Leong Sze Hian –
After adjusting for historical inflation of about two per cent, the annual real wage increase may only be about 0.6 per cent.
I refer to the articles “Economy set to grow 13% – 15%” and “100,000 foreign workers needed: PM” (ST, Jul 15)On 15 July, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said,“If we don’t allow the foreign workers in, you are going to have overheating (in the economy)”.
I am somewhat confused by this. Wouldn’t allowing such a large influx of cheap foreign labour contribute to overheating the economy even more?
With all the good news about a booming economy and job market, the fact remains that for the last nine years, from 2001 to 2009, real wages increased by only 1.4 per cent per year.
In a Straits Times report on the same day, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Halimah Yacob said “wage increases of between 3 and 4 per cent are being anticipated”. (“Higher growth but not higher wages yet”, ST, Jul 15). .
With inflation running at a 14 month high now at 3.2 per cent in May, we could end up with a third consecutive year of decline in real wages, As I understand it, wages do not include the employer’s CPF contribution. The employer’s CPF contribution rate was decreased from 16 per cent to 13 per cent in October 2003, which was partially restored to 14.5 per cent in July 2007.
After factoring this in, does it mean that in effect, the increase in real wages may even be less than the 1.4 per cent per annum, from 2001 to 2009?
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics 2010 – Active CPF Members By Monthly Wage Level, there were, in 2009:
- 65,141 people earnings less than $400
- 146,080 earning less than $800
- 74,568 less than $1,000
- 128,611 less than $1,500.
Taken together, this means that there were a total of 464,400 or almost 30 per cent of all active CPF members, earning less than $1,500.
As the data excludes self-employed persons and inactive CPF members (those who did not have at least one employment CPF contribution paid for him for the current or any of the preceding 3 months), if we include these excluded persons, how many in total earn less than $1,500 in Singapore?
One of the targets of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) is to raise the wages of the average Singapore worker by one-third in the next decade, from a median wage of $2,400 today to about $3,100 in 10 years.
The Finance Minister said that to achieve this, Singapore must have workers with top quality skills and make the island one of the top liveable cities in the world. He also said Singapore has never had it as good as now, and for the next five to ten years.
Even if workers heed Mr Tharman’s call to “raise our game”, the targeted reward of a median wage of $3,100 in 10 years time only works out to an annual increase of 2.6 per cent.
After adjusting for historical inflation of about two per cent, the annual real wage increase may only be about 0.6 per cent.
This is even lower than the 1.4 per cent per annum real wage increase from 2001 to 2009, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Q1 2010 report.
Speaking at the same dialogue session with the Finance Minister, the Manpower Minister said “productivity is also a partnership. It’s not just about a company making efforts, it also involves the workers, so workers must take responsibility for their own skills upgrading”.
I would like to suggest that the ESC sets it sight higher for wage increase. Otherwise, why would workers want to upgrade their skills, be more productive, aspire to higher standards, and make Singapore one of the top liveable cities in the world, when the reward at the end of the day, is just a 0.6 per cent increase in real wages?
In light of the last two years of negative real wage growth and current inflation running at a 14-month high of 3.2 per cent in May, workers may direly need a moral boost in the form of higher expected wage increases in the future.
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Pictures from Singapore Mind.
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Cartoon by Joshua Chiang.
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“After adjusting for historical inflation of about two per cent, the annual real wage increase may only be about 0.6 per cent.” -
not accurate, Mr. Tharman’s 3,100 figure was stated in real terms.
Strangely we don’t feel any euphoria to this good news. The same with the coming of YOG.
Fastest growing economy in the world? looks like a farce, are the numbers not massaged? How come I don’t feel it.
Maybe this news is good only for the Ministers’ pay packets, or to the civil servants’ pay, we ordinary people have to struggle with our life, with no real increase in our rumeration, and even has less to spend with inflation and new transport costs factored in.
great points!
After 10 years, those lowly paid and old workers would have died or retired, removing themselves from the samples thereby raising the median salary in s’pore without govt doing anything.
