The start of the rebellion from Within ?

Atobe SG

It was reported in news over radio that Trade Union Leaders have protested to the DPM-FM Lee, at a Pre-Conference of Trade Union Leaders.

The protest was made over the remarks made by NTUC Chief Lee Boon Heng that future Profitable Corporations will also retrench workers, and that compensation packages will be smaller.

This was seen as an Union approval for future attempts by any Profitable Companies to retrench more workers, with lower compensation packages not tied to Companies' Profit standing, and that Employers can expect no resistance from the Trade Unions.

The Union Leaders have indicated that this is contrary to the role of the Trade Union to look after the interests of the Workers.

Finally, it seems fit for the Union Leaders to recognise that the symbiotic relations of the NTUC with a Political Party that forms the Government of the Day, is nothing more then to play a subservient role to the Government Plan in the development of Singapore.

At least the conscience of the minor Union Leaders have remained above board, and prick their courage to speak the truth, and shake the complacency of the NTUC in performing its true role to protect the real interests of the Workers of Singapore.

This matter was surprisingly left unreported over TV.

laser51088 SG

Start of a rebellion? probably not. . .

those 'rebellious ones' will probably be 'persuaded to stfu' or get booted out somehow or other with a charge for some heinious crime in court of 'law'. . .

sai002 SG

i have plenty of comment on this but i think i will kept quite .
it is a dangerous world out there

Ecxentrique SG

the whole tripartite system is flawed. Unions are formed basically for the ultimate interest of the workers. Now look at wat is happening, CPF cut so long dun restore, prices and fares still keep rising and pple still get retrenched and will still be retrenched.

Singapore has really come to a crossroad already, what has worked in the past cannot hold us into the future.

SingaporeMacross SG

here comes the revolution…......

nismoS132 SG

chui gong lam pa song.

laser51088 SG

yeah, normally outside this forums i dun so 'blatant' also, except to a few friends. . .

in singapore its always wiser to stfu. . .

i'm 15 and i'm feeling that liao. . . better to say nothing cos nothing gets done even if u say something, but u can get locke dup are sued or some shit if u do say anything at all. . .

but seriously, i dun think ntuc qualifies as a union anymore. . . its more of an organisation doing investments (see your taxi, insurance, supermarket, erm, what else?) no thanks to the leadership of course. . .

sorry, not sure of whole list. . . and what happened to 'comfort' after it merge with delgro arh? ntuc still in charge or not? sorry i suaku on how these stuff work. . . its all made so complicated. . .

Atobe SG

Following is an extract from the Straits Times report (25-7-03) of SM LKY speech at the recent Trade Union Conference:

Any move to bring down the cost of industrial land, or commercial rent at places like Suntec City, OCBC Building or DBS Building, would eventually result in falling housing values.

'It's all inter-linked and, finally, you find your three-room flat may be worth less.'

And being 'an asset-owning, property-owning society', Singaporeans would be hit badly if this were to happen, he said.

The Government thus had to adjust land prices in a gradual manner.

But since wages made up a major proportion of costs - ranging from 15 per cent in information technology industries to 60 per cent in labour-intensive manufacturing industries - the Government is now focusing on bringing down labour costs.

But how do workers cope with lower wages on the one hand, and rising costs of public amenities such as health care and transport, asked Madam Law.

Mr Lee dispelled the notion that workers were squeezed on both ends - facing lower wages and a higher cost of living.

Transport and medical costs may have risen in recent years, but the cost-of-living index - which tracks prices of a comprehensive bundle of goods and services - had risen by less than 1 per cent.

As for public amenities, it was better to let market forces determine their operations.

Subsidies would distort consumption, he said.

Free medical services in China and a nationalised health system in Britain had resulted in backlogs and poor quality of care.

Elsewhere, government coffers subsidised public transport companies - and as a result they became inefficient.

'The open market, supply and demand settling the price, is the most efficient way of settling what a service or a product is worth.'

So, rather than subsidise the service, the Government decided to help the needy with cash grants or rebates.

'We decided as a matter of basic principle that it's better to give the man the cash and he decides what he's going to do.'

As for the worry that retrenched workers and those who suffered wage cuts cannot service their mortgages, Mr Lee said this issue of 'negative equity' had been examined closely by the Government.

