3 articles in 1 day on new focus on skills upgrading?
We refer to the articles “New SkillsFuture Council to ensure workers are equipped with right skills“, “Firms, unions and Govt to identify key skills workers need for new economy” and ”WDA programmes to give more job and training guidance for workers” (Straits Times, Sep 18).
New SkillsFuture Council to focus on poly and ITE?
The former states that “a new tripartite committee which will work with schools, unions, firms to ensure that Singapore workers have the skills wanted by employers.
The SkillsFuture Council will be in charge of implementing new plans by the authorities to train workers better and improve the career prospects of polytechnic and technical institute’s students”
Best indicator is pay increase?
- Arguably, perhaps the best indicator as to how well our consistent rhetoric for more than a decade now – asking Singaporeans to upgrade their skills continuously - is working, may be the pay of polytechnic and ITE graduates – who are now the new focus (degree not important).
In this regard, the median basic wage of associate professionals and technicians was $2,210 in 1999, and $2,908 in 2013.
This is a nominal increase of 31.6% or 2.0% per annum.
As inflation was 34.0% or 2.1% per annum from 1999 (CPI 86.4) to 2013 (CPI 115.8) – the real basic median wage was negative, at -2.4% or about – 0.17% per annum.
Real pay increase negative last 14 years?
So, the real wage increase for the last 14 years was negative. Isn’t this really pathetic!
Work longer hours?
In this connection, if you look at the recent report (“Majority of Singapore’s professionals working excessive hours: Survey“, Channel NewsAsia, Sep 17) – on top of not having any real pay increase in 14 years – they may be working much longer hours too.
Foreign labour is the main problem?
Arguably, another good indicator may be jobs. In our opinion, we may need to acknowledge the impact of our liberal foreign labour policies as illustrated by the dismal job creation statistics below.
We created an estimated 349,000 and 774,900 jobs to locals and foreign workers respectively, from 2007 to June 2014.
New PRs and new citizens?
How many of the 349,000 jobs to locals went to true-blue Singaporeans, in the light that we granted an estimated 479,434 new PRs (333,901) and new citizens (145,533) during the same 7.5 years or so?
S Y Lee and Leong Sze Hian
P.S. Come with your family and friends to the 4th Return Our CPF protest on 27 September 4 pm at Speakers’ Corner https://www.facebook.com/events/516436478486589/