Andrew Loh
If one were to follow – and believe – what the Labour Chief and the Manpower Ministry say, one would be inclined to think that the unemployment situation here in Singapore is “not as bad as feared”, as one Straits Times report put it.
In the past few months, the picture painted was, at the very least, a hopeful one. Indeed, Ministers have been consistent in asking Singaporeans to be positive. Labour Chief Lim Swee Say, in particular, has been trumpeting the so-called “tripartite” relationship between the government, the unions and employers. “In Singapore we have tripartism, and the tripartism has served us very well,” he said in January this year. “It is a unique advantage, so as we go through this downturn, our challenge is to continue to unleash this unique Singapore advantage.” (Source)
It seems that even “unleashing this unique Singapore advantage” has not stopped the tide of retrenchments. Three months after Mr Lim made that statement, the Today paper reported that unemployment in Singapore had reached record levels not seen in six years.
Total redundancies hit 12,600 in the first quarter — a 34-per-cent increase from the fourth quarter last year. Among the resident labour force, unemployment reached a five-year high of 4.8 per cent in March, sharply up from December’s 3.6 per cent. (Source)
And as if to choke on his own words, Mr Lim was reported to have said, on the same day the Today report came out, that, “It is not a question of whether we will see a second wave of retrenchment, but a question of when it will reach the peak, how high the peak will be, how long it will last, and how many more workers will lose their jobs in this next wave.” (ST, 29 April, 2009)
So much for the “unique Singapore advantage”. It seems that the NTUC Chief is just sitting tight and waiting for retrenchments to peak. In the meantime, the situation continues to deteriorate. Headlines such as, “Jobless pool shrinks”, “Jobless rate hits 4.8%”, “Expect more layoffs …” provides proof of the dire situation.
Yet, in the midst of all these, one thing is conspicuously absent – any talk of protecting the average Singaporean worker. The only solutions the government and the union seem to have is to one, plead with employers not to retrench workers and two, to continue the “reskilling, upskilling and multi-skilling” of workers. (Source)
The Singaporean worker, thus, is at the complete mercy of his employer. Anecdotal evidence points to discriminatory practices such as age, language and even gender discrimination by employers, together with employers’ preference for hiring foreigners even for jobs which Singaporeans can do.
The government’s response, which seems to miss the point, is to insist that Singapore needs foreigners. Singaporeans understand that the country needs foreigners. Their concern is whether we are opening the door too wide to foreigners of every ilk, even for jobs which Singaporeans can perform in. The government, however, seem to not want to address this.
The Prime Minister, in his May Day message, was reported to have said:
“In hard times Singaporeans think the non-Singaporeans are taking their jobs away from them,” said Mr Lee. However, he said this is a mistaken view because without non-Singaporeans working alongside Singaporeans, the jobs may not be there in the first place, citing the integrated resorts as an example. (Source)
Be that as it may, the Singaporean worker needs more protection from the government. It is unthinkable that while foreigners are let in by the hundreds of thousands, Singaporeans are left to their own devices – with the unions taking the sides of the employers and doing nothing to speak up for or fight for the rights of Singaporeans. Witness the feeble response of the Labour Chief to the retrenchment by DBS of 900 workers in November 2008. (Source)
It is with this in mind – protecting the Singaporean worker – that the event in Hong Lim Park this Saturday was conceptualized by five Singaporeans, including this writer.
Please come support the event and show support for the Singaporean worker.
It is time that we demanded the government do more for the Singaporean who’ve worked hard and slogged for long hours all these years.
Perhaps the Labour and the Manpower chiefs should start thinking about “unleashing the unique Singapore advantage” to protect our workers instead of engaging in meaningless rhetoric and semantics.
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Read also Ravi Philemon’s blog entry, “A webchat with Mr Gan Kim Yong and Amy Khor“. Ravi will also be one of the speakers at Hong Lim Park this Saturday (9 May at 5pm).
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Andrew says, “The only solutions the government and the union seem to have is to one, plead with employers not to retrench workers and two, to continue the “reskilling, upskilling and multi-skilling” of workers.”
