The following is a letter by Gilbert Goh which was sent to the Straits Times.
I refer to the recent news about errant employers who cheated on their foreign workers and many others who provide a raw deal to our local workers. I am glad that Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has decided to prosecute the guilty parties involved in the foreign workers’ saga.
It is common knowledge that our Employment Act is bias towards the employers. Workers always get the worse end of the stick whereas employers somehow can escape unpunished when they flout the law.
Our salary also lags behind the standard of living that we so proudly claim due to the lack of a minimum wage. A secretary can earn $1000 in a small local company and another can command $2,500 in another big multi national company. The salary gap for a similar profession can be so large that it becomes a mockery.
In countries like Australia, where there is a minimum wage labour law, many workers find that they are adequately compensated for their experience and qualification. They also have enough protection from errant employers. Anyone caught underpaying a staff can be prosecuted under the law. Employees do not have to indicate their age, race or include photos of themselves when they send in their resumes. This is to prevent discrimination from the employers.
To highlight my point, I was paid a basic salary of $2,500 ten years ago and this salary has not changed much till today. Employers seem to only pay a certain salary as and when they feel like it. There are no basic guidelines to paying wages base on qualification or experience. They can quote you a ridiculous salary in the hope that you will take the job in desperation, especially when the economy turns bad.
Employers dictate the terms of the contract and workers have hardly any bargaining power when it comes to any unfair terms within the contract.
I remember, when I was working for a local company, I raised a certain term in the contract that seemed unreasonable. I was told to either sign it or they will look for another worker who can accept their terms. I did not have many options and signed the contract or else I would have faced a longer period of unemployment. I also felt frustrated that I had nowhere to turn to for proper counselling and guidance if I felt that my employment rights are violated.
There sre no proper guides to employment terms and conditions right now. The Employment Act seems to carry little weight especially when it concerns the welfare of workers.
I am frankly not surprised that employers exploited the loopholes in the employment of foreign workers here for illegal kickbacks. There are hardly any stringent guidelines for the employment of foreign workers and as there is no known case of any employer being prosecuted for malpractices so far, many simply take advantage of the lax system to make hay while the sun shines. My heart goes out to the hundreds of foreign workers who were exploited fully because of our failure to punish those who are guilty.
Our local workers also will benefit from MOM’s intervention to tighten up the Employment Act. Pro-business employment policies, if taken to the extreme, will not help our economy much. Workers will find that they are being exploited andwill not put in their best at work. Professionals will also jump ship when they find that others are paying them better. It is no wonder that I find many friends job-hopping for the few hundreds dollars more in salary as they compare benefits with their friends. Loyalty within a company seems a long gone consideration for many workers now.
As the recession rears its ugly head this year, let us take this chance to improve our employment policies. Workers need to be adequately compensated and their needs taken care of so that they can stay long in a company. With a high turnover, a company wastes precious time and effort to rehire and retrain a worker.
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Minimum Wage or an independent union movement.
either one…
A true independent union movement, that trully represent the common worker. And the holy grail – the right to strike.
i am not advocating strike, strike, strike. Maybe we should view the right to strike as similar to the idea of having a strong SAF. Having an SAF doesn’t mean we like to go to war or fight with people, but it is a true deterrance to would-be aggressors.
Like wise, the right to strike gives the common man a leverage against this global capitalist/conservative movement, which sometimes, even government must also kow-tow to them. Very sad isn’t it…
If not, then there MUST BE a two-party system. one advocating for the mercant and the other trully represent the common worker. Constantly seeking a balance in this inperfect world.
Another thing, it may sound silly because it is so far away… this time, if Obama fail, movement conservatism triumph, the global common worker will be doom to slavery…that means me and you, our children and our children’s children…
Welfare is not a dirty word, if it is carried out properly.
Why comlaint! That is life in Singapore, the powerful will oppressed the weak if they had the means!
This is the day, Hope “Obama” will succeed else Totalitarism will pervails in Russia, China and those who advocate it will succeed.
Obama had shown Americian WILL, CAN, MUST change, so do we!
Only in a free and fair society that is contestable, we will have the right values to protect it with our life!
Welfare is not a dirty word, if it is carried out properly.
