as though you are smart and know-it-all. That is not wisdom you are giving but foolishness and stupid statements.
People with Wisdom and knowledge but without compassionality and humanity are just nothing but bunch of good-for-nothing crap. They can sprout all the freaking reasons they want as long as they are not affected and impact directly.

And just because you are young doesn’t mean you can get away with it.

What is the minimum must spend of a Singaporean. His Foods, transport, clothing, hdb loan(CPF), pub bill, tel bill, phone bill plus plus plus.

No matter what s Singaporean Engineer can’t compete with China Engineer of pay RMB 2500. Pls try to change vocation or shift to other country where you can earn more like what Foreigner do in Singapore.

From WIKIPEDIA:
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily, or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage. Supporters of the minimum wage say that it prevents the exploitation of workers. Opponents say that if it is high enough to be effective, it destroys jobs, particularly for workers with very low productivity due to inexperience or handicap. They also argue that it causes inflation.

Minimum wage will work for Singaporeans against foreign labour. It does not result in higher labour cost. It affects those people working in the least desirable and lowest paying jobs. In reality it does not affect the majority of Singaporean workers. What we are trying to do here are to support our less fortunate countrymen to have a respectable income and reduce their financial burden. I am for minimum wage.

“As for post 24, that makes it worse. JBJ is no economist. He doesn’t understand the system at all.”

sheer arrogance. not to mention disrespect. so what if he doesn’t understand the system? all i know is that he has a heart for the people, and that’s something you lack, and nothing that you have makes up for this deficiency.

i really am appalled by your arrogance. please. do you really think you are that smart with your grades?

Panther wrote

“Country A is rich in naural resources, it has minimum wage legislation, it has a large population, it is huge, corruption and bribery are common, but in the process of being eradicated. Country B has a small population, it is currently safe and incorruptible, little natural resources, knowledge inclined, investor friendly and so on.

Which country do you think the investors will choose? ”

I am supportive for the implementation of minimum wages that is just and fair to help low-income workers. i respect ur opposing views on minimum wages, yet the country A and B examples you provided are very extreme and misrepresented for one to make a comparison.

obviously if i were to choose a country to invest based on a simple description of the 2 different country: i would go for B.

In contrast, i believe that ‘wise’ investments by investors and MNCs alike looked and conduct market researches beyond the few points which you mentioned above. Investment is complex and many (interrealated) factors have to be considered and assured.
I tink many investors (including me) wish that investment is as simple as what you have written above :-)

26) panther

Dear Mr Panther,

Before you start commenting on countries leaving singapore for other countries, do try to read up on economics and human resource management. especially in the case of HRM, you can try Micheal Armstrong’s and that will help you in understanding the human aspect of managing business and gaining competitive advantage.

Btw, you laugh at others for been simplistic, but you are just the same, or worse.

Nah, minimum wage is too contentious. in any case if Minister Vivian believes that one can survive on $330 a month, you are not going to get very far with the govt. the easiest way to lift the wages of the less skilled is to restrict the import of foreign workers!

Dear Fellow Countrymen;

please do not react so fast and positively just because minimun wage was mentioned for possible implementation.

What is Minimun Wage?

Is it much higher pay for the same job one is doing now?

Or

is it higher pay for expanded job scope and responsibility and or longer working
hours? And other conditions.

The Problems that we are facing today are the high costs of living and doing businesses, as such, the best solution is, imho, not the wage issue but to lower the artificially high costs of survival and leisures.

High costs have also resulted in tourists giving Singapore a miss, tourists are also not coming here because we have no cultural heritages in our HDB Living. However, this has to be separately discuss.

In any case, it is not right to jump in joy just because ‘minimun wage’ was mentioned. There will be much condition to its’ implementation.

And

it could be mentioned because of election.

patriot

I agree with SK Chan that it is the moral thing to do, if nothing else

To 41),

Oh dear goodness, let’s not get started with all these personal attacks again. I agree that Panther hasn’t been making very good arguments against the minimum wage. But don’t need to go to the extent to call him arrogant or question his education.

Oh, apparently it has been written somewhere that JBJ didn’t understand economics. I think that was from our former President Devan Nair (whom if you remember, was booted out of the Presidency hastily). Anyway, yes, i understand that JBJ cared for people. That was what he is well known for in Singapore. Never read about what he said about the Minumum wage, though. But let’s just leave JBJ out of this now, let the man rest in peace.

As i mentioned in a previous comment here, perhaps we should look at whom we are trying to help by imposing a minimum wage, and whether it’s possible to have a certain exception for thse particular disadvantaged groups.

Actually, the example of Country A and B is bad.

China is like Country A but what do you know? Every bloody investor worth his salt wants to be there.

Ms HO invested heavily there too. Before that, we have MM doing a Suzhou charity act there too.

I digress. My European friends visited me last year.

I had no money to bring them to high class establishments so it was the neighbourhood malls and such.

They commented that they were surprised Singaporeans speak not very good english. I told them they were mostly foreign workers.

I don’t think they were impressed. I admitted to them that if I were them, I’ll choose to go China or Hongkong. Lots more history and culture to sample. Singapore is not here, not there.

Point is, I am afraid our hard earned reputation will be eroded away, slowly.

[#14 alky]

“MOM should just directly credit the levies it collects from these foreign workers to Singaporeans who are willing to take up similar low paying jobs.

For example, if for every 10 cleaners out there, maybe only 3 are Singaporeans, then MOM should just give the $2100 (7x$300) it collects from the foreign workers and pass it on to the Singaporeans. In this case, each Singaporean gets $700 a month plus their own wages.”