That’s why those jokers in parliament can be so confident of raising median income.
Any shameless ploy by pap.
All this feel good news are full of CRAP!
Benefit the pappies monkeys/cronies and all
their pets (foreign Trash) try to con sinkies cos
the GE is coming. No longer daft/stupid to believe all the lies!!
Well if got property and can sell and migrate, don’t need jobs or pay rises.
Let the gd times roll.
Using the media to brainwash the ground/citizens for election
as usual our pap government just become teochews..tom tom chiang..3344554355
excuses ce moi…
i am goin to put on my opera makeup..
i also can prayed the gongs as well
quote: “The Finance Minister said that to achieve this, Singapore must have workers with top quality skills…”
our education is not world class enough? how can they compare our world class education system with those of undeveloped or developing countries? grad of ABC University paid similiar wage to our local university? meritocracy?
i wonder how will our much exhorted universities answer to that!
anyway in 10 years time, who ever made any promise will not be around to be had accountable, how “sweet”…
i am sure many people wish their salaries spiral up north like our ministers over the years. then, everyone here can proudly claim S’pore as the most liveable city in the world!
raise our game? set example to follow loh…
“from 2001 to 2009, real wages increased by only 1.4 per cent per year.”
When PM Lee said he wants to prevent “overheating”, he meant he wants to prevent our wages to go up!! So, you see, only corporate bosses and pay of high ranking civil servants will benefit from the high GDP growth.
Strange to see 2 contradicting Headlines. The first says 13-15% growth. The second says no wage increase yet. Are they published by different newspaper ?
Even if there is no immediate wage increase, why they newspaper editor did not ask
- When the wage increase will occur? one year later or ten years later?
- What is the meaning of high growth if it has no benefits to Singaporeans?
Also, if the short term gain does not translate to long term benefits, what it really means to Singaporeans? Does it mean it encourage Singaporean to make property gain, and cash out and migrate?
I need help to find the logic of what Straits Times news.
Do i smell a bubble forming in our economy?!?!? Pop it goes!!!
Thanks, Sze Hian, for highlighting these figures. Very interesting analysis.
It would be interesting to see whether the powers that be respond.
“Economy set to grow 13% – 15%” and “100,000 foreign workers needed: PM” (ST, Jul 15)On 15 July, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said,“If we don’t allow the foreign workers in, you are going to have overheating (in the economy)”.
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If this government is not out of job, our children will lose their jobs!
ENOUGH SAID.
Whenever monkeys trumpet their world class achievement, i take it with a pinch of salty…and isn’t it the norm to add on feel-good news before the national day
ANd it really seems like GDP growth doesn’t contribute to an improvement for singaporeans…other than the selected few…so is that why someone practise growth at all cost
After all, civil servants pay / bonuses are supposed to be transparent.
we thought we going to get cheap goodyear, we thought we going to get more good year
this question, any ah pek ah mmm and even the new Maria citizens can understand:
all this “growth” – is life easier for you now? if so, in which ways?
if not, in which ways?
and no cheating – cannot compare Singapore now with Manila last year. we’re comparing Singapore with Singapore, Maria.
Singapore is already now in a mess because of your stupid policy. Your evil intention is to destroy Native Singaporeans who vote you and your father into the high office. Have you read the messages above from the netizens. This is not a bluffing matter. How do you feel and say out from your heart now? The voters give and your father the million dollar pay,the status, power and prestige. In return, this is what you do our local breeds.
To all highly local talents and local professions, please do something to save our beloved motherland. Put aside your professional careers temporary now to join the opposition parties. Any opposite parties will do. Our local breeds need your help urgently before it is too late. I think it is already late. Please…please do something. I am also aware that you may fear of arrest, warning, sue, fine and imprisonment from any small mistake you make. Be careful of the old man, aged 87, who is a lawyer and cunning man.
