In this current round of wage cutting and job saving exercise,
much hullabaloo has been made about WORKERS having to make
sacrifices for the sake of themselves and the future of the
Companies that employ them.
This has been told from the PM, National Wage Councils,
Secretary-General of the NTUC, Management of GLCs.
Yet we do not hear the other voices from the Private Businessmen,
the Workers, and the Trade Unions that are not affiliated to the
NTUC if any independent trade unions still exist.
In the most current high profile case of the Singapore Airlines
Pilot Association negotiation deadlock with the S.I.A Management,
the PM has called for them to make sacrifices, and the SIA
Management has called the supposed stubborn position of the SIA
Pilots as being highly irresponsible.
Yet in the ST report of this Monday, May 26, 2003, it was reported
by the President of the SIA Pilot Association, that this present
cut to their wages will amount to a FIFTY Percent cut to their take
home pay.
The Pilots and Cabin Crews (Stewards and Stewardesses) have a
highly flexible wage system - comprising of low Basic Pay (from
$1200 for Cabin Crew to minimum of $4000 for Pilots), with the bulk
of their wage being based on their flight time.
Now that the Flying Hours have already been reduced by more then a
quarter (as reported by ST), as a result of the New York 9-11
incident, Bali Bombing, and now SARS, the other part of the income
of the Air Crew that is dependent on Flying Hours would have
already been reduced substantially by the reduction of flying
time.
With this round of forced wage cuts of between 15 percent to 22
percent, the President of the SIA Pilot Association is claiming
that the TOTAL effect with the reduced benefits from reduced flying
hours, will amount to a pay cut of more then 50 percent.
It would seem that here again, the WORKING CLASS is expected to
bear the brunt of the wage cut, while the MANAGEMENT has boasted
that they also have to bear wage cuts of TEN Percent, with the
Management Salary being at least 3 times that of the basic pay of
the Pilots, and 10 times that of the Cabin Crews
(co-incidentally, the Singapore Ministers also boast about wage cut
of TEN Percent of their SIX-figures Monthly Salary).
Such drastic reduction of wages will cut into the ability of many
wage earners (not only the Air Crews) in meeting the monthly
payments to their financial commitments to banks for the long term
financing of homes and vehicles.
This mess of high wages is a result of the loudly promoted scheme
of High Wages in the early 1980s, to push the Labor Force to
upgrade themselves to enter a higher level of Technology and
Industry; and to force the low tech industry to move out, and high
tech industries to move into Singapore.
It was also supposedly to boost the wealth of the WORKING
CLASS.
Unfortunately, the enforced increases to wages was negated by the
increase in the Cost of Living, with the prices of HDB Flats rising
by more then 100 percent (a 150 sqM 5-room flat in 1985 sold for
$108,000 but a 5-room flat is now sold for approximately
$210,000(?) today with its size reduced to 120 sqM).
URA land is sold for development at controlled prices that must
meet the minimum Market Price as SET by the URA (or by the
guiding hands of the Powers that be). Instead of dampening the
casino style property speculation moods of the Singapore Citizens,
the Government participated further in the fueling of the increases
in property values by stating that they will NOT interfere in the
Mechanisms of Supply and Demand (even retired PAP Government
Leaders also voiced their concern at the insatiable Moneytheism
of Singaporeans).
HDB Shops and Hawker Lots were soon no longer rented, and the
lessees have to make arrangements to buy over the units it was
reported that two old ladies had to borrow from a Finance Company
to buy over the hawker unit in a hawker center, so as to make a
living to support themselves; however, their daily sales of wontan
noodles could not meet the monthly repayment, and after two rounds
in the High Court, they were made bankrupts (circa 1996 or
97).
With a higher wage level, the CPF contribution is correspondingly
larger. The CPF burden on the Manufacturers was brought back to the
Twenty Percent level, and so was the Workers CPF contribution too,
as soon as the 1987 crisis had blown over.
With the CPF locked up, and providing cheap funds to the GIC, and
modifications to the rules of withdrawal changing the original
promises made to the Singapore Citizens, one can only wonder who
will finally benefit from these contributions in the end in the
light of the total dependency on almost all aspects of housing,
food, transport, health care, education, and even death.
To break this current economic deadlock, it is not just the WORKING
CLASS having to make sacrifices, but the Government will have to
look hard at its TOTAL Program of collecting revenues from the
multi-facetted revenue earning programs that it has through all its
various Government Directly Controlled Agencies and Departments, as
well as through its Government Linked Companies; and also being
realistic in their vision of what wages should be in relation to
the artificially created high cost of living tat stem largely from
the high selling prices of URA land released to the Private Sector
for development.
All is in the hands of the Singapore Government, how much they want
to take from the Singapore Citizens, and how much they are prepared
to give or return to the Singapore Citizens.
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