by Leong Sze Hian
Panelists Dr Tan Khee Giap, Chris De Souza and Desmond Foo
I refer to the remarks made at the YPAP budget forum “Working to win in Singapore’s economy ahead”.
“No Singaporean who wants a job will be denied work”?
One of the panelist, Dr Tan Khee Giap claimed that no Singaporean who wants a job “will be denied work”.
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Singapore Workforce 2010 Report, Service and Sales workers had the highest unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent, among all categories of workers.
So, does this mean that even locals who worked as “waiters, waitresses, chambermaids”, and lost their jobs, had difficulty getting re-employed in these same jobs?
Why? To what extent has our liberal foreign worker policies contributed to this?
Count job rejections?
Dr Tan also suggested, “The authorities (should) publish a quarterly report to note how many times the worker was referred a job, and monitor how many times the particular worker rejected it.”
Comparing the MOM’s Job Vacancies 2009 and 2010 Reports, the 25th percentile gross wage of waiters decreased from $930 to $879.
So, if Dr Tan is retrenched, and is offered a job as a waiter, would he take it?
If he keeps rejecting job offers as a waiter, wouldn’t he be not helping in regard to his own remarks – “if you do that (count job rejections) the unemployment rate can be reduced to one per cent”?
“Nanny state” Budget?
I find it somewhat odd to cite the 2008 and 2009 special transfers statistics to support the statement that “the 2011 Budget is not a General Elections Budget but rather a ‘Nanny State Budget’”.
Weren’t these Singapore’s worst recession years, and therefore may have had exceptional spending in special transfers to help Singaporeans?
Why not give us the amounts for the other “normal” years, like 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, etc?
WIS
As to his claims that “the Workfare Income Supplement scheme (WIS) is good enough”, it only applies to those age 35 and above.
What about the about one in eight workers who earn not more than $1,000, according to the Census 2010 Report, and the 400,100 workers who earn not more than $1,200, according to the MOM’s Report on Labour Force in Singapore 2010, who are below 35 years old?
Foreign worker levy
As to the statement that foreign worker levies are rechanneled to government training programmer such as E2i (Employment and Employability Institute) and SPUR (Skills Programme for Upgrading and
Resilience), SPUR was a once-off measure during the last recession, and total government training programmes’ spending has been but a fraction of the billions of foreign worker levies collected.
Helping children?
With regard to Desmond Choo’s reply on whether the Budget helps to provide for couples with children, that children up to six years old will get $300 to $400 each, how much help is a few hundred dollars?
Mr Choo said “the issue is whether we are investing enough per child, i.e. quality time and so on”. 579,864 resident workers or about 31 per cent of all resident workers, worked at least 50 hours (228,856, 73,761, 134,716 and 142,551 worked between 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65 hours and over).
So, some may not have much “quality time” left to spend with their children!
Foreign talent?
As for Mr Choo’s response to the issue of the foreign talent policy, that “Singaporeans should focus instead on how to ‘future-proof’ themselves”, through continual skills upgrading, how do Singaporeans compete with much more educated, qualified and experienced foreigners who are prepared to work for much less pay than Singapreans?
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I guess there really is no point in trying to reach the PAP, be it their leaders or the youth wing. I guess they can only comprehend an electorate reversal at the ballot poll.
Typo – should be “35 and above” and not below.
Dr Tan philosophy about the jobless is unfounded. Has he forgotten about the sick, crippled, and disabled?
1. Pay stagnation is a constant issue. But for yes-men in the ruling party, they get 8 months bonus. As inflation eats into our wallets, our pay has in fact, decreased at a rate of 4-5% each year.
2. Construction, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Services: Dr Tan cited examples where the mass influx of foreigners are working in. Has he not asked himself why is this the case?
Chicken and egg scenario. If you continually get EDB to attract investments in these industries, where singaporeans are not skilled in, do not expect them to take up these jobs, pay off mortgages, support children, support aging parents with a pay of $1000. Is is realistic of anyone to live in such amounts? He has probably forgotten how to compute basic mathematics.