OK! We take in the foreigners! Let’s have the government lead by example to absorb the lion’s share into the public sector, since it is the largest employer anyway. Not trying to make things difficult for civil servants, but I am not seeing the logic of bringing in another 100k. Can we have them here in 3 months’ time ?
The economic growth does not bring prosperity to ordinary Singaporeans.
It only lead to bigger bonuses for the PAP ministers.
Singaporeans ARE THE BIGGEST SUCKERS OF THIS GDP SCAM
The blistering growth of 13%-15% will be mainly from the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, both of which are largely owned by MNCs.
The 100,000 import of foreign trash is to ensure that these 2 industries are able to sustain that growth.
In the end, how do we TRUE NATIVE SINGAPOREANS benefit ? None.
First, the increased revenue from increased production will go mainly to the pockets of the owners of these MNCs, i.e. foreigners.
The increased wages from the foreigners will flow back to their own countries to feed their own families back home.
Thus, nothing goes to us. That explains why our REAL WAGES has been stagnant, or worst, decline. Our standard of living has not improve either.
Bring in 100,000 so economy won’t overheat? Thought they have been brought in more than that in record time to grow the economy by way of GDP? And so he got double digit GDP growth! Now 100,000 more to “lower GDP growth” for economy “to not overheat”!
If even PM double talk and contradict self in 1 or 2 breaths that we non-economy experts can see his idiotic rumblings – what is he and them worth by contradicting self so frequently? IT IS VERY AMAZING!
The entire 13%-15% growth is full of crap and just plain shit to smoke screen us the TRUE NATIVE SINGAPOREANS into believing that our govt is doing good things for us.
It is all self-serving to ensure that the GDP is high enough to justify their $MILLIONS salaries.
We need to vote these self-serving PIGS out for good !!!
Remember they said the 2 IRs will give majority of their 30,000 jobs to Singapore citizens and then, visitors to the IRs saw majority from Philippines and PRC. And the STimes jumped to defence saying its PRs/Singaporeans. So the truth is they have given PRs and new citizenships like toilet paper.
Bring another 100,000 of FTs into Singapore to screw us further. What can we do? Continue to whine and support them to continue to screw us DEEP.
Is this not like the kiddie’s fable about the Emperor so proud of his “new clothes” ?
Was the Emperor justified of his “new clothers” that was ingeniously woven by a tailor to be “invisible” to the ordinary folks ?
Is there any difference with Singapore’s little Emperor proudly announcing with such glee that Singapore’s economy had expanded by 13 to 15 percent ?
How does this supposed economic expansion of 13 to 15 percent translate in effect to the heartlanders ?
The Department of Statistics had on its front homepage the following Key Indicator [See Ref #1]
[QUOTE]
Advance GDP up 19.3% in 2Q 2010
Total Trade up 27.6% in June 2010
Index of Industrial Production u 58.6% in May 2010
Total Population was 4.99 million in June 2009
CPI up 3.2% in May 2010
Retail Sales down 3.4% in May 2010
Employment was 3.03 million in May 2010
Unemployment Rate (SA) was 2.2% in Mar 2010
[UNQUOTE]
.
.
Were these numbers massaged – especially those related to employment ?
In the Manpower Ministry website published in January 2010 – Table 1.1 Employment showed employment level as at December 2009 was 2,991.2 Million covering Manufacturing, Construction, and Services. [See Ref #2]
Table 2.1 of the same Report showed that by end-2009 there was a Redundancy of 22,700 workers, Early Release of Contract Workers 3,200, and Retrenchment of 19,500.
Table 2.2 showed ‘Redundancy by Sector’ with a total of 22,700 for all sectors covering Manufacturing, Construction and Services.
Table3.1 ‘Unemployment Rate {Quarterly} showed Seasonally Adjusted Overall of 2.1%, and Resident being 3.0% at December 2009.
Table 3.2 ‘Unemployment Rate {Annual} showed Overall of 3.0% and for Resident at 4.3% by December 2009.