My thoughts: http://singaporesocialactivist.blogspot.com/2009/05/so-that-they-can-move-on-webchat-with.html
Come and support our call to Protect the Singaporean Worker at the Speakers’ Corner this Saturday at 5pm.
I have stopped listening to snakeoil peddlars! At least karang guni man has better grasp of reality!
Hong Lim rally or not, gahmen protect workers or not, tripatite relationship or not, one thing is certain.
That is, at the next election there will again be 50 % walkovers, 66% mandate and 98 % seats for the PAP.
Don’t believe, just wait and see. Other things I not sure, bu this one I very sure one.
I suspect the ministers need to decieve themselves to say what is expected for them to say to keep themselves on the job. If they are sacked for not performing to their boss expectation, I wonder what could they possibly do? At their age, they could easily face discrimination too. GKY, LSS, LBH might end up being a bus driver, taxi driver, security guard or…..IR conseige. This fake might be likely for them if alternative party took control and give them a taste of their own scheme.
Tripartism is a fanciful word !
In reality it is 3 parties sleeping together.
Only one dominant party is controlling the foreplay,
and one dominant party gets to enjoy the orgasm.
About time the dominant party help the disadvantaged party to achieve climax.
This can be done by putting monetary vouchers in their hands,
consider it as an effective style of foreplay. lol
Assuming the recover is as rumoured to be next year,
those jobless can do 2 things:
1. wait for USA to recover the world which will create new jobs and this way, get employed again.
2. pay and pay for training that say lasts till next year when recover comes which creates jobs and this way, get employed again.
Question: does going for training now removes an unemployed from unemployment statistics assuming he is trained full time?
Technically, he is unemployed also.
“Everyday when I wake up, the first thing I look at is: what is the level of retrenchment, how many more jobs have we lost? The second thing I worry (about) is whether every job lost translates to another unemployed worker.” – NTUC Chief Lim Swee Say
Shows how effective his everyday morning ritual is
Do come out to show your unity together tomorrow at HL PArk.
Without yr presence, the event will be a failire.
We expect no less than 200 people to turn up to show that you care for the unemployed people.
We can blog in the comfort of our room in anonymity or come out and be counted!
The quota for companies is very key in all of this.
Who is checking on all the companies large or small on the aspect of hiring ratio?
who here understands:
1. if employment figure is frequently stated in terms of Residents (which means PR / Citizen), then , can a company hires PRs instead of citizens to save some costs ?
2. what is the quota for hiring for all companies? 40:60? what?
I am a degree holder. I have been looking for jobs over 7 months.
I applied through the many of the help-u-find-job organizations. All the main internet resume collectors. All the employment agents i know. went for interviews which come from agents and not the organizations. The employer interviewer told me straight in my face “singaporeans are not as capable as australians and europeans and indians”. And he added, oh, we are looking to hire specifically Singaporeans. After the interview, no response despite I answered the questions fairly well and said my expected salary is negotiable and willing to accept as low as 40% lower than previous pay.
So, this is why I cannot understand what all this “charade” is about. I mean, he said he wanted to hire singaporean. I qualify and my skills more than match. I was not picky and choosey. not even a call to say i was not chosen, after 1 month already have passed. And the saddest thing is, according to a friend inside, who the position is still open. So, can anyone blame me for my suspicion?
kn@@#$%%@$!$ !!!
Yes we have a “unique advantage” of being the only country in the world where its own citizens are still having to compete against the foreign workers for jobs in their own country.
THEY are just to show their face only, for the singaporeans whether they had jobs or no jobs, for him is another question.
At least, he is pay very top salary, Union and people are two different thing.
MAYBE, if one day is BAD luck, he are turn himself into true begger than he
can know what is singaporean suffering……
Always talk big, how singaporean can survive under his care,,,,,,
NOTHING can read from his mouth……
aiyoyo
elites talk talk talk, but look at the man on the street,
is the economy situation improve or not???
think they should become man on the street for a year,
then they know so easy to talk………………………………………………………………………………
aiyoyo
TRIPARTISM = 3 Legged Frog only good on paper!
