don't know if poh ah pak had posted this:
Singapore's cost of living higher than Europe's
Singapore Democrats
28 Mar 08
A newspaper in the UK, the Daily Mail, ran a story about how much
more British expatriates earned in the countries they worked than
if they remained in Britain.
The countries cited were Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand,
Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab
Emirates.
What does this have to do with Singaporeans?
At the very end of the piece (see below) the reported read: "most
of those (British expats) living in eight of the ten countries said
the cost of living was lower than in the UK."
And get this: "Singapore and the United Arab Emirates were the
exceptions."
Hands up those of you who've been to Europe and complained how
expensive things there are.
Well, now you have Britons saying that the cost of living in places
like Sweden, France, Italy, Norway, Spain and the UK are lower than
in Singapore.
And yet the income disparity in Singapore continues to widen with
the wages of workers here remaining stagnant and even
plummeting.
Can anyone find elderly French or Canadians or Swedes working for
the equivalent of S$400 a month as cleaners or road sweepers?
Can anyone find the British or Italian prime minister paying
himself more than S$300,000 a month and his father another
$250,000?
Can everyone now understand why the police had to stop the march
and quickly seize all the placards at the protest last
Saturday?
It is clear that we need to continue to shout, and shout loudly:
"TAK BOLEH TAHAN!"
And there's no better time to do it than this coming May Day.
How professionals can get 43 per cent pay bonus by working
abroad
Becky Barrow
Daily Mail
28 Mar 08
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html...
Workers who leave Britain for a job overseas can get a 43 per cent
pay rise.
A professional gets an average wage of £47,000 in this country but
overseas they can earn £67,000, a report says today.
But it is not just a higher salary that lures record numbers of
Britons to a life abroad.
The survey of more than 1,100 expats found they are "wealthier,
healthier and happier" than they were in the UK.
Those interviewed included engineers, teachers, economists,
accountants, IT professionals and those working in financial
services and marketing.
When asked about their new life, they spoke in glowing terms about
their decision to quit this country.
More than 90 per cent said they were happier. More than 80 per cent
had "a greater sense of well-being" and "feeling better all round
for moving abroad".
And 99 per cent said they had made "a good decision" to live
abroad, with around 80 per cent saying their decision to move was
"excellent".
The majority - more than 60 per cent - said they had "no reason" to
return to Britain, according to the study by NatWest
International.
David Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking, said:
"Expats who have moved abroad appear to be wealthier, healthier and
happier.
"All these factors have contributed to a better quality of
life."
There are many reasons for the salary premium, said to Dr Frank
Shaw, a director of the Centre for Future Studies think-tank.
Many worked for multi-national companies in the UK and were offered
a salary increase to go and work in a foreign country.
Other countries are so short of certain skills such as IT
professionals that they offer generous salaries to lure workers
from the UK.
Dr Shaw, who was involved in the research, said about 20 per cent
of the expats who took part in the research were
self-employed.
Although many workers are moving abroad, they are still employed by
UK-based companies.
"An increasing number of professional people are choosing to take
their skills and expertise abroad," he said.
"In some instances, we found that there is an emerging generation
of professionals who are choosing to work outside the UK for
companies in the UK. Work is no longer a place that we go to but a
thing that we do."
Official figures show record numbers of Britons are joining the
exodus.
For the first time, more than 200,000 left in 2006, according to
the Office for National Statistics.
Dr Shaw predicts the number of expats will continue to soar.
Around 5.5million Britons live overseas and a further one million
will leave over the next five years, according to the Centre for
Future Studies.
Researchers spoke to expats living in ten countries - Canada,
France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain,
Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
The biggest winners were those moving to the United Arab Emirates,
who earned an average of £79,000, tax-free.
Even in Portugal, which came at the bottom of the top ten, British
workers were paid an average of £58,000.
As well as earning a better salary, most of those living in eight
of the ten countries said the cost of living was lower than in the
UK.
Singapore and the United Arab Emirates were the exceptions.