Comparatively, in countries like Australia, labourers in the construction industry, are paid at least AU$48,000 per annum. In Singapore, cheap is in. Is this sustainable? of cos. These banglas, get free housing, free transport back and forth to work, and have the opportunity to loiter with pinoys on weekends.
For Singaporeans, they have to take public transport, eat at hawker center, pay for mortgages, give money to children, tell me what is left if they have less than S$1000.
3. Foreign Talents: Every other country, has a quota, points based systems. More points are given if they study in SIngapore, have fluent english, as they are likely to assimilate in society, and embrace singapore.
By failing to have these administrative requirements, Singaporeans may have a job for today, but in future, they can forget about being bosses, because they will very likely face roadblocks in 3-5 years, where their bosses are all foreigners.
Changing jobs for a pay increment, gets lesser, and lesser, as there are influx of foreigners in HR doing recruitment. So, as Mr Gan bo yong, is not doing anything about this. And he has no HR background and experience, he is unable to produce any wise advise.
Being educated, and bestowed Phds, are nothing if you dont have the value and experience. Your decisions will be lopsided, expecting to have 100% employment is unrealisitic.
Very slowly, you are bringing singapore down if you keep attracting these low-skill jobs and control of immigrants for white-collar workers are non-existent. You EP-pass is a joke. Who can’t pay for these amount? Why employ singaporeans where they have to be paid an additional 15.5% employer CPF?
Mr Choo said “the issue is whether we are investing enough per child, i.e. quality time and so on”. 579,864 resident workers or about 31 per cent of all resident workers, worked at least 50 hours (228,856, 73,761, 134,716 and 142,551 worked between 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and 65 hours and over).
Mr Choo, why do residents work 50 hours? could it because the high housing prices and cost of living that goes unchecked and unaccounted for? As some one your age, i hope you can fight for your generation instead of just follow the easy career path that people has planned for you. consider the values of the party u are joining. what is the point of working so hard on the ground when at the end of the day, you are just fire fighting the problems perpetuated by policies from the top down? there are many young singaporeans who will NEVER vote for your party as they are out of touch and perpetuate divisiveness in singapore (voting for upgrading? )
The only sector in Singapore that has not met much competition to date Is the political sector. Monopolist always talk like that. A dose of competition to the politicians will benefit the society. The more parties we vote in, the better our chances of getting jobs instead of more nonsense. What difference are their policies from other welfare state, except that you are forced to be beholden to them because they have systematically denied us jobs?
The more this Dr. Tan opens his mouth, the more he reveals that he has nothing in his head except, perhaps hot air.
Through the years, PAP govt. policies have caused sharp increases in housing, medical, education, transport costs, etc. With the high cost of living, how could Singaporeans compete if the govt. suddenly opens the floodgates to foreigners from low cost countries? How could Singaporeans cope with the tsunami of cheap workers? Yes, the sudden opening up of the floodgates has indeed caused a tsunami, like what is happening in Japan, and inundated true blue Singaporeans, making sure they will sink and never be able to re-surface. The true blue Singaporeans will become an endangered species if we continue on this path.
So there is a reason why true blue Singaporeans are rejecting job offers, and that is the low pay offered. The kind of jobs available are also mostly not what Singaporeans are trained for. In other words, we have a structural unemployment problem too, besides the below-subsistence pay.
So Dr. Tan, please shut your mouth, and spare us the pain of listening to your rubbish.
I am above 50 and had been looking for a job since 2008 without success.
What is written here are just Big Bullshit from the ruling party PAP and their policies.
Countless jobs that I have written in with no success in getting one. Went for interviews but once the age is revealed, that’s about it no further results but please go home and wait for the next round that did not happen.
This is the sorry state of Singaporeans looking for jobs in their country of birth.
This should not be the case but thank to the ruling party with their agencies link all working in cohesion to ensure that more Foreign Trash are brought in to replace Singaporeans with jobs and leaving Singaporeans to have to fend for themselves and compete with these foreigners that the government brought in.
MOM is just another department of the government that looks into making it possible for employers to hire foreigners at the expense of Singaporeans.
e2i and ntuc, are nothing but another side show of the government tools to project the image of helping Singaporeans but with the intention of providing the necessary for employers to hire more foreigners.