When times are bad some companies wil say take it or leave it ………..What TRIPARTISM ?
Do u all believe that when the economy turn around eventually, jobs will return to our fellow workers? I really hv my doubt. They will most likely open our door even wider to welcome more foreigners, in the name of globalisation, inclusiveness or whatever u call it…
The real problem now is MULTI-TASKING and all in the name of TRIPARTISM……so when you MULTI-TASK you sort of being a Jack of ALL TRADE and master of none……..so instead of MULTI-TASKING, have more job distribution or Job Recreation!
Yeah sure, I think the tripartism LSS refers to is the father, the son and the key master.
Collectively, their obsecenely ginormous multi-MILLION dollar salaries have made them more disillusioned that the guy who has just lost his job. C’mon, we spear heading towards a -10% GDP growth and they still have the audacity to request us to remain calm ?
And if the jobs credit and re-training thing is as successful as what they have claimed to be, then why are we regressing faster than any of our 3rd world neighbours ? At least Vietnam is registering 3-4% growth rate !
In the event of a US recover, do you still think that jobs will remain here when China and India is cheaper. This model of depending MNCs for jobs is dying. A new economy model has to surface.
Will the 2 IRs and F1 race become a pillar in our economy like the oil and electronic sector. I am keeping my fingers cross because Macau has a headstart on us. Technically, we are late in these sector.
It might be time that a new team come up with new ideas.
We can’t wait till the point of no return like the US was when Bush was still in-charge.
Every Sgp-an has to play their part just like the AWARE saga.
I never expect Gov or PAP to protect the workers.
Temesak Holdings as the leading Employer shouldn’t retrenched Singaporeans first as an example for the Industries
See what DBS, Chartered Semicon, NOL has done and Mrs Lee got the best union award. What is j oke!
Singaporean are not stupid! Mr PM!
Isn’t Singporean the major Shareholder of Temasek holding or Lee family!
Like insurance, there is a long time span of discretion before the result can be visibly seen. Just like when you buy insurance, it takes twenty to thirty years before you can see whether you got a good bargain or not. Many policyholders now realised too late that what was projected when they first bought their policies did not materialise and they have been shortchanged. Insurance companies did not care two hoots about their feelings as they are considered spent bullets. They turn their attention to new and young policyholders who have to wait another two to three decades to see whether what they have been promised will materialise or not and so it goes on and on through time immemorial.
I feel it is the same here with LSS. Ten to twenty years later and he would have retired comfortably anywhere in the world, his greying centreparting flaying in the Carribbean winds. Right now he can talk and talk about what he does when he wakes up and ask us to train and train. I have done all that he asked in the past. When you are twenty something, he will say you do not have enough experience, when you are thirty something, he will say you have not upgraded. When you are forty something, it is more training and reskilling. When you are fifty something you will not even be able to find him anymore.
Is this the reason why we become independent? To take up any jobs to service the many foreigners who are rich enough to treat our country like a holiday resort? I thought we sought independence because we want to take charge of our lives and do not want our men and women to be serving the British colonial masters as drivers and amahs?
Whatever you are training for and reskilling for right now, there are many who have already got that qualification and still unemployed, so where is the logic that you need to go for that training in order to find a job? It will take you your life time to realise that you have been taken for a ride, but by then, there will be enough new citizens to give the 66% mandate and 98% parliamentary seats to the PAP. So perhaps LSS will not need to retire elsewhere in twenty years time, maybe by then he will be the new Mentor!
Well, perhaps only when singapore has gone pass the tipping point, then will hope of change be possible
“Tripartism” actually means the garhmen, employers and unions conspire to screw you and me!!!
I think LSS was referring to his own iron rice bowl job that pays 7 figure salary plus taxpayer-funded $179,000/year pension from age 55….when he talked about the S’pore “advantage”.
S’pore workers have been undergoing retraining for so many years……..without avail. It is time our highly “talented” leaders come up with real solutions, or step down.
Do we secure a job before training or train without knowing the future!
What type of Skill I needed ?
Enigneering, Accountancy, Law, History, Business, Etc Etc!
