LSH: Why is Ho Jinx Paying Elderly SGs Slave Wage of $580 PM?

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

‘State of the Union’: 1 day’s newspaper?


August 16th, 2013 | Author: Contributions



Pay doubled to just $1,000?

I refer to the article “Pay doubled for airport trolley staff” (Straits
Times, Aug 14).

Only 240 workers helped?

It states that “The 240 airport trolley handlers had their monthly pay bumped
up from about $580 to as much as $1,000, depending on their work attendance and
performance.

Well done! Union movement?

The recent moves are part of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC)
progressive wage model, which sets out a career ladder with pay standards for
low-wage workers in various sectors. Currently, about a fifth of 6,000
outsourced contract workers under airport operator Changi Airport Group are on
the NTUC’s wage scheme.”

If you thought being a cleaner was bad enough?

Before reading the above, I believe most Singaporeans may have the impression
that cleaners were the lowest paid workers at a median gross wage of just over
$800 last year.

Now, we have the revelation that airport trolley handlers (6,000 of them)
were paid only about $580.

Caring worldwide award winning employers?

Who owns Changi Airport Group (CAG) – I believe its Temasek, after Parliament
approved the transfer of the ownership of Changi airport to CAG for over $3
billion.

Pride or shame?

Reading the news recently, don’t you get the impression that the union
movement is so proud of the fact that they are helping low-wage workers.

But I feel really ashamed that Changi airport, the pride of our nation
because it has won so many awards in the past, including the best airport in the
world, pays such slave wages for God knows how long! And to think that it is
actually owned indirectly by the Government, through Temasek makes it even more
shameful!

Corporate Social Responsibility?

What’s the point of setting aside $1 billion or more in the Temasek
Foundation to fund charitable work and promote good social causes, particularly
in ASEAN, when we treat our elderly Singaporean workers (“These workers who are
mostly in their 50s to 70s”) with such disdain and disrespect?

So many earn less than $1,000?

Our union movement ought to be even more shamed to trumpet such grandiose
achievements of helping a few hundred low-wage workers here (240 trolley
handlers) or a few thousand cleaners there, when there are about 294,364 or
about 17 per cent local workers earning less than $1,000, according to Roy
Ngerng of thehearttruths, citing statistics from the CPF Board’s 2011 annual report.

Union movement fighting for workers: Really?

How long will it take before our union movement really fights for the rights
of the hundreds of thousands of low-wage Singaporeans to get a decent pay?

As much as $1,000?

And what does “from about $580 to as much as $1,000, depending on their work
attendance and performance” mean? That some of the 240 trolley handlers earn
less than $1,000 even after the much hooha about helping them to have their “pay
doubled”? – A big deal to blow our own trumpet!

What about the rest of the 6,000 trolley handlers?

And also as to “about a fifth of 6,000 outsourced contract workers under
airport operator Changi Airport Group are on the NTUC’s wage scheme” – what
about the other four-fifths (4,800) trolley handlers (still earning the
miserable $580?)?

Disappearing statistics?

In this connection, in the same day’s Straits Times Forum (“Bring back data on income levels“, Tan Boon Khai
wrote “THE recently released 2013 Yearbook Of Statistics no longer provides a
table on active Central Provident Fund members by wage level.

This table had been published for as long as I can remember, and was a
fabulous source of information for anyone wishing to track how various
categories of Singaporean incomes have changed over time.

Citizens have a right to know how the various income groups in their society
are faring. I hope this data can be brought back.”

Is this another case of Singaporeans are supposed to only read the “right”
things (statistics)?

Social mobility, equality, fair & just society?

In the same day’s Straits Times, there were two articles “Taking steps to
raise social mobility in S’pore” and “Ensuring true equality of opportunities”.
You see – you can have news reports practically everyday about how hard we are
trying or doing to make Singapore a (more) “fair and just society” – but, the
stark reality of the statistics continues to haunt our national conscience (if
indeed we have one). Arguably, our so called National Conversation may arguably
by quite pointless and futile, as long as we lack what I call a national
conscience.

Oh! So much more help for the needy?

In the same day’s newspaper, there were another two articles “Social service
now nearer to those who need it” and “Convenience for needy residents”. Don’t we
realise the (obvious) hypocrisy of it all – when we have media reports almost
everyday about how much we are doing to help some needy here, some needy there,
raising some funds here and there – when the root cause of the problem may be
that there are simply too many Singaporeans being paid too little to
survive!

Growth for what, for whom? So many earning less than
$1,500?

In the same day’s Straits Times, there was an article “Why Singapore growth
beat regional trend”. What’s the point of harping on good economic growth, when
there were 458,617 or 26 per cent of Singaporeans earning less than $1,500
(Thanks to Roy Ngerng’s article cited above)?

A shame?

Its not just Uniquely Singapore, but Uniquely Ashamed – and to rub it in (for
our fellow low-wage Singaporeans) – we have the cheek to be celebrating 48 years
of attaining First World Nation status on our 48th National Day!

Perhaps what we really need is a national apology from the Government to the
hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans who have or are still struggling because
of our flawed economic and social policies over the years.

Majulah Singapura.

Leong Sze
Hian

Leong Sze Hian is the Past President
of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, an alumnus of Harvard
University, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow and an author of 4 books. He is
frequently quoted in the media. He has also been invited to speak more than 100
times in 25 countries on 5 continents. He has served as Honorary Consul of
Jamaica, Chairman of the Institute of Administrative Management, and founding
advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3
Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications. He blogs at http://www.leongszehian.com.


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