And it’s easier to pronounce than ‘tripatism’
Singapore labour law is a joke. Union is joke, government is a the jokers
First world country with third world system and government
Dear Brothers,
SAF policies is right!
Foreigner’s policies is right!
What is not right is Single Party State!
Interesting to note young people discussing about independent trade unions, the right to strike, minimum wage, multi party system. These were done away with in the name of harmony and progress decades ago. Maybe we can see the fruits of discussions in a few decades’ time. We need a leader who thinks of others rather than a leader making use of others for himself and destroying anything and everything in the way without thinking of posterity.
No one own us a livings neither do the world!
Nothing is fair, as LKY said!
Dont believe anyone or law can help!
Always look out to the world!
Having a big pay check is nothing if the rest of the things are just as big.
Imagine if you are drawing a salary of $20,000 a month. You may think this is big money. But if your HDB costs you S$900,000 and your bus fare is S$3.50 per trip, your MRT is S$5.00 per trip and taxis is S$8.00 flag down fare, and chichen rice at hawker centre is S$10.00, than your big pay check is relatively small.
Thus all this is very much comparative terms.
But the current situation is that the cost of living is going up much much faster than increase in salary. So this makes your income looks small. But if cost of living can be lowered, than with the same income, your dollar will look big.
So do you want to have a S$20,000 pay check with the rest of item going sky high or do you want a lower cost of living?
Radliffe66, glad to know that you raised the question on workers go on strike.
I called a strike in 1966 and when I was 26 years old and was then going to uni in NZ.
I had to call a strike because the bosses or supervisors just ignored me and would not negotiate with me – an elected trade union delegate who represented 176 slaughtermen’s assistants in a huge meat packing work.
After the strike the bosses changed. I was able to get benefits for my men.They learned. I learned too. I self-taught myself to negotiate and to be reasonable and to plan carefully before I enter into negotiation with them
There was no tripartite system. It was a confrontational system and that is trade unionism in NZ and in Aussie and it still is.
The tripartite system does not work for the FW. See, how much have they suffered.
The strike system will help and I am talking from experience.
Ask those who had called strikes. Any in Sing?
.
hi #10 HTHH,
i am not eager to go on strike, prefering to go to work, apply what i have learn, contribute and earn a decent wage, not being exploited. i believe you feel the same just like the majority of the common worker.
we have come to this situation, according to Paul Krugman, after three/four decades of systematic dismantling of the union movement by a very determine conservative movement in the USA.
What has USA got to do with SG? or Malaysia or Thailand? i believe a change in social norms of these countries in asia enable us to successfully plugged into the globalised economy which is US dominant over these decades. We learn fast, we adopt their practices, we change ourselves to prosper… for a while things look rosy for asia while europe (include Auz and NZ) mars in “welfarism” …
their modus operandi is doing away w/ unions, as they (capitalist/industrialist) gets richer, they are in a position to “persuade” governments to do their bidding, hence income tax was reduced drastically (sounds good right?) progessive taxation actually hurt the super rich more than the common man, these tax money were then used to help the poor in society thus ensure a more equitable outcome. But income tax was reduced and so the rich gets to keep their money and less money goes to the public…to attract these very rich corporations/MNCs, we need to adopt their practices, our “grow at all cost” model actually works for a while…
now China/India/Vietnam is coming into the game, in order to entice them not to leave us, we lower taxation (for them) further, lower operating cost (for them) further by depressing local wages. Local companies bidding for their contract bid at cut throat price so no choice got to employ FW whom can accept such low pay, thereby depressing local singaporean workers’ pay further…
meanwhile throughout the years and decades, technology improve, productivity improve…. and yet
WE, THE COMMON WORKER IS EARNING LESSER AND WORKING LONGER HOURS! Where does all the money go to???!!!! Cannot be right?
Income gap widens, the runaway CEO’s salaries was “only” 40 times more than the average worker in the USA in the 1930′s, but now their pay is 367 times more than the average worker. So what? you say. Because we are plugged into the grid. Money just don’t drop from the sky, we the common worker has to work even longer hours and harder just to earn all these money to pay them.
