Policy watch: Free flow of cheap labor

[SgParent]

http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/11/08/does-sg-have-secret-deals-with-other-countries-to-import-fts/
Does SG have secret deals with other countries to import FTs?
November 8th, 2012 | Author: Contributions

Dear Readers,

I often hear India engineers colleagues say they have the Personalised Employment Passs, and the young foreign recruits having PR (so fast after graduation from NUS?), Caucasian colleagues having E-Pass, and my foremen, electricians and drivers having S-pass.

My Singaporean colleagues make up only 15% of the company workforce.

The PR India engineers stays in Spore, bought resale HDB, rent it out at $2,000/mth, and bought a Condo. They travel daily to Batam, while their wife collect rents and have allowances from company to support their mortgage for the Condo. Their children go to International schools (paid by company), they drive cars (now you know why the roads are congested, COE high?) and the Indian Hiring Mgr will hire Indian nationals over Singaporeans.

All these while, they are issued with PR, EP, SP and PEP (earn $34,000 annually salary)? Now I know why all my Singaporean engineers earning $5,000/mth ($60,000 annually) were terminated from their jobs.

The govt likes to say that if we prevent FT from working here, companies will close down. It is not substantiated, and no research on this. But my experience tells me that these companies will move with the times, and hire more Singaporeans once they have a quota to meet. This is the same in other countries where hiring local content is mandatory, or show cause. Or is the govt have a secret bilateral deal with these countries?

.

Secret Deals With Countries

 

[SgParent]

http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/11/09/a-man-with-resources-what-a-joke/
A Man with resources? what a joke!
November 9th, 2012 | Author: Contributions

...

Does this guy seriously know what 3rd world countries are like?

I bet he doesn’t. ..

.
PAP’s Foreign talents



I thought this guy is already in Singapore? So he should know what a 3rd world country is like what

And that's why he find home here and fits right in

 

[SgParent]

http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/11/1...except-the-main-thing-truly-helping-sporeans/
Govt focuses on everything except truly helping S’poreans
November 11th, 2012 | Author: Contributions

Leong Sze Hian

I refer to the article “NTUC wants Employment Act to cover PMEs, more workers” (Straits Times, Nov 9).

It states that “NTUC wants at least half of Singapore’s 630,000 resident professionals, managers and executives to be covered. Currently, managers and executives are only covered in that they can go to the Labour Court for salary claims – and only if they earn $4,500 or less”.

Greatest concern of PMETs?

The main concern of PMETs and arguably their greatest problem, may be the fear of losing their jobs to foreigners (“Premium Employment Pass: Was only $34,000?”, Nov 7).

Why? Because foreigners who may be more qualified, skilled and experienced, may be willing to work for much lower pay.

Focusing on the main problem?

So, shouldn’t the labour movement be focusing on this issue?

We seem to be focusing on perhaps everything else, rather than the main issue.

So what if more PMETs are included in the Employment Act, when the Act does not protect them from losing their jobs, because employers can simply give the typical one month’s notice, or if PMETs can’t even get a job in the first place (“What the unemployment rate ‘really’ means to Singaporeans?”, Oct 31).

I am not saying that it is not an improvement to include more PMETs in the Employment Act, but rather that we should not ignore the main problem for PMETs or the poor protection afforded by the legislation.

Another example of not focusing on the main problem?

Another example like the above of what I call “not focusing on the main problem and desired outcome” issue, is perhaps highlighted in the article “Town councils are feeling the labour crunch” (Today, Nov 9),

It states that “Cuts to the foreign worker quota, and a resulting move to attract more Singaporeans to jobs once left to them, have resulted in some town councils shouldering a heftier cleaning bill, while at least one has had to ask for residents’ understanding for less-than-sparkling surroundings”.

The problem started with the very low pay of cleaners.

So, the solution was to cut back on foreign cleaners, the National Environment Agency (NEA) increasing hawkers’ cleaning fees to train cleaners and raise standards, NTUC’s Progressive Wage Concept (“Minimum wage vs Progressive wage concept?“, Oct 27), Minister in PMO Grace Fu’s “So, say, previously, 4 cleaning workers, 2 locals and 2 foreigners with each earning $1,000 per month, were needed to clean a hawker centre everyday. Through mechanization and improvement in the cleaning process, only 2 cleaning workers, say, are needed now to clean the hawker centre everyday, but still able to achieve the same level of cleanliness.

