This is arguably the most influential person in the private and public sector in Singapore from 1978 to date. Stephen Lee Ching Yen has outpaced every cabinet minister that had responbilities covering employees, employers, manpower, CPF, wages, industrial relations and he has also outpaced every NTUC chief who have held or are holding cabinet rank.
This single individual since 1990 is considered more influential than any cabinet minister. So how did a young Taiwanese who followed his father to Singapore to setup a textile factory end up in such a position where every Singaporean wages, employment contract, employment tenure etc has been impacted.
We all know the role played by Dutch economist Albert Winsemius in Singapore's formative years but in later years it has to be Stephen Lee that has influenced the economy more than anyone. To his credit he fulfilled his role in representing the major and influential employers both expat and local admirably.
So how did the holy trinity of the Govt, the employee rep and the employer rep end up causing Singaporeans to lose their jobs in mid career, real wages to stagnate, little or no measurable framework to protect employees, no minimum wages etc. Did we forget that his primary role is to represent employers?
I have not even touched on his influence on GLCs.
This single individual since 1990 is considered more influential than any cabinet minister. So how did a young Taiwanese who followed his father to Singapore to setup a textile factory end up in such a position where every Singaporean wages, employment contract, employment tenure etc has been impacted.
We all know the role played by Dutch economist Albert Winsemius in Singapore's formative years but in later years it has to be Stephen Lee that has influenced the economy more than anyone. To his credit he fulfilled his role in representing the major and influential employers both expat and local admirably.
So how did the holy trinity of the Govt, the employee rep and the employer rep end up causing Singaporeans to lose their jobs in mid career, real wages to stagnate, little or no measurable framework to protect employees, no minimum wages etc. Did we forget that his primary role is to represent employers?
I have not even touched on his influence on GLCs.