I had all the above skills than what other Skill do I need? Political Skill and skill to talk cock!
Is Tan Kim Lian present tommorrow and at least he is the NTUC guy who don’t talk cock!
I have said before that tripatism does not help the workers much – in fact unions are sometimes at the mercy of the employers due to our no-power no-strike policy.
Most of our laws protect the employers more – LAbour Law, Jobs Credit, age bias hiring, etc. Workers who are unionised are also at the mercy of controlled unions who have no power to show to the other entities. Employers know that our unions have no teeth and thus are left to be expliotated.
When companies need to retrench, they will do so even if tripatism rules the day. Dolalrs and cents have no mercy here.
Many I knew were retrenched without a cent and when they approached MOM they were simply told to go to get a lawyer to sue as they have crossed the unionised salary wage of $2500!
FTs have also come in the tens of thousands every year to compete for both low and high end jobs now. Many workers I know were retrenched and replaced by cheaper FTs.
It is time that people speak out for their rights.
We hope that readers here will come out in full support of our cause. It is not just my cause or my team’s cause – it is the cause of everyone born here.
Time.
Given this Saturday’s talk will be on Protecting the Singaporean Workers,
I wonder is this not a wholesome thing that even the WDA should or would send reps to attend and support the event?
Afterall, is the WDA not to support singaporean worker? Correct me if wrong.
So, I wonder how many of these would attend? How about mr Say?
That one lah. Not say i say wan.
Upstream the downstream.
I hope people get mobilised to attend and support this event.
Sad Hear lot of People pay a monthly $9 to join NTUC for the wrong purpose and not for what they believe Tripatism!
They are for the discounts for Fairprice, Petrol, Chalets! Singaporean are too shallow. No wonder Jackie Chan and Taiwan Li Ao call us the most stupid as compare to HongKeer and Taiwanese.
MOM will said that Retrenchment Benefit is not a must but a favour! MP will ask you to find CDC! CDC will said probably you need to Reskill and ask you to find E2i. E2I will ask you to pay 10% of course fee without gurantee a Job.
A Jobless Singapore than become a Confused and Stupid Singaporean.
Tripartism means the NTUC and the Gahmen hold you down while the Employers screw your arse! Ah Lim’s job is to soothe your feelings by telling you at least you shld get some pleasure out of it, if you relax and lie back and enjoy it.
Everytime, when there is economic downturn, the gahment likes to talk cock, and asks us to upgrade our skills; it is for our own good.
WTF! Everytime, they only talk, and still get paid. But we have to undergo training and retraining, albeit subsidised. And the sad part is, the upgrading does not guarantee the participant a job.
Now tell me, who has it easier? Talking gahment or doing people? We are working and upgrading like mad, but you are only using your EYE power.
So, please cut the BS. Yeah, maybe the gahment people also go for upgrading and such. But only to hone their skills to con us into buying their BS, everytime, all the time.
Lets that this govt hid to upturn the downturn by UPTURNING ourselves to DOWNTURNING this govt when the time comes….it will come.
I suddenly have a proposal to force employers to employ local. I have 2 friends who were jobless for nearly a year and something interesting was brought up during our discussion.
She told me that many same employers have been putting up their job opening throughout the years and apparently they continue to do so indefinitely. She has applied to several of these companies because she has met all the critierias stated in their job vacancies but she could not understand why these employers kept putting up the same post endlessly. Either the employers were choosy, created a phantom vacancy to test the market or trying to be funny with job applicants.
These group of employers should be named (not really blacklist) to find out what was their problems for not being able to hire and inexcusable with such huge pool of eligible candidates in the market. Job Match-make should be carried out for them.
We could always start with engineering job, accountancy job, HR job, marketing jobs and list down the company names who constantly post for such positions. We want our job searchers to be wary of any scam because resume is something very private and carries lots of personal informations. We do not want candidates to have their resumes flying all over Singapore and ended up in undeserving hands.
As much as our govt do not want people to stay out of job for too long (though they have valid excuses), likewise company should also not take their own sweet time if they truly need someone to work for them. Image of the company will suffer if their names kept appearing in the job market, and this may result in people speculating the working conditions and culture of such company.