Then in theory, the cleaning company can let go of the 2 foreign workers and retain the 2 locals, even paying them a salary of $2,000 per month now. The cleaning company still makes the same amount of profit as before, the customer is happy that cleanliness is not compromised and the workers are ecstatic with their salaries doubled. Everyone is happy. That, of course, is in theory” (“Grace Fu: Workers’salaries to increase in tandem with productivity gains”, Oct 28), and now town councils’ increased cleaning fees and shortage of cleaners, etc.

We need numbers, not more talk?

But, what’s missing from all of the above and almost weekly media reports about cleaners, is that nobody seems to be focusing on the original problem – cleaners’ low pay and the desired outcome of higher pay (“Cleaners’ pay: NATO?, Oct 20).

Why are there no statistics as to how many cleaners have had their real pay increased by how much, despite all the recent measures, schemes, initiatives, etc?

.

Leong Sze Hian

Leong Sze Hian is the Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, an alumnus of Harvard University, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow and an author of 4 books. He is frequently quoted in the media. He has also been invited to speak more than 100 times in 25 countries on 5 continents. He has served as Honorary Consul of Jamaica, Chairman of the Institute of Administrative Management, and founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors degrees and 13 professional qualifications. He blogs at http://www.leongszehian.com.

 

[SgParent]

PRC bus drivers acknowledge citizenship has privileges
http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2012/11/prc-bus-drivers-acknowledge-citizenship.html

>
...
One interesting point raised by the PRC drivers is that they don’t mind being paid less than Sinkies, an acknowledgement that this is Sinkie country. And this point is relevant. Citizenship has its advantages. Otherwise might as well throw the piece of paper into the dustbin or flush it down the loo.
<



I dunno want to laugh or cry at that comment.

With zero protection of true pink Singaporeans, the White Scums and their lackeys could and in fact have been importing cheaperest foreigners and the writer is still self congratulating to the hollow victory?

 

[SgParent]

Time for govt to show leadership, or admit its incompetence
http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7866

>
...

We have the government exhorting Singaporeans not to be xenophobic, but on the other hand, we have a GLC practicing wage discrimination along nationalistic lines in the most blatant fashion. This is sheer hypocrisy.

As it is, bus drivers employed in Singapore already rank lowest among developed countries in terms of pay. Hence, this episode illustrates perfectly well that the huge influx of foreigners is all about giving corporations and GLCs a gold mine of cheap labour at the expense of the livelihoods of Singaporeans.
<

 

[SgParent]

http://singaporedesk.blogspot.sg/2012/11/strike-two.html
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Strike Two
It's official. For the second day running, the strike is on. After SMRT's packet of lies (the strikers on Monday numbered 171, not 102), 88 drivers from China stood their ground for their right of protest.

While the ex-army officer (Desmond Kuek was the 6th Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces) they hired to run SMRT is taking cover in his bunker, another ex-general tried to explain why it took him so long to understand the meaning of the word "strike". He probably had to ask permission from the boss first. "Sir! Permission to think, Sir!"

Brigadier General and Acting Minister of Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin said it took a whole day for the Government to call the protest a strike because, "The labelling of industrial such as this is not trivial.. it would then open up a series of actions that would follow thereafter." Right, a post on the Tianya forum reminded the military men that China successfully landed a jet on their new aircraft carrier Liaoning, "That is why we need to build more aircraft carriers and send them to Singapore's footsteps." But what must really get Tan's knickers in a twist was the Chinese Embassy calling on his Ministry of Manpower to safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese workers according to local laws. (China News Service (CNS) said the embassy was monitoring the situation closely and had sent officials to take part in the mediation).

Rights and interests of workers that even Singaporeans are not aware of. Like, strikes are legal if rules are followed as stipulated in the Trade Unions Act and Trade Disputes Act. Workers can go on strike, but they must follow rules such as giving their employer 14 days of notice. Rules which are rubbished for "essential services such as transport and postal services" by the tougher provisions of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act. We know what happened in 2002 when Singapore Airlines pilots planned their strike. Brass knuckles were brought out in a hurry.

Ignoring the query that SMRT management may have fallen short - them generals sure know how to cover each other's backside - Tan still refused to call a spade a spade, saying it would be "inappropriate at this stage for us to make any definitive proclamations(sic) either way." So when would be an appropriate time, when the strike force from Liaoning is on the way?

 

[SgParent]

Daft, silent 60%.

Instead of complaining about the dumping of cheaperest labor from China, they do this?



http://sg.news.yahoo.com/s-poreans-protest-recent-labour-action-by-chinese-workers-065011120.html
S'poreans protest recent labour action by Chinese workers