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[h=1]http://wikitemasek.org/singapore-elderly-poor/[/h]
[h=1]Singapore elderly poor
[/h]
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:
video
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.
Edited 10/28/2012 6:38 am ET by WikiTemasek[/TD]
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[h=1]http://wikitemasek.org/singapore-elderly-poor/[/h]
[h=1]Singapore elderly poor
[/h]
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:
video
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.
Edited 10/28/2012 6:38 am ET by WikiTemasek[/TD]
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