My experience with e2i has been more of disappointment than anything really.
What is happening here is that the government is bent on making sure that the economy grow at the expense of Singaporeans being marginalised and jobless.
What Tan, De Souza and Desmond says here and reiterate the policies of the government over these issues are nothing more than really solving the challenges of the Singaporean workers.
What need to change is the entire government policies and machineries that do not provide protection for the Singaporean workers. Employers are employing foreigners to replace many Singaporeans who are now driven to a corner with some at the bottom rung to suicide cum murder.
Look at the fate of the Mother and Son who is handicap and father is a taxi driver, driven to murder suicide due to their situation and plight in society that do not care but conduct cheap talk.
The current leadership is totally not in sync with the plight of Singaporeans due to their lofty place with excellent salaries. They have lost the connection with real issues and bread and butter matter.
What help has been provided for these needy family? If they have reach out to those in need Singapore will be a better place to live in.
Singaporeans do not want hand out but prefer to work and support themselves. But the government is making this impossible with the influx of cheap foreign labour to further drive many Singaporeans into desperation.
Change can only happen with overhaul of current government, systems and policies.
Definitely I will vote wisely to ensure that I have a job to support my family responsibilities.
But I have been looking for a job since 2008 and been to job fairs and e2i to no avail.
My good friend has a PHd in industrial design, and was out of a job since 2008. Could not receive any jobs in same sector as manufacturing is gone in Singapore.
Companies does not want to hire him for lesser positions as he is over qualified. And he is driving a taxi now.
I do not consider this employment, I call this a loss of our human capital. One of the most important “Singapore’s resource”. The SPURS and WDA training does not really help PMET, it helps training centers get rich, and people with a job get training.
Dr Tan Khee Giap’s current job’s salary in School of Public Policy is reduced to $2000 per month.
This current existing job, Associate Professor of Public Policy, in School of Public Policy is offered to Dr Tan Khee Giap.
Let ask Dr Tan Khee Giap whether he wants to take up this job.
Dr Tan Khee Giap has to means what he said and lead by example.
Dr Tan Khee Giap must accept the job of Associate Professor of Public Policy at $2000/month salary to show that he can work at this salary without any problem.
Can oppo do budget? Not even USA, Japan and EU can do it!
Only PAP can do it.
The oppo’s foreign puppetmasters can only teach them to oppose, but not to make a budgewt that makes sense.
It was a very informative exchange. Was good to explain the different measures that were taken by he government after due consultations with the public for the long term good of the country
The opposition can kiss my ass!
They want spend more taxpayer money and increase the tax for the middle class.
Is Dr Tan an academic in NUS/NTU? I hope he gets advised the company is undergoing organisational renewal and he will be under contract basis at reduced pay while they employed a full-time foreign talent.
Let’s see how he feels when he sooner or later will be let go after the foreign talent feels comfortable taking over.
Anyway, you can ask the lecturers in NUS/NTU, they are already feeling the heat from the foreign competition. ..
People need to understand, no matter how high up you think you are, as long as you are not the management team, you will be affected by foreign competition when the mgmt decides to implement it.
The only place that is still quite safe from foreign talent might be the official mouthpeiece of govt, the mass media. They cant afford foreign talents to run riot by reporting stupid stuff.
Tan Ah Giap,
“One of the panelist, Dr Tan Khee Giap claimed that no Singaporean who wants a job “will be denied work”.”
can you prove what you said? or is it just your assumption ? a feeling? a hunch? a guess?
Are you the Hiring manager of all companies?
Does your claim include Private companies, foreign MNCs?
Are you the foreigner hiring manager?
Doctorate nevertheless, but i hope you can answer my questions.
Eric! would you hire me to work for you if am forced upon you?
How do you suggest such imposition by the government on the Private companies, MNC’s etc?
Any suggestion?
I would highly suggest that Dr Tan to just shut up as he is not providing good advice but good excuses to cover up the ruling’s lousy policies that create huge damages to the local breed citizens. What a big shames.
