If you call yourself some name like Chief of National Trade
Union Congress what must be your passions and objectives? Which
ones of the following will be your objectives:-
(1) Represent interests of bosses or employers to lower their costs
?
(2) Fight for the right of employees and workers to get a good deal
?
(3) Work for the government to implement government's policies
?
To me, the answer is clear. It is unequivocally (2) because the
name of my organization is called NTUC or National Employers
Association or Government of Singapore.
NTUC has been headed by the wrong guy? He should be someone with
the passion to serve the interest of the employees and
workers.
If he wants to work for balance of the workers versus the employers
versus the government called Tripartism he should resign and hand
over the job to some Head of Union who has proven skilful in
negotiating and representing workers' rights and join the
government to be a minister in charge of manpower.
It is as simple as A, B, C that workers' rights are subjected to
market forces and market forces will determine whether employees
and workers will get what they want and sustainable.
Why for years we are given all the indoctrination that we must
desist from representing workers for their rights and
entitlements.
Try to talk to any employers today. They have no respect for
employees at all. They can sack anyone by giving contractual notice
without giving any reason.
An employer can hold back any 13th month bonus without giving any
reason when ministers and civil servants are getting 7th and 13th
months plus all the best deals they want without any similar
constraints or interpretation of the Employment Act?
Why? Because of Tripartism as Minister Lim used to tell the workers
in Singapore - our workers' high wages have caused our loss of
economic competitiveness.
Look at the bigger picture and fact clearly and objectively and we
will find that it is not the workers' wages which have caused many
companies to lose monies or economic competitivenss.
It it (1) Double Charge on Land Costs by the government (2) Triple
charge of vehicular transportation (after COE and ERP, excise on
vehicle is still charged at 130% of OMV) and CEO/Talents salaries
($600,000 pa is too commonly paid to executives in GLCs without
even contributing to higher value-added job creation and new
technology start-usp).
Workers' wages have dropped to $800.00 - $1,000.00 pm while CEO/GMs
in many ironricebowl GLCs which can employ much cheaper managers
are being made at peanut salaries ($600,000.00) to do routine
maintenance jobs requiring hardly any efforts.
Why must we employ Comfort or Taxi chief at million dollar salaries
when their predecessors with entrepreneurial abilities to show were
paid at 1/3 of less.
Singapore is getting overly self-centred with a few top elites
measuring their own worths and over-paying themselves while workers
and employees are sacrificed like pawns.
If they MOM wants to make the low wages of workers even lower by
making it flexible and variable to allow employers to use it as
excuse to lower them, it is the saddest day in Singapore history.
NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng can easily pick up the phone to tell MOM
that it would be inhuman to do so. If CPF was to be permanently
withdrawn from workers let there be a provision to be restored in
some flexible scheme like "varaible reward of workers for
non-restoration of past CPF cut".
NTUC chief has been largely responsible for today's anti-worker
employment culture because of the dirty word tripartism in the
whole episode.
