Will minimum wage laws work here?

[prue_halliwell]

Fake News

Originator clarified that he didn't post correct story. I think alot old ppl anyhow say - just to complain and take opportunity to flame the govt...

QUOTE:

AN UPDATE ON AH UMM: VERY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE SHARE.
Edit: The original post has since been taken down. My intentions were to speak of her story, and then if better, gather help for her. In light of new knowledge I received affecting the accuracy of the initial story + her turning down aid from members of the public, I have decided it would be best to remove the original post.
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A first course of action for everybody reading this now: PLEASE DO NOT HEAD DOWN TO HER WORKPLACE TO ENGAGE HER. It is very important that this is shared so members of the public will refrain from continuing to approach her at her workplace ASAP. She has already been engaged by multiple members of the public and various organisations, and has been made known of our intentions to provide her with any aid she might require. She thanks everybody for their concern and kind offers, but also kindly turned us down and has requested to be left alone. Let us not cause her any more undue stress. I hope we can kindly respect her wishes. Thanks everybody.
This post will be an update on the entire situation with Ah Umm in the past 2 days since her story went viral. The intentions of this update are:
1. Updating members of the public on her current situation, as well as
2. An advisory for all of us moving forward from here on out.
This update will be entirely focused on her, and I will try my best to keep the reporting as neutral as possible. Everything said in this post is reported as it was told to me first-hand, as it was in the previous post.
------------------------------------------
On Tuesday (28th July), I headed down to her workplace first thing in the morning with the intention to contact Ah Umm. Unfortunately, her colleagues told me when I inquired, it was her off-day and she did not come to work. It was also told to me that despite being there at 9am the following morning, I was not the first person to have asked about her; the earliest respondents actually came down the night before to seek her out, but she had already knocked off work. I decided to try again the next morning after enquiring about her working hours.
On Wednesday (29th July) I headed down to her workplace again, and linked up with another volunteer who was already there waiting for Ah Umm before her shift started. When Ah Umm arrived at work, we told her of our intentions to offer her help. As far as we know, she personally does not own a mobile phone, followed up with providing her with our contact details.
When we engaged her, she recounted to us that she has been approached by many members of the public, even at her place of residence. As it turns out, she does have a son and daughter-in-law living with her, and does not live alone with other friends, contrary to what she told me before. She thanks everybody for their concern, but is personally feeling very stressed out by the unwanted and unexpected attention. She kindly turned down our offers of help, and repeatedly insisted that she is coping fine.
For the sake of acting in her best interests, I implore everybody to respect her wishes to be left alone, so as not to cause an elderly person any more stress, or possibly even risk her losing her job from the constant attention she receives at her workplace. Thanks everybody. Please share.

UNQUOTE : taken from
MENG SHUEN KOH *FACEBOOK*

 

[Dark84]

She’s from Malaysia dude .

Who cares v

The Workers’ Party (WP) elected Member of Parliament (MP) Jamus Lim earlier said in a political debate on 1 July that the Government should ensure that those who have been contributing to the nation’s economy and society for years are being taken care of, as this is a “very big part of social mobility”.

“We absolutely need to take care of our elderly that live among us. It is really a crime that we see the elderly, continue to feel that they have to work in order to make ends meet,” he said.

Dr Lim also highlighted the importance of minimum wage which he believes can bring Singapore towards greater social mobility. He further reiterated his point on Facebook on 14 July, noting that minimum wage is “not unabashedly good policy”, but rather a “good start that is also evidence-based”.

“I see this as a feature, not a bug. The point is to redistribute some bargaining power from capital to labor, and I think we can afford to chip in a little to take care of the least well-off in society. With many more buyers than min wage workers, the price effect will be small,” he remarked.

Dr Lim added that he disagrees with some people who said that the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) is a minimum wage, as he believes that the “PWM ties wages to job function” and this gives a lot of space for employers to cut corners, without redressing power differentials.

“It also leaves those who simply cannot upskill in the lurch, and earning below a living wage. The reality is that, by our estimates, 100,000 workers remain below the min wage, and so PWM is obviously not working for these people,” said the economics professor.

Based on the Ministry of Manpower, PWM “helps to uplift” low-wage Singaporeans and permanent resident workers who are working in sectors like cleaning, security and landscaping.

Meanwhile, Dr Lim’s point about the PWM seems to resonate well with the story of an 82-year-old lady, who claimed that she only earns S$20 per day working as a cleaner and dishwasher at a hawker centre situated in Tampines Hub.

The story was shared by Facebook user Meng Shuen Koh, who posted on Facebook on Monday (27 July) a series of screenshots from his Instagram story.

The FB user wrote that while he was heading to the city via MRT, an old lady who was carrying a “bulky bag” beside him tapped him on the shoulder and asked him how to go to Sentosa from Bedok.

He told her that she needs to disembark at Outram Park to change trains to Harbourfront, but he proceeded to accompany her to Outram Park as she seems hesitated.

“She apologised to me for troubling me, and I reassured her that it’s okay, because I wasn’t meeting anybody, and I wasn’t going to do anything important anyway,” he added.

