Skip to main content

EMPLOYMENT Ministry for low income workers and quality jobs for locals?


Cabinet changes, new and more ministries, how about creating one more ministry or renaming the Manpower Ministry to Ministry of Manpower and Employment.    If the government is serious about improving the life quality of Singaporeans, it is important to provide quality jobs to local PMETs and ensure above poverty line income for the low income workers.

Why employment? Why employment for Singaporeans is more important than manpower planning of foreign labour? And employment is more important than collecting CPF if there is no employment there is no CPF?

Families need to have employment income for Social and Family Development.  Poverty families with continued low income will find difficult to appreciate Culture, Community and Youth. Low income families will find Communications and Information hard to understand and digest.

As we are a capitalist society, employment means money and income.  It is important to have a good job and a reasonable income to fight poverty rather than creating new ministry or changing ministry names.  When a family has a stable employment income, it will distribute the money and engage the activities of the 3 ministries.   

Since the government is not willing to provide safety net and social welfare to Singaporeans, it is important it provides good quality jobs and regulate the low income job market to ensure compensation are paid above the poverty level.  More good jobs created and more income for low income families, less activity and administration will be required for the 3 ministries.  

Is it because the government is not able to create quality jobs and ensure minimum income for low wage workers, and then they have to think of creating and re-structuring the 3 ministries?     

The past and even current pay structure for low income workers is not helping them to fight the vicious circle.  As explained by Professor Lim Chong Yah, the real income to low wage workers has not increased for many years. These workers will not have a chance to come out of the poverty. The change from 2 to 3 ministries will not help low income families much if the bread earners continue to earn low wages.  In paper and administration, you can create more assistance; however, this is not teaching low income workers how to fish, rather it is providing them a broken hope of safety nets.

NTUC supposes to help workers, especially low income workers.  It is now more interested to make money and goes into businesses.  Even for training of workers, it has become an enterprise for NTUC.  Skill Developments Fund is a cash cow in the form of training grants. No wonder NTUC forgets its duty is to improve the life of workers.  Low income workers will continue to have low wages and they have not received assistance from NTUC either. The proposed Employment Minister will have to look into this matter.  

The economic re-structure will result to mismatch of employment opportunities, more short-term or contract jobs, more difficult to find a job offering same or higher salary for PMETs if they leave the current jobs.
Manpower planning is easy.   For locals just send them for re-training, re-skilling, or retirement. For foreigners, just send them back to their home countries.  Is it really that simple?

Perhaps, this is the job of Manpower Ministry but not Employment Ministry. Employment Ministry is to ensure low income workers have their fair share and not receiving a wage that will keep them in the poverty circle. Employment also means quality jobs are created for locals and fair treatment for locals, disadvantaged, and women with children.

If really there is a change of government priority, even though our unemployment rate is low, the mind-set has to change from just simple manpower supply and demand to creating quality employment and fair compensation for low income workers. 

So far, the cabinet changes and the 2 to 3 ministries have no indication of such a change of mind-set and thinking.  Maybe creating quality job for locals and paying fair compensation to fight poverty is still not the priority for the PAP government.

Anyway, with the promotion and new ministries, they have created good and quality jobs for themselves. We now wait and see how they create quality jobs for local PMETs and ensure fair compensation for low income workers.
   
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sub-standard PAP and the Singapore education system

I make a 'policy shift' when I hear the debate of right politics, constructive politics and sub-standard opposition. My original aim is to discuss about “Su Dongbo, Zhang Juzheng and Singapore education system”. The discussion will end with a sub-standard PAP, in particular from the assessment of the quality of PAP potential candidates. Another policy shift is to discuss it like a play, a drama and make it more entertainment rather than a sub-standard political discussion. Act 1 Gangster’s demand Imagine a sense in the Hong Kong's gangster movie (or a godfather movie), the gangsters' master is shouting at his poor opponent and demand him to give a price for his wrong act. The poor guy without any resources can only offer his body or his service to work for the master. Back in his own chamber, the master is still not satisfied and continues to shout 'don't play, play, you think you are hero, you think you are tiger, or superstar or acting ...
275 comments
Read more

EBRC objectives: Stop “Out of Aljunied”, Stop SDP Breakthrough and “Negative-Asset” Ministers.

First of all, we have to congratulate the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee for creating more competitions, especially, multi-cornered competitions in the East. When making changes, EBRC aims to achieve 3 goals: To prevent “Out of Aljunied” for Workers’ Party.  This is the most important objective. To prevent Singapore Democratic Party making any breakthrough in the North and Central.   To look for a solution to retire “negative-asset” ministers or reduce PAP damages. From the reported claims from different political parties, we will expect multi-cornered contests not only in single constituencies but also in group representative constituencies. The PAP hopes to have a repeat of 2011 Presidential Election. Then Tony Tan won the Presidency when he got only 35% of the votes, a narrow win.However, a win is still a win. He did in even in the very last minute, after recounts of votes.    How to achieve multi-cornered contests? By i...
65 comments
Read more

Is Prism Project Another Central Planning of the PAP?

There are 3 scenarios under the Prism Project#1 of Institute of Public Policy.  However, it looks more like the central scenario planning of the People’s Action Party. From the instructional menu of Prism Project Primer #2, participants were guided to a situation in 2022 and they have to imagine, within the Primer framework, to come out with 3 possible scenarios in Jun-Aug 2012.  2022. What a coincidence! Not long ago, PM Lee declared that he would like to hold the prime minister post for another 10 years. The other coincidence is the similarity between the 3 scenarios and the candidates of PE2011. How competitive and sustainable are the 3 scenarios to the people of Singapore and to the PAP?   Will the scenarios produce competitive and sustainable Singapore, Singaporeans or the PAP?  Perhaps, as what the Chinese say: planning cannot always catch up with changes.   And planning sometimes turns out the wrong, bad and unexpected results, espec...
50 comments
Read more