We recently asked a jobless PMET reader – Shafie – about his tin collection experience and his views on working abroad in Middle East. Below are his replies:
Question: How many tin cans do you collect in a day and who do you sell them to?
The total number of cans collected per day can be irregular. It can be affected by rain and the number of people collecting on the same day at the same place. And the willingness to venture out further in search of the cans and have a thicker skin so as not to feel embarrassed when collecting them.
They can be sold at about $2.50 per kilo. On a good day, I can make about $2/- to $4/-. I sell them to a company that buys used metal in Woodlands in the industrial area.
I don’t sell them to the middlemen who comes by regularly in my area – they buy at a lower price of about $2.00 per kilo.
I don’t collect on a regular basis now, as there are just too many people doing the same thing and I feel bad ‘taking away’ their additional source of income. I only collect if I need bus fare to go to job interviews or if I’m really desperate for funds.
However, the recent rains and competition have affected the collection.
You may be surprised that there are different kinds of can collectors:
1. The standard ones who collects as a livelihood. I can see people in their late 30s to 70s collecting cans nowadays.
2. The ones that already have a regular job who collects as an extra income – so they only collect cans when they see one nearby.
3. The mentally challenged (I can’t find the right words to describe them). They collect because their parents did the same thing and it is the only work they know how to generate some income. The middlemen often take advantage of them and buy over their cans at a very low price.
4. Foreign workers – I don’t blame them as their wages are just too low and they need the extra income. They are the most enterprising lot as they do it collectively as a group and used the money to buy necessities. You can also see them collecting boxes/cartons to sell to the middlemen.
Question: What are your views on working abroad especially in the Middle East?
I have seen a lot of articles asking readers to venture abroad to look for work, but none can ever answer my questions.
1. Does the writer have responsibilities like taking care of aged parents and a home loan to service back home?
2. Does a person with low educational background have what it takes to work in a foreign country?
3. What type of worker does a company in the Foreign Countries need which they can’t find in their own country?
4. What are the initial costs incurred to live and work in a Foreign Country?
It sounds all dandy and fine if someone is a university graduate. A good degree from a recognised school will make someone globally mobile in terms of job opportunites.
But when it comes to people who are from the lower income group and lower educational background, and without exceptional skills, they do not have that many options unfortunately.
NB: Shafie has a GCE A level and used to work in the computer programming industry. He has been jobless for more than a year and is in his late 30s.
Related posts:
- The PMET Can Collector Speaks…
- A Human Resource Perspective On The PMET Tin Collector
- Jobless Ex-RSAF Flight Warrant Officer Sold House to Survive
- Our PMET Tin Collector Now Works Three Jobs in Order to Survive
- Jobless Local PMET: “How I can afford to stay jobless for three years.”
- Graduate single mum jobless for two years now giving tuition to survive
- Jobless 48-year old PMET with masters in logistics: “I will renounce my citizenship if I don’t have a job soon!”
- Jobless PMET with master degree: “E2i is a useless organisation!”
- 38-year-old Jobless PMET: “I attempted to kill myself and trying my best to move on now.”
- Jobless master degree in engineering PMET struggling with unemployment
need a job? the service line has many..all picky Singaporeans will fall by the wayside. the many that you feature in your site are classic examples
Karen, it is unfortunate for you to say that a tin collector is doing what he does because he is choosy. How someone would be willing to be seen as a jobless scavenger as compared to someone with a job in the service industry? Pride certainly has not anything to do with it. Laziness certainly can’t either as I cannot imagine how long it’ll take for someone to find about 1kilo of cans in a day and then travel all the way to Woodlands to earn the extra 50cents. Perhaps you are probably thinking that he deserves it because of his poor attitude but then again the fact that you have jumped into conclusions without even knowing the subject and his circumstance to me smacks of arrogance, denial and apathy befitting of the uncaring ruling elite.