This is the biggest problem in Hong Kong at the moment. It came about following the bursting of the property bubble that had built up over the years there.

People bought property at the height of the market and mortgaged it to the bank.

But when property values came down, many who were jobless or had lower salaries found they could not service their loans.

Fortunately, Singapore did not have this problem, as property prices did not go up as high as in Hong Kong, said Mr Lee.

Also, the bulk of Singaporeans own Housing Board flats.

No one who bought a flat directly from HDB at subsidised prices was in danger of losing it from not servicing his loan, due to HDB's home ownership social agenda.

Indeed, most would still make money if they sold out now.

'We are not going to do anything which will cause us the problem that Hong Kong is facing.

'One of the reasons why our morale is not like Hong Kong is because we don't have this problem,' he said.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,201178,00.html?

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What happened to the Government Promise of achieving the Swiss Standard of Living by the next election ?

The Cost-of-Living Index - is said to have been build up by tracking prices of a comprehensive bundle of goods and services - had risen by less than 1 per cent,

Amazing that the increase is only 1%, considering that GST has increased by 33.333 percent - having increased from 3% to 4%; prices of petrol has fluctuated between a narrow band of 5% to 6%; bus fares have gone up by at least 10% to 15%; HDB Car Park has increased from $55 p.m. to $65 p.m - an increase of 18%; Bank Service Charges have increase from zero to $5 - an increase of X%; Telephone charges have gone up from a fixed monthly charge of $30 unlimited usage to an average household charge of $120 - an increase of 300%; Bus Fares jumped by 20cents in 2001 - an average increase of at least 15%; similar branded household essentials are sold at prices that are 50% cheaper in Malaysia than in Singapore; yet the Cost-of-Living Index is only 1%.

Someone playing with figures ?

BillyBong SG

Many ppl do not realise what the "swiss standard of living" may be.

Having visited switzerland, i believe our nation is a LONG WAY from realising this dream.

Technically speaking, the swiss are far more advanced then us in terms of a knowledge based economy. They have achieved several goals such as being a leading financial hub of the world. We have barely scratched the surface.

The cost of living in switzerland is so high anyone who visits that country will come back thinking our SOL is dirt cheap.

Their wage bill is so overwhelming that they cannot bring in foreign workers to do construction work like us. They do it themselves. Are SIngaporeans willing get down and dirty?

To top it all, it is almost impossible to migrate and be a citizen of switzerland. They pride themselves with being the most exclusive nation in the world. Imagine: to be one of them, u must 1) contribute to their society, and everyone in ur town must know this. 2) been living in switzerland for at least 8 odd years. 3) lastly, campaign to be a citizen (yes you have to sell yourself to the ppl in ur town and get them to vote for you) i believe you need 80% of the votes as well.

In stark contrast, to be a singapore citizen is merely small potatoes...at the moment we are nearly swamped by chinese nationals etc

I wonder just wat our government was thinking when they made that declaration....

Atobe SG

It was GCT's version of Martin Luther's "I have a Dream......"

- that of a Swiss Standard of Living.

Unfortunately, he forgot to mention the Swiss Cost of Living that has to go along with the Swiss Standard of Living.

At least, the Swiss has something more substantial in their talent pool, in the creativity of the people, the borderless space of individual liberties - with no hidden OB Markers, no constraints from legislations, no super political personalities that hog the political scene, no heirs to political power, no political and family involvement in GLCs, no hogging of political power, no claim to super genetic intelligence by one single family.

There is far more tolerance amongst the Swiss to each other's behavior than the preferred political thought of "Good of the Mass should take precedence over the Minority" - which literally play the population into the hand of ambitious politicians to hog political power.

Atobe SG

Now the MPs from the Ruling Party are "singing the same tune" as the Opposition MPs, concerning the negative feelings from the electorate to the cuts to Singapore Wages and CPF.

When the economy is humming, it is the result of good policies and government planning.

When the economy runs bad, it is the caused by world events, and the fact that weak Government policies could make the economy more resilient to external shocks - somehow do not seem to be a factor for consideration.

The pressure is on and GCT has to make a stand to defend the failed policies of the past before he give up his post as PM.

