TR EMERITUS

While Singaporeans are fretting over the expected influx of 100,000 foreign workers into the labor market this year, PAP Minister without portfolio and NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say is preparing to welcome them, saying that it is a "good sign" that there is a "shortage" of workers in Singapore. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced last week that it is "unavoidable" for Singapore not to import more foreign workers to keep its red-hot economy growing, a view shared by the Labor Chief who supposedly represents the interests and rights of Singapore workers. "It's a good sign because it shows that at a time when many countries are having a shortage of jobs, we are having a shortage of workers," Mr Lim was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. Mr Lim appeared oblivious to the plight of an increasing number of Singaporeans, especially fresh graduates and elderly workers who are having difficulties holding on to a permanent position due to stiff competition from cheaper foreign workers. The monthly median salary of the average Singapore worker has remained stagnant at $2,400 for the last few years as the income gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, thanks to the PAP's pro-foreigner and ultra-liberal immigration policies. According to a recent Wall Street Journal, the relentless influx of cheap foreign workers into Singapore has depressed the wages of ordinary Singapore workers, increased the cost of living, especially that of public housing, decreased labor productivity and led to an overall decline in the standards of living. Foreign workers help to keep labor costs down, thereby inflating GDP growth figures artificially in the process. A certain percentage of the PAP ministers' multi-million pay package is pegged to GDP growth - the higher the growth, the more money they bring home. The additional 100,000 foreign workers is indeed good news for PAP ministers who are expected to receive a hefty pay rise at the end of the year on the back of a strong performance of the Singapore economy, but not ordinary Singaporeans who are struggling daily to make ends meet.     Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

Minister Mah Bow Tan reminded Singaporeans not to cash in on their HDB flats for funds as they are meant to be roofs over their heads. (Mah Bow Tan: A HDB flat is for long-term homeownership, TR – 22nd July) Mr Mah, I wish to state the fact that for the majority of Singaporeans who started out poor like you, not everyone ended up a rich man like you. Many of us through our sheer hard work has managed to put our families and our children through their critical years of dependency as well as managed to keep up with the monthly hdb mortgages to retain a roof over our heads. The time comes, however,when we either fall through a “gap” (such as retrenchment, a major illness, a business disaster, etc..)OR a major financial need comes (such as sponsoring a child to go overseas as a last resort as the child is not given a place for tertiary education of choice, or a clearing a major due to illness, etc. At the rate of HDB housing inflation which the PAP government insists is good, most of our savings worth several hundreds of thousands are locked up in the HDB assest which is often the one and only asset the common citizenry have. Now tell me Mr Mah, suppose you have a child who wants to have a chance of a lifetime to pursue the course of his dreams overseas because he cannot get the same course locally, or your spouse or child needs long-term medical care, or your business has failed and you owed S$120,000/= to your partner and debtors – what would you do if you have S$450,000 locked up in a so-called ASSET which you are telling us NOT to touch for our own good. Im quite fedup with this patronising attitude. We are parents ourselves, grown up adults!! Do not treat us as children.   Mosses  Read More →

BEIJING - THE Chinese government has sacked two officials and suspended relocation work after up to 1,000 people protested in a wealthy eastern province last week, angry at compensation for land seizures, state media said. The protests lasted for four days in part of Suzhou, a manufacturing hub close to Shanghai in the eastern province of Jiangsu, the official Xinhua news agency said late on Wednesday. Residents fought with government workers and smashed equipment including chairs, desks and windows in government headquarters in Tongan town, part of Suzhou, it said. 'Protesters also assembled on a highway and blocked traffic, but were later dispersed by police,' the report added. They were demanding higher compensation for their land, which had been confiscated by the government for several industrial parks, Xinhua quoted a government statement as saying. Some protesters also said they suspected some officials had taken compensation money owed them. Two officials were removed from their posts for 'mishandling public appeals and dereliction of duty when following land compensation standards', Xinhua said. 'The district's government vowed in the statement to raise the living standards of villagers who had been relocated since 2003 and lost their farmland when the project began,' it added. 'It also promised to provide villagers with at least 1,000 jobs each year.' Land rights and property seizures have becoming a leading cause of discontent in a country seething over a growing rich-poor gap, worrying stability-obsessed leaders in Beijing. In 2007, China had over 80,000 'mass incidents' - or riots and protest - up from over 60,000 in 2006, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The government has not given updated figures. Many involved no more than dozens of participants protesting against local officials over complaints about corruption, abuse of power, pollution or poor wages. But some small-town protests in the past couple of years have snowballed into violent confrontations involving thousands of residents. Many heard of the unrest through mobile phone messages or over the Internet.   Source: REUTERS  Read More →