There are many many many service and frontline positions open..sadly, he is not applying for them. I think the reason he has no job is cos he is still holding out for something better.
Meanwhile, his plight is fodder for propaganda
haha…
u mean he’d rather earn $2.50 to $4 per day ($80 for 20 days) instead of getting a job in the service industry for at least 1.2k?
wow. u r a (moderated out)!
Moderator: This comment has been moderated.
There are always a lot of singaporean jumping into conclusion.
They thought they know all the truth and everything.
Everyone has their own reason..who do not want to have a better life ? maybe he has been applying and employers are choosy ?
Perhaps..Karen can offer some help to all jobless readers here. it is doing a good deed irregardless of the outcomes.
Well just hope that you will not fall into this circumstances one day.
Karen, as you can see he is a Malay, Singapore is still a racist country no matter what. Last time Malays and Indians hv to compete with the majority Chinese for jobs in service line where ads gave bullshit requirements of mandarin needed for these jobs. Now they not only hv to compete with the local Chinese but also the Pinoys and the Ah Tiongs…..so Karen shut the hell up. The rest of you, vote wisely the next elections….cheers
I do not believe Singapore is biased hiring on the dependency of what race a candidate is.
If not we would not be hiring so many other races.
Bearing in mind that, most local businesses are started up by different communities, and are mostly SMEs. Simple, do you think a Malay catering boss will hire a Chinese to handle his food?
This can only happen if the Chinese proves that he is clean in his ways when handling food in the Muslim context (halal), which requires certification, compliant on paper.
The key question is really this: do you still want stay in that relevant industry while you are holding onto that same relevant education certification/experience.
For most people, I believe the answer is yes because it brings more money, simple because only with relevant industrial/ acaedemic certification and experience then you are hired for that job.
That all is only in theory. In this world, everything is practical.
HR people on the hiring only have one thing in mind; your certfication versus the hiring cost and if you are worth that pay you asked.
Mr Shafie has only A Levels. The first thing HR would ask is the certification (applies on advertising), which is considered non-relevant. But you can say he has ample of industry experience which calls for a good (higher) pay, however this factor already failed the first HR hiring filter.
Then the HR will compare to that with a young graduate, or one with proper certification and a couple of years experience.
Judging by hiring cost factor and hiring by paper, Mr Shafie would have lose out to the young/lower paper/ well-qualified person. That’s 2/3 factors against 1 good factor of long years of experience.
Yes, Mr Shafie can choose to collect cans, and I can respect that.
But I ask, if he wants any job again, and employers ask what was he doing the past few years, do you think he will say he’s been collecting cans? Even if he said so, what would an employer think?
This is about being adaptable in the working society. And being adaptable is all about choice.
I really admired Mr Shafie, as if you ask me to do what he is doing, I think I rather go do a fast-food crew.
As long as anyone working on a job is agreeable hime/herself what he/she is doing, who cares as long as he/she is doing his job?
But obviously, I believe he needs more help if he wants to go back into computer programming again. As employers may be particular due to his past medical history of having stroke, especially so for big companies with medical benefits.
Dear Gilbert, can you share with us readers how did you coach or counsell Shafie. I think he must be facing other difficulties that are preventing from getting a “better” job.
I dont quite agree with employing Singaporeans first. This has always been the case for this country. But well, thats my personal opinion.
Hi Ronald,
All our counselling sessions are conducted in confidence with the clients and can’t be revealed to the public – apologies.
Hi Jesse,
Shafie’s articles have appeared in this site several times and by now readers should have known that he has suffered from a mild stroke before.
However, he has recovered fully from the condition.
The front page banner incidentally is done by him.
Thanks all for showing interest in this article.
Personally, I find that Shafie has shown tremendous survival instinct despite facing great odds currently. How many of us can collect tin cans in order to survive?
To those who ask him to seek for work in the service sector, with all due respect, do you really think that the employers will employ a local Malay to serve customers or man a food counter?