Betrayal
PM, stung by the use of the word by opposition MP Low Thia Khiang and PAP MP Amy Khor to describe feelings of Singaporeans over CPF rate cuts, takes them to task

By Rebecca Lee

THE word 'betrayal' stabs at the heart of what the Government considers sacred in its relationship with the people - trust.

And so yesterday, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong took strong exception to it as he castigated opposition MP Low Thia Khiang as well as PAP MP Amy Khor for using the word to describe how Singaporeans felt about the impending CPF rate cuts.

He accused the Workers' Party secretary-general and Hougang MP of fanning the fire of discontent without offering constructive suggestions while chiding Dr Khor for failing to debunk the 'betrayal nonsense' expressed by some middle-income earners.

Last Friday, the opposition MP had charged that the PAP betrayed the trust of the people by reneging on its promise to restore the CPF rates to 40 per cent and to create jobs.

It drew a robust rebuttal from Mr Goh who said: 'He is trying to corrode a fundamental pillar of the PAP - the trust between the people and the Government.'

In defending the CPF cuts after a four-day debate on the subject, Mr Goh made it plain that their different views of Singapore's economic plight stem from the different roles played by a 'politician' and a 'political leader'.

Mr Low is a 'politician' who, instead of putting out a fire, 'looks for the biggest fan to fan the fire', said Mr Goh.

However, as 'political leader', Mr Goh said he seeks to tackle a grave problem with the best solution, even if it means pain and discomfort in the short term.

'I never duck an issue even if it will cost me some votes. I let the results speak for themselves.'

While Mr Low had accused him of total amnesia, he said the opposition MP was guilty of 'selective amnesia'.

'When he accused me of not keeping my promise to create jobs, he conveniently forgot to tell this House that since the general election in November 2001, the world has been threatened by terrorism, destabilised by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and frightened by Sars.

'He conveniently forgot to tell the House that these events were beyond our control. He forgot to tell the House that if the events had not happened, our economy would have grown by at least 3 per cent this year.'

Later, Mr Low jumped to his feet to restate his point that he does not think the CPF should be cut to below 35 per cent and again attacked the Government for breaking its election promise.

Rebutting, PM Goh challenged him to 'stand up and tell the people that 40 per cent is right for Singapore now'.

Mr Low's rejoinder: 'It is for the Prime Minister, the PAP who has made the promise, to stay with the promise. I didn't make the promise.

'And he has failed, the PAP has failed by not going back to 40 per cent.'

In reply, PM Goh acknowledged that there may be a political price to pay but was confident the results will win people over.

'Yes, we've made a promise and yes, I got to pay the price for this. But I can tell you when the results are there, more people will support us for being practical, adaptable and realistic.'

In his speech, Mr Goh also took to task opposition MP Chiam See Tong, for trying to take ministers' past words out of context, and aiming to show they were not keeping to their word.

But his tactic did not work because the Government had nothing to hide, he said, or rather 'no dirty linen' to wash in public.

As for PAP MP Amy Khor, who used 'betrayal' twice in her speech on Monday, Mr Goh had a word of advice: 'I advise PAP MPs not to unwittingly erode the trust between the people and the Government.'

Although Dr Khor supported the CPF changes, 'PAP MPs should be careful not to broadcast such strong words, when there was no betrayal. They must not sing the same tune as opposition MPs.

'Instead, they should stand their ground and debunk this betrayal nonsense,' Mr Goh said.

Later, when asked to comment on her choice of words, Dr Khor said it was made 'in good faith to implore the Government to take the concerns of the middle-income group into consideration.'

She told The Straits Times: 'It was a genuine expression of what I felt the ground was telling me.

'On hindsight, 'betrayal' is an emotive word. Perhaps I could have used another word to express the same sentiment.

'But I have to take responsibility for it. As an MP, I must be able to face robust rebuttal.'

Viper52 SG

Ruling Party backbenchers are chided for doing their job, ie. expressing the views and feelings of their constituents and not using sugar-coated, sycophantic language to mask the true feelings of those they represent. What has Singapore become?

If anything has corroded the trust between the people and the government, it is the actions of the Ruling Elite (sans backbenchers like Amy Khor, Inderjit Singh etc) who refuse to step down from their ivory tower and understand the people's problems, and instead heap all the blame for Singapore's woes on "external factors".