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Wage proposal by ex-NWC chief poses future risks: Lim Swee Say
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 13 April 2012 2027 hrs
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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195039/1/.html
SINGAPORE: The labour movement has weighed in on ex-NWC chief Professor Lim Chong Yah's radical wage restructuring suggestion, saying that it poses risks in the future.
Professor Lim said that those earning below S$1,500 a month should have their pay increased by 50 per cent over the next three years. He also said wages for those earning S$15,000 or more a month should be frozen for the same period.
This proposal aims to drive wages up, which will then force companies to raise their productivity while closing the wage gap between the poor and the rich.
However, labour chief Lim Swee Say said that if productivity does not lead to a corresponding increase, competitiveness would be lost which may cause some businesses to close down or re-locate out of Singapore.
This in turn would lead to a higher unemployment rate and structural unemployment.
As such, Mr Lim stressed that the labour movement's current productivity-driven approach is more sustainable.
But it does not come without its challenges. Thus, the focus is to have greater alignment among the government, employers, employees and unions.
He cited schemes such as the Workfare Income Supplement which provides immediate relief and helps to speed up training and work-design and the Workfare Training Support Scheme aimed at speeding up this process.
Mr Lim said: "The right thing for us to do now is to find a way to strengthen our alignment, to speed up the process of skills upgrading, speed up the process of productivity enhancement and speed up the process of innovation because that's the real solution that I believe will bring us from where we are today to 2020.
"Hopefully by then, our economy will still be able to grow in a sustainable and healthy manner, and more importantly, that there will be more better jobs, better pay, better prospects for Singaporeans."
However, he admits that companies will continue to face a manpower shortage in the next five to ten years. And to tackle this, he hopes companies will focus on optimising the use and deployment of their workers instead of relying on foreign manpower.
-CNA/ac
By Vimita Mohandas | Posted: 13 April 2012 2027 hrs
<a href="http://s1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb440/zeddy9/?action=view&current=cna_interactivemedia-1.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb440/zeddy9/cna_interactivemedia-1.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195039/1/.html
SINGAPORE: The labour movement has weighed in on ex-NWC chief Professor Lim Chong Yah's radical wage restructuring suggestion, saying that it poses risks in the future.
Professor Lim said that those earning below S$1,500 a month should have their pay increased by 50 per cent over the next three years. He also said wages for those earning S$15,000 or more a month should be frozen for the same period.
This proposal aims to drive wages up, which will then force companies to raise their productivity while closing the wage gap between the poor and the rich.
However, labour chief Lim Swee Say said that if productivity does not lead to a corresponding increase, competitiveness would be lost which may cause some businesses to close down or re-locate out of Singapore.
This in turn would lead to a higher unemployment rate and structural unemployment.
As such, Mr Lim stressed that the labour movement's current productivity-driven approach is more sustainable.
But it does not come without its challenges. Thus, the focus is to have greater alignment among the government, employers, employees and unions.
He cited schemes such as the Workfare Income Supplement which provides immediate relief and helps to speed up training and work-design and the Workfare Training Support Scheme aimed at speeding up this process.
Mr Lim said: "The right thing for us to do now is to find a way to strengthen our alignment, to speed up the process of skills upgrading, speed up the process of productivity enhancement and speed up the process of innovation because that's the real solution that I believe will bring us from where we are today to 2020.
"Hopefully by then, our economy will still be able to grow in a sustainable and healthy manner, and more importantly, that there will be more better jobs, better pay, better prospects for Singaporeans."
However, he admits that companies will continue to face a manpower shortage in the next five to ten years. And to tackle this, he hopes companies will focus on optimising the use and deployment of their workers instead of relying on foreign manpower.
-CNA/ac
..hosay liao my english got improvement 
:*: :oIo:
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