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http://wikitemasek.org/singapore-elderly-poor/
Singapore elderly poor
Singapore has been seeing record GDP over the past decade, but that has not translated into a better standard of living for its people. The elderly are particularly one such group who have been left out and forgotten by the progress. While the Singapore PAP government woos the super-rich, the super-poor are left to fend for themselves. Unlike the other countries, there is little social safety net for the island state which prides itself as a Meritocratic country. One such example is Mr Wang, a 50 year old cleaner working in Bugis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BwJQa46SDf8
Most elderly in Singapore works in low end jobs which faces fierce competition from cheap foreign labor. The PAP government has given Singapore’s businesses an ample supply of cheap foreign labor, which have in turn depressed salaries over the past decade. Singapore’s rich-poor income gap has continued to grow, fast surpassing that of any developed countries like the United States and Russia. This has prompted the former National Wages Council Chairman, Professor Lim Chong Yah, to urge for a wage shock therapy and a first ever hourly Minimum Wage of $5.68 for Singapore’s low income workers. The PAP government however do not believe in a Minimum Wage, and prefer Workfare, an one-off cash payout for the workers.
Singapore elderly poor
Singapore has been seeing record GDP over the past decade, but that has not translated into a better standard of living for its people. The elderly are particularly one such group who have been left out and forgotten by the progress. While the Singapore PAP government woos the super-rich, the super-poor are left to fend for themselves. Unlike the other countries, there is little social safety net for the island state which prides itself as a Meritocratic country. One such example is Mr Wang, a 50 year old cleaner working in Bugis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BwJQa46SDf8
Most elderly in Singapore works in low end jobs which faces fierce competition from cheap foreign labor. The PAP government has given Singapore’s businesses an ample supply of cheap foreign labor, which have in turn depressed salaries over the past decade. Singapore’s rich-poor income gap has continued to grow, fast surpassing that of any developed countries like the United States and Russia. This has prompted the former National Wages Council Chairman, Professor Lim Chong Yah, to urge for a wage shock therapy and a first ever hourly Minimum Wage of $5.68 for Singapore’s low income workers. The PAP government however do not believe in a Minimum Wage, and prefer Workfare, an one-off cash payout for the workers.
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