The old lady, who was referred to as “Ah Umm”, shared to him that she is a Malaysian-born citizen and currently lives in Sembawang with her two friends. She claimed that she had no “formal schooling” and only can speak Chinese.

The FB user also discovered that the old lady’s husband has passed away many years ago, while her only son died during a “heli-rappeling” exercise with the Commandos a “long time ago”.

She claimed that the Government has promised to give compensation for her late son’s death – with S$300 per month – but up until now, she has never even received “one cent” from the Government.

“Now national day coming, they ask us hang the flag. I don’t want to hang. Hang for what? My son died for this flag. This flag also never help me. How to don’t work? I will starve to death,” the old lady told him.

When he asked her why she was heading to Sentosa, the old lady explained that her friend told her about a job there that pays S$10 per hour to wash dishes. She works as a cleaner and dishwasher at Tampines Hub, and earning only S$5 per hour.

Aside from her hourly salary, the old lady was given with no free meals, nor transportation allowance from the place that she currently works at. She added, “Eat lunch, eat dinner already $5, already one hour of work gone. Left $15, sometimes don’t eat better I think”.

She also revealed to him that she has had four major heart surgeries, in which each surgery would cost her about S$40,000. He asked her how she could afford to pay the surgeries fees, she told him that she had to sell her house “to not die”.

He said that he tried to hand S$2 to the old lady for her bus rides as they reached the VivoCity bus station. But she refused to take his money.

The old lady said to him, “I cannot take your money, I have my own money, I got work I have my own money”.

Upon hearing her story, he realized that regardless of her age and how her life was messed up by the nation’s system, the old lady still wants to “work more” and not even complaining to her boss about her low salary.

He then questioned Singapore’s minimum wage model, saying that “nobody should be working menial labour for S$5 per hour”. He also mentioned about the first job he took when he was 16 years old, he was paid S$5.50 an hour at Subway but he didn’t expect such salary still exist after 10 years.

“People always ask, ‘how will we pay for minimum wage?’ But people never ask, ‘who will end up paying the price if we don’t pay for minimum wage, and how will they pay?

“People like Ah Umm pay. They pay with their house. With their life. With their sweat, and their tears (she cried a few times when she talked to me about her son, her house, her surgeries),” he added.

He noted that the ruling party People’s Action Party (PAP) has asked for a strong mandate to govern Singapore and assured Singaporeans that its progressive wage model works. But after 50 years of the PAP’s mandate, there are still 100,000 workers remain below minimum wage.

“Meanwhile Goh Chok Tong and Edwin Tong say they’re not paid enough as ministers. Tan Chuan-Jin says some old people who collect cardboard to sell do it as a form of exercise,” he added.

He went on to advise Singaporeans who vote for the PAP to remember those people who are also struggling to make ends meet like the old lady, noting that the future of Singapore is “more than just your future”.

“I haven’t celebrated National Day for many years. This year will be no different. I see nothing worth celebrating,” he asserted.

At the end of his Instagram story, the FB user remarked, “no public servant in Singapore deserves to be paid S$1 million per year.”

https://www.onlinecitizenasia.com/2020/07/28/saddening-story-of-82-y-o-lady-who-earns-s20-per-day-as-cleaner-and-dishwasher-sold-her-house-to-not-die/

 

[draco_88]

Fake story lai de

 

[zhanzhao]

Seems like a lot of inaccurate is to the guy's original post. Now he removed all his posts and made his instagram private....

https://mothership.sg/2020/07/msf-sentosa-old-lady-facebook/

 

[lala24]

Minimum wage does not work. In capitalist world, we are like in pyramid scheme.

The pyramid always have 1% top richest, 10% high net income, etc.
No matter what you adjust, the pyramid won't change.

Assuming we are at the bottom 20%. With minimum wage, suddenly our salary all increase a lot by (100%). Everyone happy right?

But company will end up having resource problem, because nobody is willing to work with old-salary. So company must charge the services by 100% to their customers. The customers are those companies who are selling things too. Because the supplier increase by 100%, they will also have to increase 100% (or more).
Since everyone increase by 100%, suddenly everything become expensive by 100%. Your increment of 100% suddenly has no effect at all, when everything increased by 100%.

That's why when we feel our salary is getting higher, we don't feel anything different and still goes back to the same place. You have 100% increase, but the rich also getting richer by 100% (or more). You are still at the bottom 20%.

Another thing that people also tend to forget, is that company is hiring people based on budget. They set budget let's say 9k to hire for 1 year. So based on budget 9k, how many employees can work?

Company manage to hire cleaner, 4 x $2k=$8k. So now company has $1k left. Company can actually hire another person who is willing to work for 1K. If cannot find, Company use that $1k for other purpose.
A person takes up the offer of $1k salary. Is it bad?

This 1k-salary person will have job, because there's no minimum salary.
If gov say, minimum salary is $2k, that person will not have any opportunity at all to work, because simply company cannot hire him.

Regarding the older generation situation, and people-who-left-behind, the minimum wage will actually work against them.
What gov and society can do is to come out with social-mechanism to assist all these people. Rich gov like Singapore surely can afford it, and if gov can breakdown how much has been spent to unprivileged people, i hope the public can support it because it uses public tax payer money.