There are so many missing links in this article such that we simply cannot draw any conclusion on whether Shafie is discriminated and whether he did try applying for service jobs.
But I am quite sure there are much better jobs available for a fit, young man like him with an A level qualification.
Regardless dear boys… the “hungry” foreigners will continue to win our jobs till we wise up and face the truth!
Our plight is no different from what Aussies faced from the 80s and 90s onwards. And all that whining and numerous changes in govt parties got them no where too! lol.
Anyway i agree that it is best to vote in an opposition. This will stop whining Singaporeans from thinking that it is a change of govt that is required. Rather it is a change of attitude and a never-say-die resilience that is lacking in all 30-somethings and younger Singaporeans..
On a good day can make only $2 to $4?
Come on man, who do you fellas think you’re kidding.
I don’t believe this fella really goes around collecting cans and making 2 to 4 bucks a day. Just look at him. Appears still healthy and well bodied. quit your can collecting nonsense and just go and work as a security guard lah. $1300 to $l500 a month just walking around and talking on the walkie talkie and appearing “security”.
The trick is, when there is trouble just go and hide inside the jamban lah. Who can stop a man from doing what he has to do?
This story is a load of bullshit.
[...] Feeling lost, depressed and desperate while jobless? Email gilbert@transitioning.org or goh_gilbert@yahoo.com if you need to access our free volunteer career coaching or counselling services. Do also sign the online petition Employ Singaporeans First if you have not done so. Thanks for visiting!Number of View: 1Posted by effery: October 15, 2010 at 8:21 pm [...]
it’s early in the morning, but i only have a few points to make.
1) Before I got jobless for more than 1 year 3 months and counting, I had never thought that prolonged joblessness would apply to me. How many of you have concrete plans on what to do if you lose your job the next day? And I mean real concrete plans (e.g. how much have I put aside to survive for the next 6 months).
2) Till now, I still cannot understand what exactly makes me unemployable at various levels of work. too low? too high? I’d never know. I have asked so many recruiters, HR people, etc. Some have just told me straight that my past work experiences suck, etc. But you see, knowing that I suck, or my past sucks doesn’t solve the problem. Nobody could tell me what now.
3) I’ve done quite a few “enhancement” courses to upgrade myself, but these enhancements are sorta a hit and miss. Employers may not be looking for those qualifications, and worse, they might think you are over-qualified (or they think you may demand too high a salary). So you would have invested time and money to remain hopeful, but nothing changes. Meanwhile, it sucks energy and money from you and makes you more miserable than every.
4) Many of you are perhaps blissful (or overworked) in your day job that you have absolutely no idea of the job market “outside”. It’s miserable, it’s crazy. Try it, quit your job now, (don’t shop for one before quitting, since that would give you bargaining power and you won’t be hit financially) and try to look for a job, you may be surprised at the results. I’m not advocating such extreme actions though.
5) Hang on tight buddy. If I hear anything, I would be in touch with Gilbert to see if things can work out for you. I really hear you buddy.
I’m just wondering, out of curiosity, if you are now employed?
I totally can relate to your situation.
When I applied normal jobs, they look at me like I’m weird coz of my qualifications and years of experience. Sometimes I thought tossing aside my master degree might do the trick but it didn’t. Then again, if I apply for jobs which match my skills and all, they just say.. something like “due to your previous job…”, just link the rest,
initial jobs can really kill you in this country.
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If it is possible, please use English as a medium of communication. If your “England” is not that powerful, Singlish is also fine.
Currently, based on your posting, I have failed to read, let alone apprehend your intentions. One positive light at the end of the tunnel is you have a spouse.
Prehaps he or she can do better, at least in terms of communication. Give it a try and let your partner do try communicating. It cannot get any worst.
Based on your posting, I made a few assumptions:
1) you just suffered a mild stroke
and
2) you just finish towing 5kg of aluminium cans to woodlands on your bicycle and is now back in Bedok resting / collecting more cans.