The Superclass elite can smell their own kind. in the early 20th century, capital gains were the true wealth of the “robber barons”, now superstar CEO’s are obtaining that kind of riches and entering the elite club. So what? you say. They are smart, intelligent, industrious, highly educated, they get there by their own merit. Meritocracy. All human beings have one flaw – self interest.
According to David Rothkopf, there are aproximately 6000 of such individuals in the world. To be sure, there is no “conspiracy” of the superclass against the masses….things just “evolved”….
so these 6000 odd individuals (mostly Americans, again) have their self-interest, now where does this leave the 6,000,000,000 of us?
Technology + Productivity = modern day slavery.
Thank God the EU has a mind of their own, different from the USA, and i can feel that they are slowly coming out of their “somewhat low self esteem” because of what their big brother USA has been thumping them all these years with her “free market” anything goes culture.
Coming back to earth (to singapore to be exact). Mr Inderjit Singh is correct, perhaps it is time to support our home grown SME’s. Better late than never.
Why are we like that? To be fair, things have improved tremendously in SG, running water tap, sanitation, excellent infrastructure, powerful reserves, peace and somewhat prosperous… but why people are feeling the disconnect?
I give PAP the benefit of the doubt that they foresee that the world is heading in this direction lead by non other than the USA… at that time, we have to make a decision, go or no go? We took this road to prosperity, severing ties w/ socialism and the liberals and embracing the new brave conservative movement, correct, hard-working, discipline, intelligent, neat, cut short hair..hahaha…because, they (republican/conservatives) will command the next decades and evolved into the new sophistry of capitalism.
And that is why i am staying up tonight to witness the inaguration of Obama. So what? you say. America, what has that got to do with us?
If Obama fail, movement conservatism triumph, the global common worker is doom to slavery.
ALL WORKERS UNIT!!!!!!
You said:
A secretary can earn S$1,000 in a small local company and another can command S$ 2,500.00 in a big MNC.. a mockery?
The title may be the same” secretary”.The difference is working in a small local company and a big MNC as you yourself had mentioned.The job scope should be taken into consideration.
For small business to survive it is only reasonable for them to offer a salary that they can afford because the work load is not heavy.Some may get a so call secretary just to answer phone call .Some may not even need one.And some get a secretary for a reason only known to themselves.
If you think a secretary salary should be a standard S$2,500.00.then let me assure you that many would lose their job.
It is up to the sec. to choose working in the big MNC if they are qualified with all the relevant courses and experiences or to choose working in a small firms with less demand.
No employer can force an applicant to be a secretary at a salary of S$1,000.00.Take it or leave it.
Not all sec. are demanding for a high salary like you think.
Requirement for a secretary post in a small firm is less demanding.Can answer phone call in simple english ,no age limit.How much do you expect to be paid for that?
if you think secretary salary should be the same,then I will ask you to compare the salary of a MNC and with our Permanent Secretary.
Sorry error.my last sentence was If you think secretary salary should be the same,then I will ask you to compare the salary of a MNC secretary to our Permanent secretary salary.
You surely can see regular employees don’t make much on salarylist http://www.salarylist.com
Hah….
So much for a government for the people. Singapore’s politics won’t turn left so soon. We’re more pro business than pro worker. Its all about cutting costs and maximizing profits.
That being said we need more social safety nets and legislation to protect many average workers. PAP has to get into the US Democrat party mold and not follow the conservative Republican way of looking at things. The world is changing…
Be your own boss!!
Hi #16 trueblood Singaporean,
Good for you if you can be your own boss. What about those who can’t, those elderly whom have to pick empty drink cans and cardboards for a living and many more whom are not entrepreneurial?
Who is going to speak up for them?
It is not a shame to work for a living as an employee. The call for singaporeans to be more enterprising is valid and maybe more urgent now…
But it should not be suggested that workers are second class, relegated to digits and cogs.
it would be good for my health (mental and physical) if i could just stop thinking all these and stop writing all these rubbish… don’t care lah, not my problem anyway now that i am in a better organisation as compared to the previous work that i do…there’s no need for me to come in here…
but this thing always come back for me. The ghost that tears at my heart, at times my chest seem so heavy…i don’t share my thoughts with colleagues, friends or family cos’ i don’t want to “corrupt” them w/ my socialist nonsense… but it just won’t go away…
i do not know how you all feel, the people who come here to post.
we need to support each other and uphold each other even though we hardly know each other…
take care.