Tha above is simply my opinion.
After so many recession, 97, 2001, 03 09. Singporean are sick of Retraining.
Isn’t our NTU, NUS good enough if not improved it!!!!
Can Retrainig produce another Bill Gates, Newton, Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison for Singapore. If not dont waste our time.
Think the GOV need to go retraining Also and learn from Obama and don’t claim that you are the best Gov in the World.
Singapore is Just a Red Dot!
Clap!!!!
Indeed, they should go for retraining… why keep asking us to go for training where at the age of 40s~50s, we shd be staying at home learning how to live well instead of collecting plates in Kopitiam or driving a bus.
They shd come to China first, where i can bring them to the night life in Beijing and Shanghai to see how lenient the chinese allow their business in this communist country…. the chinese gahmen here need not to have NTUC to complete with their people for every trades that their citizen can manage to do.
They shd have training to control their big mouth shut and do more works to serve our people, not for us to serve them. They shd learn who is the boss eventually.
Attending those trainings are good for the statistics so they can say so many have attended the trainings. Furthermore, one has to pay for it. I have been taken for a ride before when I attended the OJT consultant course, paying over 800 dollars, last time it was NPB, train and train but no formal assignment. Have to share with the instructor who gets 70% and I get 30% then have assignment. When I complained to NPB, they wrote me a letter once every three months asking me to send back a completed form if I am still interested to be their OJT consultant, if no form sent back will consider I am no longer interested in being with them. They do this for over a year without any project until I stopped sending back the form, then case close liao. Called me somemore asking me whether I want to attend some more courses. Sometimes I think the top guy wanted to do something good but those middle management in these agencies are just going through the motion. Over time, if the top guy still is oblivious to what is happening then he has to answer for it too through the ballot box.
Plain and simple this is what we need
1) Minimum wage
2) Retrenchment benefits
3) Lower medical costs
4) Free education up to university level
5) Pension
opps……..Am I sounding like a minister ? by the way does anyone have the following answers ??
1) The amount of money lost in BAD investments , how could our Money could have been put to better use ?? Buy sports talents ?
2) Will Singaporeans have to top up our national reserves to make up for these losses ?
Maybe we need to oursource this job globally to get the best brains
Though Singapore are good compare with ASEAN countries but slowly and surely they are catching up like Vietnam, Thailand etc etc.
Furthermore we think we are in first world and definately we are wrong. Singapore already lose out to Taiwan Korea in Manufacturing and just depend on MNCs.
In Finanicial Sector maybe we are quite equal to HongKong but they got China as better.
Anyone think we can better than Macu in the IRs, I not sure!
We are Jack of all trade but Master of None!
My take on this issue is simple. Singaporeans workers are too choosy and demand cushy jobs with high pay, so says one esteemed member of this discussion (Modernist), but on the other hand top talents should be paid premium rates, otherwise why would they want to join govt. So where is the logic? When top talent do this ok, when lesser mortals do same cannot.
Would someone wake up eyes wide open on a saturday evening if the turnout is as much or more enthusiastic than the aware thingy?
Could there be enough energy generated to bring about some positive changes?
Me and a FT ex-colleague completed a IT project months ago. We both are similarly skilled and I in fact am more experienced. We both searched for the same jobs. He got hired not me.
Could this happen to you?
Tripartism is such a sham.
It is not true Singaporean are Choosy!
It is the assumption made by Employer ”
Are you sure you want to take this low paying Job and are you Obedient like the Foreign Talents on 2 years contract. So why should I employed you when there are so many alternative?”
That why the situation became like this!!!!
“38) plopp
Tripartism is such a sham.”
The intention is good: everyone does his own part in the big coordinated plan for the good of society as a whole. But if people keep expecting government to create jobs, this will further reinforce the socialist system. Ultimately, the people has to decide the balance they want.
The problem is that despite looking like any other capitalist economy, Singapore heavily relies on socialist planning principles (from key industries to education policies to public health care).
