[h=1]IT'S USELESS TO GO FOR TRAINING WHEN FOREIGNERS KEEP GETTING PARACHUTED IN[/h]
Post date:
22 Mar 2015 - 7:31pm
In reality, the tension between capital and labour that underpin the modern economy’s ability to deliver rising standards of living is extremely skewed in Singapore towards capital, i.e. shareholders and corporations. This is a worldwide phenomenon but in Singapore it is made more extreme by the overly business friendly policies of the govt which favour the corporations, business owners and shareholders (remember the govt is a massive shareholder through Temasek’s ownership of GLCs).
How so? Obviously through mass immigration and import of foreign workers which suppressed labour costs and excessively low corporate taxes that tended to attract low margin business which also tend to employ cheap labour to maintain their margins. Less obvious are lack of stringent anti-trust legislation which punish collusion and oligopolistic pricing since these inconveniences to the GLCs.
Observe two measures: the increase in the corporate profits and market value of the GLCs are many times in excess of the inflation-adjusted rise in wages since 2000. This reflects both the skew towards capital and monopolistic power. Next wage share of the GDP is extremely low at 41% compared to an average of 60% among the advanced economies. Again this shows the huge skew towards corporate profits at the expense of wages.
Noble laureate economist Paul Krugman’s recent article “Knowledge isn’t Power” is right on the spot. Education and training are of utmost importance but falters if power are vested too much in corporations, business owners and shareholders. For wages to rise, there has to be a re-balance between the needs of capital and the needs of labour – a sweet spot. Not easy to find but the too cozy relationship between government and business works against re-balancing and it is all about political power – the exercise of it by the govt and the influence of it by business. At root there are certain business and GDP growth not worth having.
Chris K
Post date:
22 Mar 2015 - 7:31pm
Unemployed PMET:
There are loads of Singaporeans who have undergone intensive trainings and collected a file full of certificates from WDA’s sponsored courses but have yet to land a proper job consequent of the flood of F-Trash.
Furthermore, these Singaporeans are already holders of diplomas and degrees from our tertiary institutions.
If we still need to supplement our diplomas and degrees with all the perfunctory courses from WDA and other governmental training institutes that says our polytechnics and universities are not up to the mark in churning out graduates “job ready”. Then MOE is screwed up.
Added to that these certificates issued by WDA related institutes are not even recognised by employers, good only for dog poops. Waste of freaking time and resources.
Some even have years of experiences from previous PMET jobs lost to the influx of F-Trash.
The government’s mantra of life-long learning and training has been over-played.
The government is in self-denial, the root cause of the problem is the mad immigration policy and massive conversion of F-Trash into new citizens to buttress the ruling party’s political power in the face of a rapidly declining support from indigenous Singaporeans.
Only a massive swing in votes away from the PAP in the next GE will the problem be solved.
PAP’s dominance in parliament has got to be reduced by less than half so that there will be proper check and balance.
The problem of getting high enough wages has little to do with education and training, even though both are absolute necessities to equip Singaporeans with the right qualification and the skills that match job demands.There are loads of Singaporeans who have undergone intensive trainings and collected a file full of certificates from WDA’s sponsored courses but have yet to land a proper job consequent of the flood of F-Trash.
Furthermore, these Singaporeans are already holders of diplomas and degrees from our tertiary institutions.
If we still need to supplement our diplomas and degrees with all the perfunctory courses from WDA and other governmental training institutes that says our polytechnics and universities are not up to the mark in churning out graduates “job ready”. Then MOE is screwed up.
Added to that these certificates issued by WDA related institutes are not even recognised by employers, good only for dog poops. Waste of freaking time and resources.
Some even have years of experiences from previous PMET jobs lost to the influx of F-Trash.
The government’s mantra of life-long learning and training has been over-played.
The government is in self-denial, the root cause of the problem is the mad immigration policy and massive conversion of F-Trash into new citizens to buttress the ruling party’s political power in the face of a rapidly declining support from indigenous Singaporeans.
Only a massive swing in votes away from the PAP in the next GE will the problem be solved.
PAP’s dominance in parliament has got to be reduced by less than half so that there will be proper check and balance.
In reality, the tension between capital and labour that underpin the modern economy’s ability to deliver rising standards of living is extremely skewed in Singapore towards capital, i.e. shareholders and corporations. This is a worldwide phenomenon but in Singapore it is made more extreme by the overly business friendly policies of the govt which favour the corporations, business owners and shareholders (remember the govt is a massive shareholder through Temasek’s ownership of GLCs).
How so? Obviously through mass immigration and import of foreign workers which suppressed labour costs and excessively low corporate taxes that tended to attract low margin business which also tend to employ cheap labour to maintain their margins. Less obvious are lack of stringent anti-trust legislation which punish collusion and oligopolistic pricing since these inconveniences to the GLCs.
Observe two measures: the increase in the corporate profits and market value of the GLCs are many times in excess of the inflation-adjusted rise in wages since 2000. This reflects both the skew towards capital and monopolistic power. Next wage share of the GDP is extremely low at 41% compared to an average of 60% among the advanced economies. Again this shows the huge skew towards corporate profits at the expense of wages.
Noble laureate economist Paul Krugman’s recent article “Knowledge isn’t Power” is right on the spot. Education and training are of utmost importance but falters if power are vested too much in corporations, business owners and shareholders. For wages to rise, there has to be a re-balance between the needs of capital and the needs of labour – a sweet spot. Not easy to find but the too cozy relationship between government and business works against re-balancing and it is all about political power – the exercise of it by the govt and the influence of it by business. At root there are certain business and GDP growth not worth having.
Chris K
