Leong Sze Hian –
The Prime Minister said in his National Day Rally speech, that “Singaporeans can look forward to higher wages and good bonuses” and that “[lots] of jobs [have been] created [and] unemployment has gone down.”
With this being akin to an almost annual rhetoric over the years, exhorting Singaporeans to accept more foreigners in order to achieve an expected GDP growth of 13 to 15 per cent, which is expected to be the highest in the world this year, along with crowded trains, higher hdb prices, etc, the question Singaporeans are asking is: what is the reward for Singaporeans in accepting all these?
Wages
Singapore workers had only a 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. After the last two years of negative real wage growth, and current inflation running at 3.1 per cent in July, workers may end up with a consecutive third year of negative wage increase.
Minimum wage
Many elderly cleaners and road sweepers earn only about $650 a month, which works out to an hourly wage of only about S$3.50.
South Korea has a minimum wage policy which has been reviewed annually since 1998. The current minimum wage is 4,110 Won (S$4.70) per hour.
Malaysia is contemplating a minimum wage, with the Malaysian Human Resources Minister’s recent statement that it would be tabled at the cabinet in October. Singapore has no plans to have one.
In this connection, even the Philippines Goverment has introduced a minimum wage of US$400 (S$538) and 4 days off a month, starting August 2010, for Filipino domestic maids working in Singapore. This has caused a quandary as employers have been used to paying not more than S$400. Hong Kong also passed a minimum wage law on 30 August with a minimum wage that is expected to be around HK$28 per hour (S$4.85).
Longest working hours in the world
Acoording to Profesor van Reenen, a widely-quoted economist in the British press, who recently won the prestigious Yrjö Jahnsson Award – the European equivalent to the John Bates Clark Medal in the United States – which is given to the best economist in Europe under the age of 45 who has made a significant contribution to economics; productivity should not be overly focused on GDP per worker or per hour.
In this respect, Singapore workers have one of the longest work hours per week in the world, more than South Korea which used to have the longest work hours in the world. In 2008, Singaporeans put in 45.9 hours a week, which was more than South Koreans.
Jobs
If the labour market is bursting at the seams, why is it that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the resident unemployment rate in June at 3.3 per cent was higher than March’s 3.2 per cent, and the number of resident unemployed increased from 66,200 to 68,100? Even the overall unemployment rate rose from 2.2 in March to 2.3 per cent in June.
According to the article “Service sector powers S’pore’s job growth” (ST, Jul 31), there were an estimated 87,800 residents without jobs in June.
The number of long-term unemployed – those who have been hunting for jobs for at least 25 weeks also increased slightly between December and March. Close to half of all resident job seekers were above 40 years old.
End-game?
So, what really is all this record economic growth for? Who is benefiting from it? In recent times, the government has been exhorting Singaporeans to increase productivity, be cheaper, better, faster, to reskill, upskill, multi-skill. And the Prime Minister urged Singaporeans to “keep learning and upgrading.”
While NTUC Chief Lim Swee Say said “workers can look forward to higher wage increments this year”, the Prime Minister in his Rally Speech cautioned Singaporeans to “please be careful with wage expectations”.
Perhaps the questions which Singaporeans have, and which the Prime Minister should have addressed more extensively and thoroughly in his speech, are:
- What is the benefit to the average ordinary Singaporean in continuing to accept the huge influx of foreigners and the adverse consequences which come with it?
- What exactly in terms of wages can Singaporeans, especially those in the lower brackets, expect – or should they continue to accept depression of their wages?
- What are the government’s plans to address the widening income-gap?
Finally, PM Lee said in July this year that “[management and staff] cannot simply go strictly by what is explicitly spelt out in employment contracts.” This statement is of great concern to workers, coming as it did from the Prime Minister himself. Does this mean that employment contracts are not worth the paper they are written on?
Record economic growth and exhortations to improve oneself are all well and good but what are these leading to in real terms for the average citizen?
Where, really, are the protection, assurance and benefits to the average worker, besides being constantly urged to improve themselves in order to be employable?
Are workers mere cogs in the wheel?
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With contribution from Andrew Loh.
Picture from Straits Times.
for all those who fear political backlash for voting the incumbent, remember this: the backlash comes when unpopular policies are implemented by the exact people you have voted in. they are the ones that make life difficult. Either we face the music and bear with the decision we make as mature adults, or take action to change. Fear plays no part here. Tell that to the 33% of pple 4 yrs ago.
thanks mr leong for making a stand for the lower bracket.
the wall — thanks for that story, its really apt :)
You have certainly echoed some of real issues. Now, can you (or anyone) then suggest some useful, constructive solutions then?
1) How do we solve the widening salary gap effectively without too much repercussions?
2) If we should not have too many foreigners, how do you suggest we solve the issue of Singaporeans not willing to take up certain jobs like construction work, like cleaning work, like household tasks? A cleaner from China works for $800 a month(some less), 6 days per week and lives in a cramped house.
3) If we should not have too many foreigners, can you suggest how then we curb the low birth rate and a soon aging population? Not to mention other more sensitive issues?
You can help make this country better by offering workable suggestion?
Not only lower ranks are affected, more and more middle income group and even the some of the higher income face competition not from low pay foreign worker but low pay FT. Even not low pay FT, why don’t give the jobs to Singaporeans first?
solution:
1)Have a independent job data banks with qualification and salary expectation. Any unemployed Singaporeans can free safe to register and report their unemployment
2)Companies looking for foreign workers including PRs must first go through the administrator of the databank and sincerely try to employ the unemploy Singaporeans before even allowed to bring in FT and foreign worker.
3) foreign levy should be also for PRS and FT to discourage companies included government ones from trying to cut costs by employing PRs, FT and foreign workers
4) A fixed percentage like 70% of minimum Singaporean workers in each company excluding the PRs. Manual workers could be excluded by case by case basis for example big infrastructure like MRT & HDB building
5) unemploy benefits to be given to workers with dependents when they lost their jobs to FT and foreigners
6) Benefits between Singaporeans and PRs must be very clear. HIgher income tax for PRs and foreigners.PRs and FT not allowed to buy HDB.
7) Companies that employed more than 70% Singaporeans woiuld be given corporate tax rebates and given priority with foreign worker application
8) Seriously promote higher productivity for the singapore economy. Singapore it a red dot. Nobody would want to stay in a over crowded island
9) Promote more born in Singaporeans by giving free education to all. PUB,HDB telecom,SBS, MRT , NTUC flair price must reduced their prices and billing to SIngaporeans. If there is no actual increase in their pay relative to inflation , government companies should not increase their prices. This would lower all Singaporeans living standard and not trying to achieve Switerland living standard and a world cup team by 2010
10)Pay of MPs & ministers are pegged to the average pay of Singaporeans not the elites in the private sectors. If they really love and want to serve Singapore, should have pay cuts to understand what is living in first world country with thirld world pay.