Can the economic expansion of 13% to 15% be real, or simply blowing hot air up everyone’s arse ?
Ref #1 – http://www.singstat.gov.sg/
Ref #2 – http://www.mom.gov.sg/home/Press_Release/Pages/20100129-ESQ42009.aspx
Lee Hsien Loong said,“If we don’t allow the foreign workers in, you are going to have overheating (in the economy)”.
Is this the kind of irresponsible PM we want? If he doesn’t go, Singaporeans will. It is good to fight back and reclaim what united people of Singapore believes – to kick them out.
Sounds silly…such a high growth rate and no wage rise.
What is Singapore’s industrial growth based on, padi fields and more padi fields.
Or
Hot money, it is pouring in and there is hardly any checks.
This news is an ELECTION trick. PAP clearly needs to raise the wages for civil servants, or there might be a backlash during the elections.
It is a double edge sword, need to wait and see for further news. Interesting, to see where this is going.
See! our Leaders are so great that they are so happy to create jobs hub for the world.
Singaporean ! please wake up. The government that you voted is creating jobs not for you.
The economy will overheat if 100,000 foreign labor are not employed ?
Would it not be simpler for the government to stop pumping the economy to show an artifically economic expansion that is used to justify their own wage increment ?
Clearly, the Pro Alien Party that run the government has no intention of moderating any inflow of foreign workers despite all the lip service over the last month.
i really question the ministers loyalty to S’pore & S’poreans….
come NDP, it’ll be timely for ALTernative political parties to show how much locals are shunned, be it in education, work, welfare, sports, etc…
bring in 100K foreigners lah, such lax employment policies will dampen TFR cos S’poreans are replaceable. parents spend so much time, effort (highly competitive workplace, depreciated salaries), bringing up kids only to see them suffer in future?
:X
When it comes to government statistics, I am reminded of Benjamin Disraeli who said,”There are lies, damned lies and statistics.”
For the last seven months, I have read stories about how the economy is booming. However, my business is virtually non-existent and I’m not the only lousy person here – everyone I speak to seems to be having hard times and budget problems.
I have simply not felt the disconnect between the statistics and the reality as I do now.
When you look out of the IVORY TOWER the ordinary men is nowhere to be seen or heard.What would they know about cramp MRTs buses and the high cost of healthcare and other basic needs???All is taken care off with imports of FTs/FWs, you lesser mortals will come to pass sooner than later and all will be well for the ELITES
So will the election come before or after the rah rah of the nat day celebs?
Li Kim Yeong, 16 July 2010
my guess? after MIWs’ faces are beamed onto the screens for the new citizens. showing them that S’pore’s economic success is all credited to MIW. they din beam the old guards faces who are actually the team who made the leaps & bounds that propelled S’pore to what she is today, not the current bunch of ill-bred whiners.
while our national aspiration of being an educational hub went down the drains with several high profile closures in the ast few years, the toxic funds fiasco, rising cost of living, billion-$$ investment loses by our SWFs, stagnat salaries for the masses, rising social tensions & stresses faced by ordinary folks are sweeped under the carpet. the ugly truth hurts…
m.i.n.
Throughout history, there’s only ONE punishment for traitors and crimes against the people:
EXECUTION !
Do not negotiate with corrupt terrorists!
Lets not adopt a myopia view. I was fortunate to have the opportunities to interact with some of the ministers and senior civil servants. Through these interactions, I was aware that the government has discovered the presence of foreign talents does bring our productivity, working attitude and service quality up to a higher level. This instilled further confidence from investors and that translates to more investments and job opportunities for Singapore.
So a further 100,000 foreign talents would effectively mean bringing Singapore standards up to another new height in this highly competitive world market.
Hopefully PM can share the background of these 100,000 talents. How they manage to cool the economy.
My Views, please share with us your data from the ministers and senior civil servants.
“the presence of foreign talents does bring our productivity, working attitude and service quality up to a higher level. This instilled further confidence from investors and that translates to more investments and job opportunities for Singapore. So a further 100,000 foreign talents would effectively mean bringing Singapore standards up to another new height in this highly competitive world market.”
