NTUC

last SG · 2005-01-02T15:47:27+00:00

their main business is to restrict the power of the trade unions so tat the PAP can remain in power under the disguise of selling things

PatrickLTH SG

NTUC is not government right? Or I am wrong?

It is the government (or government linked companies or stat boards) business to boost economy right?

Government (and government linked companies or stat boards) has the mean to ditching out projects (using tax payer money collected) like roads improvement, MRT, water catchments / reservoirs. Initiate grant for training and retraining and re-retraining of displaced workers.

NTUC is just helping to displace the small businessman like housing agent, undertaker, minimart, car insurance agent, car sale person etc. So that more will need to be trained, retrained and re-retrained.

So what is the core business of NTUC?

witness SG

NTUC's groceries prices may not be the cheapest, but they are nearly the cheapest. Places such as Sheng Siong may be marginally cheaper, but the ambience is totally different.

A casual price comparison with places such as Cold Storage Supermart will easily reveal that NTUC prices are value for money.

If it were not for the NTUC, you can be sure that the prices of most goods would be more expensive than they are. In that sense, NTUC benefits everyone, members as well as non-members.

The presence of NTUC prevents shops from profiterring. It was first set up in the 70s during rice shortages and grocery shops took advantage of the situation to jack up their prices unreasonably. Recently, during the egss crisis, NTUC sourced for alternative suppliers until prices returned to normal.

NTUC is a cooperative and all Singaporeans should be grateful that it is one of the most successful cooperatives here.

spaded SG

As long as they don’t end up like Cerebos.

KumSioJui SG

NTUC was started by garmen, whether you want to be naive I leave it to you.

If you read the sunday papers today on page 17 there is an article on cars, cars are big ticket items the main price influence of cars is from COE for that LTA is going to release more of it. So if more people buy cars they will take up more loans and that helps economy to improve. Because you cannot grow if people don't spend.

In the past if you were a car salesman you are very rich.
1) If someone buys a car from you, you earn a hand.
2) If he trades in his car for the new car you also earn a hand if you resell it later.
3) He buys insurance you get comission thats earning a hand.
4) If he gets financing you also earn a hand.

Sell 1 car can earn so much money, a friend selling Fiat cars the most cheapo car on singapore roads tells me he sells abt 3 cars a month takes home on average 8k imagine what those BMW salepeople take home.

Cars are big ticket items as I previously mentioned is one of the main drivers of a booming economy so the garmen is trying to improve this area, they are doing their part by lowering car COE, the problem are the car companies still charging a lot examplified by their sales people making so much money so people are hesitant therefore garmen steps to offer better rates and rebates to force cars companies to do the same.

In the end a booming economy should benefit everyone and not only a small handful.

PatrickLTH SG

So what is the core business of NTUC?
My understanding of NTUC, from a businessman perspective is :

In doing my legitimate business (be it a car sale person, insurance agent, undertaker, house agent, etc etc), so long I make money, which is deemed to be too much by the government, then NTUC will step in and compete with me.

KumSioJui SG

Originally posted by PatrickLTH:

[b]So what is the core business of NTUC?
My understanding of NTUC, from a businessman perspective is :

In doing my legitimate business (be it a car sale person, insurance agent, undertaker, house agent, etc etc), so long I make money, which is deemed to be too much by the government, then NTUC will step in and compete with me.

[/b]

You claim to be a businessman what business are you in by the way? are you in the car, insurance or undertaker business?

pls dun try to incite emotions or twist words here or are you trying to gain some sympathy for your situation, if you are really unhappy with your situation then pls take some action, NTUC not only competiting with you, but with a lot of other people, there is always a silver lining in every cloud, so instead of complaining shouldn't someone as resourceful as a businessman should be .. like you be doing something about it?

Maybe you can form a syndicate with fellow complainers to take on NTUC or maybe supply NTUC.

reyes SG

NTUC= National trade union congress.

alot of ppl has misconception about NTUC as part of govt organisation. well i am not at all surprise consider many member of the NTUC are part of the PAP regime.
NTUC is a union of blue collar workers mainly. sorry i left my textbook in the shelf for a long time. it is the unbrella for many other smaller union in singapore. such as taxi driver union, bus driver and etc. function is for collective agreement (CA) negotiation with employer. White collar staff or with salary higher than $1600 are not allow to join union as it deem they can negotiate their salary and benefits. but things change, nowadays white collar member are allow to join member but without CA representation. meaning member for benefits like points for NTUC supermarket, chalets and other discounts.

some ppl believe NTUC are actually pressing the price of normal goods down so everyone can buy cheaper goods from supermarket. but without NTUC do you think we will have more carrefour, Giant, on the HDB area? do you find price from these outlets more expensive then NTUC?

I think NTUC best stick to their main role and core business that is " fight for the blue collar of Singapore workers" and not be a parrot for the PAP.
* Lim SS (secretary general) have to speak out for the workers and not speak what the PAP want you to speak.

yoongf SG

Perhaps it's necessary to clarify that this one thread has lumped 3 seperate legal entities into 1 perceived big organisation.

NTUC is the umbralla organisation for Sg unions, the typical union organisation.

