NTUC Foodfare reportedly hikes dishwashing fees by hefty 40% after taking over Old Airport Road hawker centre

[covertbriar]

The uproar over the shocking costs hawkers are forced to contend with at the new Social Enterprise Hawker Centres continues unabated, with hawkers at the Old Airport Road hawker centre claiming that dishwashing fees have climbed by a hefty 40 per cent since labour movement-linked NTUC Foodfare took over the historic food centre.​

The National Environment Agency (NEA) – a Government statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources – used to oversee the licensing, management, and regulation of hawkers at all Government-run hawker centres until recently, when the Government allowed social enterprises to take over certain hawker centres.

Since the Government began allowing social enterprises to run hawker centres, multiple reports of these social enterprises charging hawkers exorbitant fees have emerged, sparking worries that these costs that overtly tax hawkers will be passed to consumers and eventually kill Singapore’s hawker culture.
Today, 13 out of 114 hawker centres across Singapore are managed by five social enterprises: NTUC Foodfare, Fei Siong Food Management, NTUC Foodfare, Timbre Group, OTHM and Hawker Management.

OTHM is a subsidiary of Kopitiam – which is set to be sold to NTUC Enterprise by the end of this year – while Hawker Management is a subsidiary of grassroots leader-founded Koufu.

More at NTUC Foodfare reportedly hikes dishwashing fees by hefty 40% after taking over Old Airport Road hawker centre

 

[Leckmichamarsch]

hawkers are new cash COWS...............moo

 

[halsey02]

The cleanliness of the wash dishes had gone up 140%..they will tell you. The food centre managed & owned by the govt, the cleaning own by the government, the water & electricity ( directly or indirectly) owned by the government...the bin centre, the car parks the....

You are owned by the government....you voted for them...just shut up & enjoy!

 

[bobby]

$3,000 salary on offer but still no takers for dishwashing jobs

THE job pays a monthly salary of $3,000 but those who take up dishwashing quit soon after they discover how tough it can be.

This is the observation of Sakae Sushi chief Douglas Foo, who said his restaurant chain's advertisement on social-networking site Facebook for dishwashers, with the pay highlighted, is not a marketing gimmick.

The company has about 30 dishwashers who earn this sum. They work nine hours a day, six days a week. Their monthly wage is what Sakae Sushi also pays managers and supervisors.

Although they are given medical benefits and annual leave, Mr Foo admits that there is little chance of promotion for dishwashers, as each outlet requires only one or two such staff.

"Yes, the salary is high but look, it's a tough job. You stand on your feet, work weekends and it's dirty and wet. Our crew earn less but they get a chance to move up or move out. Most dishwashers don't," he noted.

Mr Foo said he is looking for Singaporeans and permanent residents. "If we can hire a local guy, why not? I'd rather we do this than rely on a foreigner."

At $3,000 a month, dishwashers at Sakae Sushi - who first wash dishes by hand before stacking them into mechanical washers - earn about three times what their counterparts elsewhere get.

The median monthly pay for dishwashers, according to the Manpower Ministry, is $930.

Assistant director of human resources for foodcourt operator Kopitiam, Ms Gina Chua, said a combination of factors make it difficult to hire dishwashers. They include the nature of the work, reactions from the job seeker's families and stiff competition among food outlets for staff.

She added that Kopitiam also faces a dishwasher shortage even though it has tie-ups with agencies like community development councils to publicise openings.

It offers dishwashers a monthly wage of about $1,200.

"We even arranged a shuttle bus to take those interested to work for us, from their neighbourhood to our outlets to have a look at what's in store for them. But in the end, there was no need for the bus because there were so few people," she said.

Other companies are also dangling higher pay to hire staff.

Singapore Business Federation chief operating officer Victor Tay cited the example of a logistics firm which paid drivers $4,800 a month to operate large lorries that transport raw materials to warehouses. But it too faced difficulties in hiring.

Crane operators can earn a monthly salary of about $4,000 with overtime, and this can go up to $6,500 as they gain experience.