I understand we have so many social-organisation, but not sure why the help never goes to the people who needs it. Perhaps someone can provide explanation what really happened on the ground. Why person like ahma in the article, never approach social organisation, but then can kpkb to Worker's party. Are they scared? afraid? or feeling helpless? ineffective?

Fundamentally flawed. Why should it be a pyramid? With this pyramid no matter how you change or tweak you still force it to be a pyramid. How about changing the pyramid to a more rectangular block so the rich-poor divide becomes smaller?

 

[jiiaying]

Embarrassing example of when SJWs post bull sh!t and get called out on.

 

[Why so serious]

Minimum wage does not work. In capitalist world, we are like in pyramid scheme.

The pyramid always have 1% top richest, 10% high net income, etc.
No matter what you adjust, the pyramid won't change.

Assuming we are at the bottom 20%. With minimum wage, suddenly our salary all increase a lot by (100%). Everyone happy right?

But company will end up having resource problem, because nobody is willing to work with old-salary. So company must charge the services by 100% to their customers. The customers are those companies who are selling things too. Because the supplier increase by 100%, they will also have to increase 100% (or more).
Since everyone increase by 100%, suddenly everything become expensive by 100%. Your increment of 100% suddenly has no effect at all, when everything increased by 100%.

That's why when we feel our salary is getting higher, we don't feel anything different and still goes back to the same place. You have 100% increase, but the rich also getting richer by 100% (or more). You are still at the bottom 20%.

Another thing that people also tend to forget, is that company is hiring people based on budget. They set budget let's say 9k to hire for 1 year. So based on budget 9k, how many employees can work?

Company manage to hire cleaner, 4 x $2k=$8k. So now company has $1k left. Company can actually hire another person who is willing to work for 1K. If cannot find, Company use that $1k for other purpose.
A person takes up the offer of $1k salary. Is it bad?

This 1k-salary person will have job, because there's no minimum salary.
If gov say, minimum salary is $2k, that person will not have any opportunity at all to work, because simply company cannot hire him.

Regarding the older generation situation, and people-who-left-behind, the minimum wage will actually work against them.
What gov and society can do is to come out with social-mechanism to assist all these people. Rich gov like Singapore surely can afford it, and if gov can breakdown how much has been spent to unprivileged people, i hope the public can support it because it uses public tax payer money.

I understand we have so many social-organisation, but not sure why the help never goes to the people who needs it. Perhaps someone can provide explanation what really happened on the ground. Why person like ahma in the article, never approach social organisation, but then can kpkb to Worker's party. Are they scared? afraid? or feeling helpless? ineffective?

no such problems at the other side, the afterlife.

 

[hoosdathu]

sibeh sad...

she's not the only one...

 

[stewpig]

But it depends on whether u are willing to accept to pay more for food and so on

 

[Maccabi]

The guy who took the photograph said that she was living in a rented flat? Don't know who is telling the truth though

 

[Cobra!]

Do all domestic maids and construction workers and jhk from across causeway also qualify for min wage? Or is it just a sinkie thing?

 

[bratpig]

Er.. At 82yo still working?

Minimum wage for 82yo? Like really?

You think money falls from the tree once you retired?

Posted from PCWX using SM-N975F

 

[SmartMoney]

I also got back injury permanent for life because of NS training but was not allow to downgrade during my NS time... Only during reservist then I go see doctor to downgrade...

Now I have to live with permanent PID for life...

But govt paid nothing to me...

There are many nsmen like me too...

So what can sinkies do???

U should have taken lots of mcs during ns to protect yourself keep going to doctor.

 

[WhiteAnt]

Is minimum wage really a bad thing? Why pap hate it so much?

As per subject

 

[suzukaze]

Cos it may lead to the start of a welfare state...

 

[kcarrey]

minimum wage will force bad bosses to give fair wages to oppressed workers

 

[hackberry]

Because it means you cannot exploit 3rd world people. Imagine having to pay bangalas a living wage and on top of the taxes, work pass, healthcare, etc...

How about maids, even worst, most of the "rich" wont be able to sustain a maid to take care their house/children.

It will also cause an instant "gold rush" from 3rd world to Singapore, only bring more problems.

 

[Gaddy23]

You do know that if its implemented, it's for Singaporeans only?

 

[glarerder]

You do know that if its implemented, it's for Singaporeans only?

then all the more singaporeans would be less attractive for hiring compared to foreigners who are willing to cut themselves thin because of the strong sgd compared to their home country.

 

[_hulk_]

Because it means you cannot exploit 3rd world people. Imagine having to pay bangalas a living wage and on top of the taxes, work pass, healthcare, etc...

How about maids, even worst, most of the "rich" wont be able to sustain a maid to take care their house/children.

It will also cause an instant "gold rush" from 3rd world to Singapore, only bring more problems.

Min. Age for sinkie.

But this scheme will be a disaster if garment do not control the floodgate for FW.

Garment do not wish to control the Floodgate.

So they will not agree to it.