Hi thanks for all the posts.
I feel that a minimum wage policy will somehow protect at least the more vulnerable worekrs here.
A cleaner can earn only around $600 a mth when he works 8 hrs a day for 6 days a week. He has less than 10 days of leave a year and if he goes MC he has no pay. Let us not even talk about medical benefits. Some do not have any CPF contribution.
The same goes for security guards who are continually being exploited by errant security firms. They are paid $1100-$1300 and work 12 hour shift.
It is a wonder why the govt or MOM allows such daylight robbery to go undetected under the bright daylight. One wonders if they have gone to the extreme to protect employers who are helping the govt to create jobs.
Many friends have told me how their employers were late in paying them salaries and some have mysterious deductions from their pay. Some also were not paid CPF for many mths.
If they go to MOM to file a complaint, that is the last that they will step into their office. IS this fair?
As Singapore grabbles with a deep recession, we should all come up with bold steps so that we have a more balanced labour act and not one that favours tripatism which is pro employer.
To 12) agongkia
I would have said big firms = more specialised jobs. Small firms, staff end up doing everything under the sun… for less pay. Admin cum reception cum marketing cum customer service cum sales assistant…
Ya i agreed with agongkia that we all multitasked here and our salary is still the same.
That is why we probably have one of the highest job hoppers in the world.
Many I know dislike their job due to the low pay (subjective) and high stress as they cover more than one portfolio.
Bosses are also fussy for the wrong reasons and many prefer to work in foreign MNCs as bosses there are mostly ang mohs and are tend to be more reasonable than our local ones.
Civil servants nowadays also get a raw deal as now all jobs come with incredible KPIs which are hard to carry out.
Unless you are a scholar with a fast tracked performance, you may end up on the lower end of the civil service hierarchy.
19)Small firms and MNCs
“Small firms staff end up doing everything under the sun..for less pay..”
Yes agree.That is call productivity .If one feel that it is not worth working in a small firm with a pay that they consider less with so much responsibility,then it is fair for them to look for another firm that can offer them more.The door is always open.
Yes the employer will lose a productive employee if he think he can save by not paying a reasonable salary.Yes .He deserve it.
But remember hor,some post are actually not so important to the employer and if the employee left,the employer may not necessary get a replacement.
In the interest of the employee,I will not elaboate more.
So just try to be productive and not to bee demanding.At this time ,don’t be imfluence by others and think that you deseve a better salary and start hopping,unless you are absolutely confident.
If the title here is “Time to protect our uncles and aunties’ rice bowls from Foreign workers” or Time to protect small firms from closing down or bankruptcy”then I will definitely support.
Hundred over companies close down last year…Dun ask for more.
And Gilbert.
You definitely have the interest of all Singaporean and workers at heart for writing this article.,you have had spent much of your precious time.Its a very good article to me and I love it.
I hope that I do not offend you with my view .It is my habit to share my view with something that I dun agree .We have many good employers around too.I may be wrong. If I had in any way offended you,my sincere apology.Keep up with your good work.
What right and protection for the worker. If you working for a company and you go to CPF and MOM to file complaints do you know what they will do to you. Fix you right and proper. Give you the sack. I have filed many complaints to these two bodies until I smile and call myself a claims artist. But, they are all after I have left these companies. So, I have worked for many companies and I know all their jazz and low down. They are all bad. Maybe just my karma or my bad luck. The only company that is real good to me is the present one and it is in a foreign country and so I tell people to search and search and to Go West young man.
I also found that MOM is forever on the side of the employer. It is in the small details that is shown and it will be a long story to pen them down here.
My solution to the sufferings of the FW and what MOM is doing for them is to take the wrong doer employers to court. If found guilty then cane them. That will be a fantastic fix. Try it and I bet my life it will completely solve the problem It is the will to do it that is lacking and is not there and the EElite are just too scared. Analogously just like ill=treatment in the SAF and it has been going on from 1967 till now and that is about 40 years and if the cane is used this problem can be solved instantly. Why? It is the pain the pain and then the evil people learn – fast.
To be dead humble I spent 20 years in Saf and was once in a unit that got an assignment to fight against ill=treatment in saf.