- Joined
- Oct 26, 2008
- Messages
- 5,213
- Points
- 63
MS JOANN LOH: 'It is amazing to read about zhi char (cooked food) stall operators claiming that they cannot find Singaporeans to work as cooks when more than 16,000 citizens are jobless now.
The reason is not unwillingness on their part, but unreasonable job conditions. Who wants to work for 10 hours a day for 13 days out of every fortnight, even if the pay is a respectable $3,000 to $4,000 monthly?
My sense is that some Singaporean employers offer Third World working conditions to discourage citizens from filling the vacancies so that they can hire foreigners instead. We often hear Singapore being touted as world class, but here is a sobering reminder.
A cleaner I met in 1995 was paid $900 a month then. The pay has not risen since, but working hours have - from nine hours daily then to 12 hours now. And what was the cost of living then - and now?'
The reason is not unwillingness on their part, but unreasonable job conditions. Who wants to work for 10 hours a day for 13 days out of every fortnight, even if the pay is a respectable $3,000 to $4,000 monthly?
My sense is that some Singaporean employers offer Third World working conditions to discourage citizens from filling the vacancies so that they can hire foreigners instead. We often hear Singapore being touted as world class, but here is a sobering reminder.
A cleaner I met in 1995 was paid $900 a month then. The pay has not risen since, but working hours have - from nine hours daily then to 12 hours now. And what was the cost of living then - and now?'