Dr Vincent Wijeysingha calls for minimum wage and
unemployment benefits at SDP pre-election rally
September 26th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
Dr Vincent Wijeysingha
New Singapore Democratic Party member Dr Vincent Wijeysingha has called for the implementation of a minimum wage for low income Singaporeans and unemployment benefits for those laid off during the SDP pre-election rally at Hong Lim Park yesterday.
Dr Vincent graduated with a PhD in Sociological Studies from the prestigious University of Sheffield in England. His doctoral thesis was on “Political Economy of State Social Policies in Singapore” (2001). He is the son of Eugene Wijeysingha, the respected and long-serving former headmaster of Raffles Institution and currently works as an executive director of a local NGO.
Speaking from his personal experience in England, Dr Vincent debunked the PAP argument against the minimum wage that it will drive up cost of living and lead to increased unemployment.
Dr Vincent said the United Kingdom set up a “Low Pay Commission” to study the minimum wage in 1998 and introduced it two years later. In 2006, a comprehensive study done by Professor (industrial relations) David Metcalf on the effect of minimum wage on jobs revealed that:
(a) it did not have an impact on the aggregate rise in jobs;
(b) the number of low-paying jobs did not decline; and
(c) there were no differences in jobs in those parts of the country which had more lower-paid jobs that those that had more higher-paying jobs.
More than 90 percent of the countries in the world have some form of minimum wage structure with Hong Kong being the latest.
Dr Vincent proposed setting the initial minimum wage at $6.80 per hour so that Singapore workers can earn a decent living without having to take up two or more jobs just to make ends meet which will translate to higher labor productivity.
He also presented the idea of giving unemployment benefits to those laid off from their jobs to help them tide over the difficult period which will cost the state no more than $1 billion dollars.
Unemployed citizens will be given 75 percent of their last drawn pay for the first six months of their unemployment followed by 50 percent for the next six months and finally 25 percent for the last six months. They are required to accept one of the first three job offers that come their way.
With more educated professionals like Dr Vincent joining the ranks of the opposition, the PAP will be in for a really tough fight in the next general election.
View more than 30 photos of the SDP pre-election rally at our Facebook album here.
Pamela Tang, Citizen Journalist
unemployment benefits at SDP pre-election rally
September 26th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
Dr Vincent Wijeysingha
New Singapore Democratic Party member Dr Vincent Wijeysingha has called for the implementation of a minimum wage for low income Singaporeans and unemployment benefits for those laid off during the SDP pre-election rally at Hong Lim Park yesterday.
Dr Vincent graduated with a PhD in Sociological Studies from the prestigious University of Sheffield in England. His doctoral thesis was on “Political Economy of State Social Policies in Singapore” (2001). He is the son of Eugene Wijeysingha, the respected and long-serving former headmaster of Raffles Institution and currently works as an executive director of a local NGO.
Speaking from his personal experience in England, Dr Vincent debunked the PAP argument against the minimum wage that it will drive up cost of living and lead to increased unemployment.
Dr Vincent said the United Kingdom set up a “Low Pay Commission” to study the minimum wage in 1998 and introduced it two years later. In 2006, a comprehensive study done by Professor (industrial relations) David Metcalf on the effect of minimum wage on jobs revealed that:
(a) it did not have an impact on the aggregate rise in jobs;
(b) the number of low-paying jobs did not decline; and
(c) there were no differences in jobs in those parts of the country which had more lower-paid jobs that those that had more higher-paying jobs.
More than 90 percent of the countries in the world have some form of minimum wage structure with Hong Kong being the latest.
Dr Vincent proposed setting the initial minimum wage at $6.80 per hour so that Singapore workers can earn a decent living without having to take up two or more jobs just to make ends meet which will translate to higher labor productivity.
He also presented the idea of giving unemployment benefits to those laid off from their jobs to help them tide over the difficult period which will cost the state no more than $1 billion dollars.
Unemployed citizens will be given 75 percent of their last drawn pay for the first six months of their unemployment followed by 50 percent for the next six months and finally 25 percent for the last six months. They are required to accept one of the first three job offers that come their way.
With more educated professionals like Dr Vincent joining the ranks of the opposition, the PAP will be in for a really tough fight in the next general election.
View more than 30 photos of the SDP pre-election rally at our Facebook album here.
Pamela Tang, Citizen Journalist