Even lawyers have to look for alternative employment. I have a friend who cooks meals just to earn a bit of extra income as legal work has been scarce the past years. The privileged PAP MPs are in a world of their own.
The tone of the discussion is not one of solving problems, because these people who are out of touch with reality do not even think there are problems!
Is this the kind of people you want in government? Vote them out. They are already budgetting for their first world salary
I am a residing singaporean in Aus but here being my country of birth, I would still very much like to come HOME someday in future. But after reading, hearing and analysing the existing dire situation back home, it really dishearten me that my homeland has to come to such ends.
I am too a victim of the situation bec just a year back, after completing a second degree to prep myself for a career change, I had seriously contemplated of returning. I was lucky in a sense that I did found work at a local boutique accounting firm, mainly made up of FTs but the salary offered was much to my dismay at $1400 during probation. There and then, reality hit me. Singapore can never ever again be the same under the current Garment rule!
I had always held a belief that the current policies are all in all strategies to further entrench the Garment and dishearten Singaporeans and opposition parties alikes in the gust of depair.. aka, the country is totally Fxxk up to the the extend that only US and US only are able to fix it!!! Ponder on this belief..
If Singaporean really want our voice to be heard and see action of changes, let us unite during this coming election and display the true spirit of DEMOCRACY.
Dear Mr Tan
I refer to your comment, “no Singaporean who wants a job “will be denied work”.
Yes, I was not denied work. I have lost my 15 year job paying $3500 job to a “foriegn talent” who is paid $2000. I went for all your darn training and am now working a security guard earning $1600. I am a single parent, I have two school going teenage children, CPF payment for flat, Utilities and 7% gst for everything we need (sure the rich are paying more cause the extra car cost $150,000). How do you think we manage, its a struggle. Sure you say go beg from your CDC but I have pride. I might be the cause of my position to some extend but mianly the government policies are the cause. You screwed up the lives of the original Singaporeans. Period
Next wave of losing out to foreigners is coming, our face too thin to beg or talk
to our overpaid MPs about it! Our job market is under seige!!
Another epiphany which hit me from my exprience is that our current under seiged job market was largely in part the fault to short sighted employers who gladly traded effeciency for overhead savings.
Lets face it, all nations needed foreigners and they played an important play of nation building. Hey.. ain’t our forefathers foreigners too??
As a foriegner in Aus, I found that the local employing market is fairer in the sense that the employers here strongly belived in local exprience and fair wages, regradless of what nationality I am from. To be successfully employed, 1stly, I MUST possess the required skillset and language skills. Then, I have to undergo a stringent interview process for me to prove that I am as capable as the Aussie in undertaking the position.
Although this common mindset can also be viewed as a barrier of entry for most, but I for one am truly grateful that the employers here are really taking their workforce seriously and fairly.
If only singaporean employers can view candidates to the advertised positions inview of their skillset and not on the amount of savings they can gain. Then there may be HOPE for Singaporeans to SURVIVE at home.
By not revealing the full truth PAP is a liar. Now YPAP is a good example of the PAP culture which is money culture and liar culture.
PAP is top down influencing even our local employers, not to say foreign ones.
They have never minded how many lost their jobs and positions in previous crisis in last few rounds, why should they be expected to care now or next 5 years?
It is always easy to talk as well as doubts as to what has and can be done for the unemployed. It is easy for those who have not yet been retrenched to talk. Hence, to ensure that there is transparency of data on unemployment, suggest to have a central unemployment registry set up. This can be used to store all registered unemployed, as well as available jobs which will alert the unemployed as well as track the period of unemployment.
Please Dr tan, i hope we never have a chance to ask you on live international tv programs the 3 most hot questions that beg to be answered.
The guy who spoke about future-proofing themselves is stupid.
if those measures like upgrading of skills had worked, we would have seen a surge in productivity.
However, those numbers went the other way.
That means, the wrong skills have been learnt. That’s why the investment in time and monies didn’t produce a better economical outcome such as increase in customers but in number and business experience.
It is like canoeing in the wrong direction.
I cannot believe we put these idiots as elites.