This is a super idea, but the difficulty is in convincing the government.
MOM will spend overtime hours calculating as to how this would affect their bottom line. And the bottom line of course is that they have been raking in mountains of dollars in worker-levies. Step into MOM’s office building in Havelock Road and you will appreciate the grandeur of its decor and operational systems. But ask them to dish out a miniscule portion of their income? Not until the PM gives the order. Remember how the MOM was jacking up the levy for foreign domestic maids over the years, despite protests from Singaporean employers? It reached a peak of $345 [?] and might have continued to spiral upwards if the current PM had not taken the initiative in lowering it, providing some relief to domestic maid employers.

transferring foreign worker’s levy to sg workers to ensure minimum wages is a good idea.

now the ball is in the govt’s court to provide sufficient data to prove that this is NOT a good idea. in other words, the govt shld release detailed information as to where these levies have gone to.

or has the levies gone into a fund for long term investment – much like GIC, TLC and town councils?

Ahem~

I don’t see the reason I need to reply to such commenters, but..

Okay, so let’s take it that none of us are economists, so who are we to comment on this system then? When I said that JBJ was no economist, I meant that he wasn’t in the government’s position, nor was he a reputable economist. A minimum wage system isn’t what can be implemented in a day or two, like what many of you seem to think.

All of you want a minimum wage system I suppose?

Alright, want to make a bet? When this minimum wage system is implemented, fully imitated from other countries, who wants to wager that job creations will decrease as companies cut down on their workforce? That is, if the minimum wage is beyond the financial levels of the company.

You all can continuously argue, but that just makes it worse. When I see all your arguments above, they all seem more so directed personally to me, without any substance. This is what you all want?

I thought the moderator would have moderated me I did that. What happened now? Don’t worry, I won’t stoop down the levels of those baseless accusers and reciprocate the insults.

Why bother? My example was a simple illustration. Whether it’s good or bad does not matter.

Wage controls isn’t fit for Singapore. It eradicates wage competition and brings down salaries in order for companies to enjoy maximum profit.

Populists.

You all can keep fighting, but so far, I see none of you responding to the very first post I sent down here. Instead of rebutting the points I made, all of you question my intentions personally. You see this?

Hahaha~

#52)

How would transferring of the levies that MOM collects from the foreign workers and passing it to the Singapore worker reduce job creation? I believe it will only encourage more workers to take up such low paying jobs.

Employers still have to pay the levy irregardless of what MOM does with the money. So how will job creation be affected unless it is due to economic circumstances? Since employers love foreign talent so much, they more they bring in, the better it would be for the Singapore worker if the levy is credited to him.

In fact what was the purpose of implementing the levy in the first place by our elites? Can anyone help remind me?

Or is it our elites are unwilling to part with the monies they have amassed (or lost)?

Why talk about minimum wage how about maximum wages.?

When there is no competitions at whatever levels there is nothing to talk about!
Let market forces decide but with some control!

At minimum level, we competite with foreigners!

At the maximum level, there is only monopoly of one party and they used whatever laws to protect themselves.

We are no better than the rest of the worlds yet still call no1 , if you all still in the dream lands is too bad.

Scholaristic China created fools that ruin fedual China, lucky they realised 30yrs ago. Learn from the west, join parttnership with the west and copy their technologies to create Gobal Enterprises. We need to unlearned and relearn from China.

what does minimum wage really mean? how many min wages are there? 1 for each kind of job or just 1 for all kinds of jobs?

ministers, perm secs and other ruling elites oso got minimum wages what. why not ordinary singaporeans too?

oh i forgot. we are lesser mortals, that’s why.

Regarding the million dollar salaries (annual) of our elites,
I am against their pay cut.
the reason is the same given for their salaries.

Think about it, if they cut their salaries, will they leave?
will they do other thingies?
will it defeat the purpose of preventing corruption being one of the reasons for their highest pays?

i wonder like the lemon tree….

so my point is …..
the current salaries of them
should remain status quo
and be the min wage of them.
no cut. good good .
no corrupt.

For some people, their view is that in order to retain companies here, it is best to keep wages low so that they can employ more.

But you know, I am dealing with HR, it is true that having min wage may reduce job creation, but if the people that i get for this job is not motivated and committed, then there is no point in having too many staff. that’s why in most company now, they are reducing quantity of stuff and trying to replace it with high quality staff. and it has been tested and proven through part of Toyota High performance work system that paying more for performance is much better that saying the money to employ more workers.

Overseas Singaporean is right to say minimum wage is PAP’s bogeyman. Let’s use some common sense to see seriously where minimum wage will actually hit in the labour market: construction workers, fast food restaurant workers, coffeeshop employees, etc. Do you think minimum wage will actually have any impact on the professional sectors’ salaries?

This is good. Especially to the lower income families. Haha I grew up in one of them. So long got no such thing as unemployment checks, that’d be fine.

Lily Neo and Inderjit Singh are two of our more capable, more caring MPs who have not lost touch with the common folk. BTW, even Batam has a minimum wage.

Panther wrote:

“Wage controls isn’t fit for Singapore. It eradicates wage competition and brings down salaries in order for companies to enjoy maximum profit.”

Conservative!!!

W/out minimum wages and the constant influx of forigners, it seems wages are getting lower. With prices of stuffs getting more expensive, how can a Sgporean worker (esp low-income workers) survive in this country which offer barely any social welfare and protection to its citizens?

How do you know it will eradicate wage competition? maybe it will or maybe it will be a blessing in disquise.
society doesnt progess if citizens and politicians doesnt try to achieve a idea that may seemingly be impossible and to a certain extent, they haf to challenge the staus quo that seems ‘rusty’ and unable to hold the current foundations of society against all forms of ‘weather conditions’.

Inderjit Singh is caring???? Wasn’t he the one who backstabbed James Gomez in the last election?