Talkback (from Today Voices page)
1 – 10 of 14 responses to “Minimum wage system works in Australia” – click here to read
wilson lim
Updated 10:07 AM July 21, 2009
actually, i think Jobs Credits and Minimum Wage systems can work hand-in-hand, for the mutual benefits of both employers and employees. employers must recognise that in order to get quality staff and quality jobs done, they need to compensate the staff adequately. employees or job-seekers also need to be willing to be more adaptive and take up more challenging or less popular jobs. this is essential for both businesses and jobs to survive.
Mike
Updated 03:22 AM July 21, 2009
The only reason why minimum wage laws do not exist in Singapore is so that employers can pay slave wages to foreign workers, as stated by someone else above. In the meantime, everyone else other than the top 5% of earners gets screwed over because of this absurdly low starting point for wages in Singapore. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the guy who’s saying that people with the lowest earning power in society can just go somewhere else if they feel they are being unfairly compensated by the job, and also that he seems to think that the US is imminently considering rescinding its minimum wage laws (they aren’t and they never will). I’m not sure what planet he’s from, but I don’t think it’s the same one I’m on.
Leong Boon H
Updated 12:52 AM July 21, 2009
“Minimum wage law” will drive up the cost of jobs, especially those lower level ones…any of the three things will happen here, either the employers cut jobs to save manpower cost, or increase price & pass down to the consumers eventually, or they will move the lower-level jobs out of Singapore. I know “minimum wage law” is meant to protect the workers especially those “vulnerable” ones, that is all good, BUT does that really work in reality? Countries like UK, some cities in US & couple of provinces in Germany has already started to phase out “minimum wage”. They recognise that it has eroded their competitiveness and stifles businesses over the years. It makes employers think twice about hiring more workers or even any part-timers, many of them are young men & women who have just started out to work. With no chance to get their “foot in”, where can they go to build up job experiences and be trained to earn higher salary in future?
Leong Boon H
Updated 12:25 AM July 21, 2009
I want to earn profits for my business BUT I want my employees to be adequately compensated as well, so they can commit to their jobs in the company. Can these two exist? Of course they can! I pay my workers fair salaries, I have low turnover rates (average less than 1% in 2007 – in the so-called good years), most of my staff have been with me for the past 10 over years. If I want to “exploit” them, they can always go somewhere else, I don’t practice slavery. I have been paying them yearly bonuses & giving general performance-related increments (except year 2003 – SARS, and last year). I regularly sponsor my employees for training and be upgraded. HONESTLY, Singapore is so small, anyone can go work any where else. If I “exploit” a worker, do you think he or she will stay? where can I get manpower if I continue to do so? Foreign workers? I tried to minimise the intake. In short, NOT EVERY business owner is out there to exploit workers…Please take your socialism ideas some where else.
Singaporean
Updated 07:49 PM July 20, 2009
I believe even if the minimum wage policy is to be implemented, it will be a reasonable figure based on the average wage paid in the industry. Therefore, there’s no reason for those honest employers who have not been exploiting their employees and paying them unfairly to be upset since the minimum wage will most likely be the same as what they are paying them now, if not lesser.
Singaporean
Updated 07:38 PM July 20, 2009
Dear Leong Boon H, I disagreed with your view. I believe as a businessman, you will want to pay your employees as low as possible so as to achieve the most profit. But if you are in your employee shoe, is this fair? Minimum wages help to protest the interest of the employees which if you claim that you pay your employees fairly, I don’t see any reason why you are so against the minimum wage issue.
Leong Boon H
Updated 05:44 PM July 20, 2009
As a businessman, I would like to decide how much to pay my workers (e.g. part-timers) – Not by some politicians. Anyway “minimum wage law” targets only low skilled (or no skill) workers. It will drive up the cost of their jobs here in Singapore. When the cost of hiring these workers gets higher, jobs are lost, especially in most SMEs who are cost sensitive and profit margins are not high. In an open economy and small country like Singapore, repercussion will be felt fast and effects obvious.
Singaporean
Updated 05:10 PM July 20, 2009
Dear Leong Boon H, if you claim you pay all your employees a “fair wage”, why should minimum wage affect you? Unless you have been under paying your employees all these while.
Leong Boon H
Updated 03:57 PM July 20, 2009
As a owner of a local SME in the struggling precision engineering industries, “minimum wage law” in Singapore will definitely made me decide to relocate my businesses to Malaysia. I pay all my workers fair wages. Almost all my staff is still with me for the past 10 over years. Why should I be told how much to pay those new lower-level employee?
Faircomment
Updated 02:24 PM July 20, 2009
Everything that Singapore is, was the product of PAPa’s policies. In the 70s, PAPa pushed its high-wage policy to attract high-tech industries. Now, PAPa uses its no minimum wage policy to open the floodgate to cheap foreign labour in the name of preserving jobs in Sg. PAPa is such a good spin doctor who has many believers like John.
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