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Companies may use CPF changes to offset salary increase
May 4th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
The recent announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the May Day Rally that the employers’ CPF contributions will be increased by one percent may serve the PAP’s purpose by “sweetening” the ground ahead of the next general election, but may end up short-changing Singapore workers after all.
There are some concerns from the ground that companies may use it to offset any salary increase.
Lawrence Leow, president, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, told Channel News Asia:
“We cannot rule out the possibility of employers building this one per cent into the wage increase. So that effectively there’s no impact on them.”
Singaporeans were implored by PAP leaders to accept pay cuts last year to help struggling companies tide over the recession, but when they are not restored this year when the economy has improved.
Despite repeated exhortations by PAP MPs and labor leaders to employers to increase the salaries of Singapore workers, few have done so.
NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say has been making a lot of “noises” lately which have appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.
There are no independent trade unions in Singapore to represent and fight for the interests of Singapore workers. All of them are under the umbrella of NTUC which is always led by a PAP minister.
Repressive laws are put in place to curtail the civil and political rights of Singaporeans. As such, Singapore workers are forever at the losing end.
There is a Chinese saying – “官商勾结”, meaning the officials and businessmen are in cahoots with each other. In Singapore, it is “官商一家” - the officials and businessmen are one family.
For Singaporeans who are still celebrating the one percent increase in their employers’ CPF contributions, they may end up having no wage increase at the end of the year to “compensate” for it.
May 4th, 2010 | Author: Your Correspondent
The recent announcement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the May Day Rally that the employers’ CPF contributions will be increased by one percent may serve the PAP’s purpose by “sweetening” the ground ahead of the next general election, but may end up short-changing Singapore workers after all.
There are some concerns from the ground that companies may use it to offset any salary increase.
Lawrence Leow, president, Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, told Channel News Asia:
“We cannot rule out the possibility of employers building this one per cent into the wage increase. So that effectively there’s no impact on them.”
Singaporeans were implored by PAP leaders to accept pay cuts last year to help struggling companies tide over the recession, but when they are not restored this year when the economy has improved.
Despite repeated exhortations by PAP MPs and labor leaders to employers to increase the salaries of Singapore workers, few have done so.
NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say has been making a lot of “noises” lately which have appeared to have fallen on deaf ears.
There are no independent trade unions in Singapore to represent and fight for the interests of Singapore workers. All of them are under the umbrella of NTUC which is always led by a PAP minister.
Repressive laws are put in place to curtail the civil and political rights of Singaporeans. As such, Singapore workers are forever at the losing end.
There is a Chinese saying – “官商勾结”, meaning the officials and businessmen are in cahoots with each other. In Singapore, it is “官商一家” - the officials and businessmen are one family.
For Singaporeans who are still celebrating the one percent increase in their employers’ CPF contributions, they may end up having no wage increase at the end of the year to “compensate” for it.