Listen, it is not 100,000 only. Read what the PM said again, it is MORE THAN 100,000. A quarter or half or one million is also more than 100,000 you know.
What an irony, strong growth for the economy is proclaimed but true blue Sporeans on the ground are not rejoicing.
http://www.pmo.gov.sg/News/Transcripts/Prime+Minister/100000+foreign+workers+needed++PM.htm
MORE than 100,000 foreigners are set to enter Singapore’s workforce this year. The projected inflow is, however, a slowdown when compared to the surge in 2007 (144,500) and 2008 (157,000).
Higher levy rates and a tiered system that makes it increasingly costly to employ many lower- and semi-skilled foreign workers were announced in February.
Economists like Mr Leong see many of them flowing into the hotel plus food and beverage sectors, as well as high-end industries such as electronics and marine, where demand for semi-skilled S-pass holders is high.
The hospitality sector is particularly hungry for workers, following the opening of the two integrated resorts and a surge in the number of tourists landing on Singapore shores.
the Government, in making a commitment to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign workers, said it would limit the numbers to one-third of the total workforce, which stands at around three million.
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All these positive growth figures, like that projected for the economy and the TH windfall, have to translate to something. Can the PM tell us what they translate to and how do they benefit Singaporeans?
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If such growth is going to challenge the Singapore citizen even more in terms of gainful employment and the struggle to fend for oneself in supporting their basic necessities, than I would say without a doubt that most Singaporeans would agree and repeat after me in telling the PM to shaft it up where it hurts him most.
Not only is the concern on jobs for native citizen but also the wage.
I have totally lost confidence especially learning that the 50 year freak floods are happening every month or so nowadays. Just look at today’s news.
Is this 1st world standard?
I can imagine China , India, large countries having problem with drainage.
But this is just a small city.
Totally shockingly unexceptable.
I have lost confidence!
PAP love HIGHER GDP! Why? Coz higher GDP means higher salaries for civil servants including the ministers. Thats what they said. While the ministers enjoy million-dollar salary, we the ordinary citizens suffer greatly due to higher inflation and higher cost of living.
MyViews – what do you expect ministers to say? If FT is so god damn good, why not replace some of our super scale ministers?
I have worked with many of them, find that they arent as smart and secondly some of them are very lazy and draggy. Singaporeans maybe working smart but are more efficient in resolving problems.
Companies hiring them because of cost and pushing other workers to accept lower pay too. Its not about productivity… or BS.
If productivity is bad or competitiveness is bad, how can the economy be growing every year? The influx only happens in the last 5 years, so you mean Singaporeans are useless for the last 45 years?
Remember, PM said FT increased our competitiveness and “OUR PAY”. When did pay go up? For the last 5 to 10 years, pay were stagnant and also for this year, no pay increment.
The objective of influx is clear: 1. Depress wage and lower cost 2. Give them PRs/Citizenship so that they add to the millions in Singapore and give them the edge in election.
We Singaporeans are not stupid or blind. But also we are the ones to be blamed, we voted them to do this to us.
????????He also said Singapore has never had it as good as now, and for the next five to ten years.???????
Never had it as good as now ? Surely it cannot be ? Especially after the financial crisis when the recovery is still very much uncertain ?
I thought most of the global news now is all pointing to an understanding that the good old days are not going to come back anytime SOON unless overall global consumption / demand level is being maintained or improved which we know for sure a lot has been speculative one in the most recent, hence causing the very bubble burst and financial crisis.
Well, they sure have scholars knowing how to pain a nice cool picture even if you are in hell.
My Views,
Strange you are, asking that we not be myopic in our views and claiming that you have rubbed shoulders with the high and mighty to understand where they are coming from. I do not know if you can call that fortunate or not because by rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty, there is no way you are going to understand the plight of the poor and lowly.