Income is a co-operative.. owned by the respective unions, something like the "Employee Benefits" section of the NTUC affiliates, but it is still a seperate and distinct legal entity. Just that it's goals are more aligned with social entrepreunership instead of profit maximisation.

Fairprice is the supermarket arm of NTUC, also a seperate legal entity.

I would say that all three have their respective objectives, which I believe is to have viable businesses to fund social programs. I don't perceive that as an issue.

Lowclassman SG

Yeah.yeah... more bankruptcy also...

Eventually NTUC will takeover Geylang prostitution as well. Twisted Evil

Lowclassman SG

So good profits meh....you are talking about mid or late seventies where car brokers make loads of $$$ that I believe.
But from early or mid eighties onward, used car sales competitions have got more fierce eversince. Profit margin was not that high as you have mentioned. Which has gone down to a couple of thousands or slightly more only.

Eversince the gov's intervene into the retailing market; the market now is facing extreme low cash liquidity as compared to early days. As you can see that more retailing shops are closing down with many vacant shops are left empty.

Just go to Sim Ming car repair shops and take a look. Many shops tenants are telling me that they are waiting HDB to chase them away.
Twisted Evil Crying or Very sad

sbst275 SG

I believe the gift vouncher for the tsunami hit victims, NTUC Fairprice must have gotten gains also Twisted Evil

KumSioJui SG

used to be good lah, now is still not too bad, another car sale friend told me sell 1 car these days still can earn 800-1.2k, car sales still make good money because of parallel import. Go to bukit merah/common wealth area, if car sales that bad how come still so many showrooms? Wink

TVaddict SG

i have discovered long ago that the biggest misdeed of ntuc is greed…. they really want to bao ka liao. toothbrush, rice, flour, sweet sauce, shower foam, etc, etc… u name it, they probably have it under their brand…

reyes SG

yoongf
Junior Member

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 68

Send Message 03 January 2005 · 08:46 AM
Perhaps it's necessary to clarify that this one thread has lumped 3 seperate legal entities into 1 perceived big organisation.

NTUC is the umbralla organisation for Sg unions, the typical union organisation.

Income is a co-operative.. owned by the respective unions, something like the "Employee Benefits" section of the NTUC affiliates, but it is still a seperate and distinct legal entity. Just that it's goals are more aligned with social entrepreunership instead of profit maximisation.

Fairprice is the supermarket arm of NTUC, also a seperate legal entity.

I would say that all three have their respective objectives, which I believe is to have viable businesses to fund social programs. I don't perceive that as an issue.

the problem is that NTUC spin off under so call seperate legal untity. just like MRT , SBS so when citizen complain about high transport pricing, related minstries will say because these are privatise company thus govt canot intervene.
NTUC was not even clear in its role. it leader join PAP and become puppet of the curent ruling party. wearing 2 hats. hard to distinguish the line they going to draw between benefits for worker and govt.
To me, NTUC is brillant in business but done badly for the workers.
Does singapore tripatite ever existed in the first place???

sbst275 SG

Originally posted by reyes:
yoongf
Junior Member

Joined: 30 Oct 2003
Posts: 68

Send Message 03 January 2005 · 08:46 AM
Perhaps it's necessary to clarify that this one thread has lumped 3 seperate legal entities into 1 perceived big organisation.

NTUC is the umbralla organisation for Sg unions, the typical union organisation.

Income is a co-operative.. owned by the respective unions, something like the "Employee Benefits" section of the NTUC affiliates, but it is still a seperate and distinct legal entity. Just that it's goals are more aligned with social entrepreunership instead of profit maximisation.

Fairprice is the supermarket arm of NTUC, also a seperate legal entity.

I would say that all three have their respective objectives, which I believe is to have viable businesses to fund social programs. I don't perceive that as an issue.

[b]the problem is that NTUC spin off under so call seperate legal untity. just like MRT , SBS so when citizen complain about high transport pricing, related minstries will say because these are privatise company thus govt canot intervene.
NTUC was not even clear in its role. it leader join PAP and become puppet of the curent ruling party. wearing 2 hats. hard to distinguish the line they going to draw between benefits for worker and govt.
To me, NTUC is brillant in business but done badly for the workers.
Does singapore tripatite ever existed in the first place???

[/b]

Hey Hey... SBS did not ask for higher fares last year, only SMRT

Lowclassman SG

Same lah...SBS did not ask for raise fares last year, but they will ask for this year or next year; indirectly more money for their own poket in term of bonus and salary increment.

The Gov so to try to monopoly the market which they aimed to make majority of Sinagporean to work for them. In political benefits, these will make people will have no choice or being obligated to vote for them. Simple logic.

Ren Pu Wei Zi Tien Zhu ti miak the worst is they don't care you die.

sbst275 SG

I tell you this, NTUC would stop them as NTUC is a shareholder

Lowclassman SG

Hey, hey,

Would or would not

pearlie27 SG

the govt was originally not supposed to go into any business that was listed in the yellow pages, but now we have the ntuc doing all kinds of businesses.

ntuc's subsidiary, Comfort was started with the noble intention of helping taxi drivers own their own taxi, but ended up exploiting the taxi drivers!

yoongf SG

Err...

NTUC = govt?

Also...
Even if it's perceived that NTUC = govt, the "Yellow pages rule" was only adopted in 2003. NTUC and taxis go way back into the 70s.

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