I refer to the article “New licensing scheme for cleaning companies from September” (Straits Times, Jan 8).
Oh no – not another scheme to increase cleaners’ pay?
It states that “The Government will introduce a new law in Parliament this month where cleaning firms that do not comply with the minimum wages in the cleaning sector will be punished, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday.
$1,000 by legislation?
Once passed and implemented, the new law will ensure that cleaners earn at least $1,000 a month, while supervisors can earn at least $1,600. Some 55,000 cleaners whose median basic monthly pay is $820 now stand to gain from the move.”
Not “minimum wage”?
After so many schemes like the progressive wage concept, cleaning firms’ accredition scheme for Government contracts, PAP town councils’ cleaners’ minimum $1,000 wage, etc – it would appear now that the Government has finally “thrown in the towel” – to effectively legislate a minimum wage, even though we still refuse to call it a minimum wage.
Security guards too only?
As to “Besides the cleaning sector, the Government will also implement a similar licensing scheme to the security sector. These moves are targeted approaches to use industry licensing schemes to raise wages in low wage sectors and it is not a national minimum wage, said Mr Tharman”
What about the other workers?
- Since the legislation will only apply to cleaners and security guards – what about the rest of the full-time resident workers who are not in these 2 occupations? There are 114,000 ”below $1,000″ workers.
What about part-time workers?
What about the cleaners and security guards who work part-time? At the end of the day, we should not kid ourselves that piecemeal measures will solve the problem of so many workers earning so little.
So many earn so little?
If we include self-employed persons, I estimate that there may be as many as 600,000 residents earning below $1,500.
Labour MPs – the more the merrier?
And arguably, why are we in this pathetic state of affairs? – could it be due to some extent to our having so many labour MPs in Parliament? (“Four PAP MPs to join NTUC’s top leadership” (Straits Times, Jan 8)?
By the way, are there any other countries in the world that have so many current and ex labour MPs in Parliament?
Leong Sze Hian
*Leong is the Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, an alumnus of Harvard University, has authored 4 books, quoted over 1500 times in the media , has been host of a money radio show, a daily newspaper column, Wharton Fellow, SEACeM Fellow, columnist for Malaysiakini, executive producer of the movie Ilo Ilo (24 international awards). He has served as Honorary Consul of Jamaica and founding advisor to the Financial Planning Associations of Brunei and Indonesia. He has 3 Masters, 2 Bachelors and 13 professional qualifications.