This rigid top-down structure has created a structure where decision makers credit themselves for success, and the rank-and-file blames the decision makers for any wrong decision, (and the rank-and-file themselves stick to their designated roles rigidly to avoid holding any responsibility).
If the goal is let people have they want, change has to come both ways. The top has to let go of power, and the people has to expect less from the government and take up more individual responsibility.
IR is there because the govt wants to sell land to mop up the excess liquidity injected during sars.
It isn’t there because ft are allowed to work here.
Telling us that IR is there because of FT is like telling us we owe them a living.
I thought we only owe Singapore govt a living.
Now, we even owe the people outside a living.
Pray very hard that IRs don’t fail like Chartered Semicon, Micropolis or ABC Learning else PAP will hit their heads into the wall.
So what is the exit strategy when the IRs fail?
my gut feeling tells me IR will fail. S’pore does not have too many break through in terms of wealth generating ideas. in short nothing much that says out loud & proud “Unique S’pore!”…
how can an IR bar potential customers based on income (correct me if i am wrong on this)? will the targeted customers keep coming back? if not blame the lowly paid frontline staff? if the targeted customers fall way short of its rosy projection, will the rules that were meant to keep problem gamblers out be abolished?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
another way to look at protecting S’pore workers is to cut red-tape on entrepreneurs, give this group more leeway to flourish. this will add diversity to the job market.
thanks to the 66.6%
government wants us to die.
re hopeless,
die also not cheap in S’pore. that is why so many old folks are still working?
die die must work. lol…
#43 They could convert an IR to executive living spaces for the well heeled.
Think Executive Serviced Apartments.
Today is the 3rd Monday since I lost my job…
I would say that it is indeed true that foreigners are taking away singaporean job.
Foreigners should only be hired for jobs that singaporeans do not want to do, such as construction worker or toliet cleaner, since singaporeans are getting more and more educated and such jobs are rendered unsuitable for them.
For PMETs positions, government should refuse entry for foreigners taking jobs that singaporeans can do. In my last job, my ex-boss hired a foreigner with the same job title as me. Despite me offering to do work at PMET level, I was always given the task which is at a rank and file level, while he was given paper work, task that is mostly deskbound. Having a world class education system, our degrees are definitely worth more than his. I am so displeased with my ex-employer. I tolerated for about half a year. Finally, I left voluntary.
Our government really ought to do more for our own people, the singaporeans, who are born and grew up here. Not those foreigners who treat singapore as a money spinning city, coming here to work so as to earn money to send back to their families and buy a big house and car in their hometown.
Clearly, singapore must STOP depending on bilateral ties to survive independently. Even the Malaysians are making use of us. In which company here in Singapore can you find mostly malaysians? And they are given other benefits that only singaporeans should be entitled such as child care leave.
Clearly, PAP government should do something more to protect singaporeans. Also, the JCS failed as employers still favour foreigners. Perhaps, the cost of labour for hiring foreigners on S pass or employment pass should be increased and the money collected should be given to singapore citizens in terms of incentives such as more JCS or GST offset package. PRs should not be given such incentives.
Most importantly, I hope that jobs that are rightfully singaporeans still go to us and foreigners taking on our jobs be sent back home. Nevertheless, I still believe that singapore can manage without foreigners
Hi singaporean , I understand your frustration but do not give up.
I accept FT and PR become Singaporean. But I have seen many PR do not convert to Singaporean after many years of working in Singapore. In this enconomy crisis some retrenched PR go back to their country as they able to find job in their country. This tell me that, if one day, Singapore economy down and other country up, many PR will leave. I will also do that if I am a PR.
Most of the jobs including PMET level do not need “rocket science” knowledge. So bosses like to get lower wage FT and PR as long as they meet the minimum requirement. FT and PR like Singaporean also have good working attitude and hardworking. This is not discrimination, boss is just to gain more profit. Now , even Singaporean want to accept lower salary , the boss will suspect your sincerity. Boss will think you will resign if you get a good salary job. There are many older age PMET cannot find job also. If you are young you still have better changes.
I do not think PAP can do much on this. They beleive to bring in more MNC then Singapore will progress. To make sure more MNC then need more FT.