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It’s exactly what’s happening to Singapore. If only some of the high ones would just step down a level or two to see, feel and understand this. Sadly. I do not think this is going to happen especially with the mid-level ones like yourself telling them and egging them on to stay where they are.
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You guys have really lost it with the people and you are never going to find yourselves until and unless you are ready to step down a little – just a little.
****Ben 17 July 2010
I have worked with many of them, find that they arent as smart and secondly some of them are very lazy and draggy. Singaporeans maybe working smart but are more efficient in resolving problems.****
they are very structured & rule based. you do not need to think (be intelligent) too much if you are much guided by strict parameters or rules to follow. that is why sometimes their explanations / reasoning are so hollow and will eventually reach a stalemate when probed further and they will just tell you that “It is the rule” OR “It is the law” as though it is explanatory enough in the context of the situation raised by any specific complaint / discussion.
however, they have the power to tax and have it cross subsidize whatever shortcomings that they may have. that is the problem that we as singaporeans need to educate ourselves where exactly is going wrong when some wise guy said “about singaporeans being ignorant”.
Guys! They have NOT reached their LATEST TARGET of 6.5 Million POPulation yet right! And fro reminders, GCT as PM had target OF 8.9M! Now see how they TWEeK TWEaK all the time. As old gecko is the best of this thing call “TT”. He said of UA being “Champion Grumblers” but does he know WHY? Selective and lopsided dead ending mentality right!
It IS all BECAUSE of “him” isn’t it! All his BARRAGE of DEMEANING CRITICISMS, BLAMES and Verbal SKIRMISH to make him and pap ALWAYS “look” like forever “Better, BetterER, BetterEST and BetterEREST” a govt found nowhere else on earth! AT the end, all he’ll have to showcase to the Whole World is a tinny-winy island state 1/33 size of Malaysian Johore State WITHOUT ANY SOUL! WHY! BEcause he MADE SURE that “the ONLY ‘soul’ in Singapore IS THAT OF lee kuan you and all his equal material greedy YES-Sir disciples! This IS the GREATEST Self-Righteous ERROR of lee the kuan you in EVERY ASPECT of EVERY Singaporean’ LIFE.
WELCOME ON BOARD rich FTs turn citizens! Other wage earner FTs WELCOME too and face the same “music and tune” down the road as a citizen in slippery “slip & slide” in your middle age and higher. As you WILL ALSO BE REPLACED BY OTHER NEW FTs in future! Good luck! lee kon you HAD IT ALL WORKED OUT in 1956 even BEFORE he won big in 1959! Read once more. Why are so many with short memories of such things for so long?:
“Repression, Sir is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love – it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. All you have to do is to dissolve organizations and societies and banish and detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil on the surface. Then an intimidated press and the government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if these things are referred to again they’re conveniently distorted and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict.” – Lee Kuan Yew as an opposition PAP member speaking to David Marshall, Singapore Legislative Assembly, Debates, 4 October 1956
And: “I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn’t be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters – who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.” – Lee Kuan Yew, Straits Times, 20 April 1987
Wanna believe those tears at press release in 1965 for the separation of Singapore from Malaysia? HAH Cheeeeeew!
///So a further 100,000 foreign talents would effectively mean bringing Singapore standards up to another new height in this highly competitive world market.///
talking about rubbing shoulders, have you ever thought of the possibility that it is you that have been rubbed, well not shoulders but your head.
ask yourself. didn’t they mention about calibrating influx. why all of a sudden, a further 100,000 is being mentioned.
another question, why stop at the magic figure of 100,000 then. since it is talents & positive, it has no reason to go up further going by their rationale.
in any deal and in our context, there is inflow of benefits & externalities created and a fixed constant called land space. inflow of benefits only circulate among the foreign talents themselves & their core value partners / associates in their own small eco-system. collective externalities are not usually easily identifiable, quantifiable & attributable to specific individuals (e.g cultural behavior, social habits, congestion, pollution from added commuting, etc) that may be imposed onto a small country like ours.