Nothing superior from them.
Recently I came across a household of 4 subsisting on a single parent’s income of $850. The mother told me she received financial assistance from CDC which has since run out. for low income people like her, improving salaries or redesigning to higher-paying job is the long term way to go. Relying on handouts is short-term and demeans a person to needy and recipient of charity.
I believe most of us want to make a honest living which will enable our families to live a life of dignity. Government policies should not make such basic living difficult for citizens, especially those who are already disadvantaged due to education or age.
VOTE FOR CHANGE:
We cannot have a Dictatorial, a One- Party government – a Totalitarian government.If we keep and maintain the current ruling party, the people of Singapore will only have their current sufferings prolong.If the ruling party stays, there will only be the voice of this Tyrant.
Vote for Alternative. Vote for Oppositions to help represent our concerns and to Curb the current prideful ruling party before they get out of hands.
Vote For Change Please.
i hope oppo don’t let us down
well, there’s a saying, if you don’t try, you will never know.
But what we DO know is, this PAP will only make our lives worse!!!
So, we are left with only try orrrr we die trying!!!!!
“No Singaporean who wants a job will be denied work” … puih!
I was a Master degree holder with solid 14-year up-to-date working experience but was retrenched from my project director job with a FT taking over. I registered with CDC and e2i but all the jobs they referred me were blue collar positions. I applied for a project administrator / clerk position with e2i but was denied by e2i. I informed e2i I had acquired, upon CDC’s advice which I originally hesitated, the relevant certifications on the skills I already had. e2i told me those certifications only made me further overqualified for the job.
So I was denied work even though I was willing to take a drastic drop in pay and position! And skill upgrading / certification as the solution to unemployment was all crap!
Some from NTU would know that Dr Tan is a Malaysian who came here and then became Singapore citizen without going through National Service.
As far as i am concern i do not recognized YPAP who are they …simple answer=BORN WITH SILVER SPOON AND ELITES then what do they know about the ground sentiment,first of all they should not even be given a interview,waste of time….
Sorry i miss one more point ask them to accept the 800 dollar singapore salary and you will see that they will have a different tune
“Singaporeans should focus instead on how to ‘future-proof’ themselves”, through continual skills upgrading, how do Singaporeans compete with much more educated, qualified and experienced foreigners who are prepared to work for much less pay than Singapreans?
The guy who said this is contradiction himself. Future-proof by continual skills upgrading. ok lets say a singaporean go for continual upgrading and is in the same level as foreigner – educated , qualified & experienced. What is the salary then?
As this guy said foreigner is prepared to work for much less does he expect singaporean who in terms of qualification & experience is same level as foreigner to work for much less pay! Wow! If The foreigner asks for $1500 , Singaporean should ask for that too???? How can Singaporean survive with such a salary How to take care of his family? Foreinger no problem. He send some of his salary to his family. Maybe after converting to his countrie’s rate it is an huge amount. And the balance is enough for him to pay rent and food and so on. Singaporean have to pay for his hdb,, take care of children’s need, bills and so on and $1500 is not enough to cover this. This kind of people vote into parliament we all suffer!!! oh no! what is going to happen to us? Help! Help!
looks like the YPAP forum is just a mouthpiece to justify the failed FT policy. I have seen some FT around the workplace, frankly, they are nothing great. I also heard of FT abusing singaporeans who are more capable – and the FT has the cheek to take credit for their own lack of skills. quite obvious that many of the so-called FT’s qualifications or expereince is not of the same standard as SG – could be bought thru degree mills even. It sad that the gov who is suppose to work for the people is killing the people. no hope with this type of gov around.
Singaporean first? PAP, pls stop lying to the people.
Another for-show forum.
Some time back, after Dr. V Bala has spoken on being open to non-conformist to speak up, I have responded to ypap by making a self-invitation to take part in yPAP internal policy debates.
The secretary replied to My self-invitation to take part in its debates with a condition.
Their condition is I must join them as a PAP member first which obviously is a flat no because I have no inclination to become a PAP member.
What a sham.
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Those 60.1% have to repent for the next 5 years!