Be it employment for locals or foreigners.
In fact, there is some sorta minimum wage for foreigners:
Minimum wage would help to level the employment landscape which is currently tilted in favour of low cost foreign workers but what about our local Singaporeans?
Do you know that there are 600,000 residents who earn less than $1,500 a monthly 400,000 below $1,200 and more than 200,000 below $1,000?
Singapore has also became the first in the world, breaking yet another record of having the longest work hours per week in the world?
Is Singapore working hours really at 44 hours a week is another question.
I have many cases right now where people are working more than 50 hours per week but is the MOM doing anything about it?
Or is the government allowing the exploitation of workers?
And this is in both private and public sector.
Does working long hours equate to Swiss standard of living?
Does working long hours promote family relationship and increase birth rate?
Singapore is ranked as the top ten expensive country to live in.
If companies cannot even afford to pay decent wages to an employee, are the bills for housing, transportation, food, healthcare, childcare, education and other daily necessities take care of themselves?
You expect the PAP government to take care of you?
Come on, this is not a welfare state and they’ll start telling you how bad welfare state is.
Ask yourself, are people in the Nordic countries leading a better life than you are?
Are the countries with welfare state collapsing or those under dictators?
Perhaps a company that cannot afford to pay the minimum wage should not operate within it?
Now we wonder how much of the Productivity and Innovation Credit actually went to help locals SMEs that are not related to the government?
Sounds like some kinda right hand to left hand now?
Minimum wage can help to prevent employers from turning the workplace into a sweatshop full of underpaid workers by punishing them with fines and prison time if they break the minimum wage law.
Don’t you think Singaporeans have overworked to afford basic life’s necessities and are working beyond the standard work week yet the government is not doing anything?
Singapore claim to be first world but we don’t even have minimum wage for all our workers?
Ask yourself if you wanna continue voting for people who rejects minimum wage?
They have million dollar ministerial salary yet you don’t even have your minimum wage, is this the kinda country you wanna live in?
Do you wanna be government by such people?
Han Hui Hui
*The writer blogs at http://huihui247.blogspot.sg/