Gangasudhan, Main Stories, TOC NOW!, Top Story - Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:33 - 52 Comments

Why not apply ‘town council logic’ to worker wages?

By Gangasudhan

This morning a TODAY report (No hike, say some town councils) proclaims that “(r)esidents in at least seven People’s Action Party (PAP) town councils can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being”. Never mind that the article is celebrating a non-issue – the Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) WILL be raised and it is just a matter of time – and distracts from the more pertinent question of how the residents affected by Aljunied and Jurong town councils’ decision to raise their S&CC fees will cope.

Never mind too that this feel-good article of no tangible newsworthy value is incomplete – apparently, “Hong Kah, Marine Parade, Pasir Ris-Punggol, Tanjong Pagar and West Coast – did not reply to MediaCorp queries by press time” and “Hougang and Potong Pasir town councils, which are under the purview of the Workers’ Party and Singapore People’s Party respectively, also did not respond by press time” (i.e. only 7 out of the 14 town councils who have not mentioned a raise in the fees were contacted).

Glaring Distastefulness

And whilst this latest report takes pains to remind us that Hougang and Potong Pasir town councils increased their S&CC fees in 2007 from “$2 to $9 and $2.50 to $8 per month, respectively”, it makes no mention whatsoever of the impending increase of 50 cents to $4.50 that happens within a matter of days in April 2010.

In spite of all these shortcomings though, two points in this article particularly stand out. Firstly, why are town councils being labelled according to the political party that manages them? Town Councils are agencies of the government and whether a member of the PAP manages one or even if an NMP manages one is just a matter of fact, not of consequence. To deliberately demarcate them throughout the article as ‘PAP town council’ or ‘SDA town council’ serves no purpose other than to create misunderstanding.

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