High Unemploment On Labour Day!!!

last SG · 2003-05-10T08:27:35+00:00

Ha! It is pretty very unlucky to graduate these years... There's always something bad happening... But there's one thing right about PAP government's words....

CX SG

cannot like that say also lah... GLCs are of Sg's biggest employers too... if they move out, the direct immediate effect is unemployment! so how? gahmen sponsor GLCs to go overseas to make others richer while more locals lose their jobs??

like when "a certain" local telecommunication company moved its call centre across the causeway, people were pissed off.

but if it stays here, its costs are higher... so what are they to do? service the LOCAL economy or service THEIR bottom line? these 2 roles are not always complementary.

u can't just tweak it a little bit... the problems are too deep rooted... but no matter how u address them, u'll hurt.

thinker SG

First, I am not suggesting all the GLCs to move out... I mean "some" lor... selectively that those that local SME can handle.
For the local employment matters, this is what I mean. What I mean is when the gov MNC established themselves globally and earn $$$... they can then give the work to local SME or help local SME to become MNC... Like if the global MNC earns net profit after tax is US1 biilion, they can give 500 million projects or works to local SME to grow... In simple is gov MNC earn outside and feed local SME inside and not sqeeze inside SME...

In this way, more jobs is actually being created... local SME need more ppl to to the work... and gov MNC need more local talent overseas to manage the business... but of cos this movement or changes must be gradual, else there will be upheaval in the employment market...

thinker SG

First, I am not suggesting all the GLCs to move out... I mean "some" lor... selectively that those that local SME can handle.
For the local employment matters, this is what I mean. What I mean is when the gov MNC established themselves globally and earn $$$... they can then give the work to local SME or help local SME to become MNC... Like if the global MNC earns net profit after tax is US1 biilion, they can give 500 million projects or works to local SME to grow... In simple is gov MNC earn outside and feed local SME inside and not sqeeze inside SME...

In this way, more jobs is actually being created... local SME need more ppl to to the work... and gov MNC need more local talent overseas to manage the business... one point is as long as the BIZ earns, I see no reason why employment will shrink... unless the MNC is managed inappropriately or losing profits...but of cos this movement or changes must be gradual, else there will be upheaval in the employment market...

Android123 SG

Short term goals for Singapore is to continue to attract foreign investments in a variety of form, whether in service, manufacturing, etc. This will require an environment supportive of foreign talent, in order to attract the larger more significant investments.

Long term goals should be to encourage local enterprises to form and to:
1. Feed into the existing business framework
2. Replace some, if not all, the existing foreign framework and ultimately to export these to the region and the world
3. Create new form of businesses

We have been successful in the past achieving the short term goals set. Each year we were able to bring in more foreign investments. While we were patting out backs, we failed to see that we have wasted those years by not looking after our long term goals.

It is time, we separate the two and have separate home teams working on them. Placing them together will simply lead to a status quo. The long term goal team should be given the flexibility to achieve their goals without hindrance and concerns of short term realities.

I have worked mostly with MNCs and one very obvious trait of such companies is that they have one and only one goal and that is to achieve profits for their parent company back home. There is no loyalty to the local country where they operate. If you do not give them what they want they will move and leave. The few cases recently in the shipping business is clear for all to see.

To think that they have Singapore interest at heart is being naive. My constant hope for the government is to realize the need to put more emphasis to build a large pool of world class businesses that will one day go overseas and bring back the dough.

I know some will say that enterpreneurs should come from the people and should need no assistance from the government. My answer is simple, if with government assistance we can bring sucess quicker, then why not. Say what you want but fortune 1000 companies achieve their current position with a lot of help from their home governments. Sanctions, quotas and whatever are used to ensure these successes.

P.S. I have read recently government is already placing our brains at the service of local SMBs. This is a good start and I urge the government not to stop at that only.

Cheers

CX SG

Originally posted by thinker:

First, I am not suggesting all the GLCs to move out... I mean "some" lor... selectively that those that local SME can handle.
For the local employment matters, this is what I mean. What I mean is when the gov MNC established themselves globally and earn $$$...

to establish yourself globally, u need to compete effectively globally... against established western MNCs who've had decades more of experience in their respective fields and YEARS of headstart to entrench themselves into global markets.

for instance, for NOL (which is losing money) to compete effectively, they need to take on Maersk, Evergreen, etc etc... Maersk especially, is BIG... and very firmly entrenched. and they're still profitable.

In this way, more jobs is actually being created... local SME need more ppl to to the work... and gov MNC need more local talent overseas to manage the business... but of cos this movement or changes must be gradual, else there will be upheaval in the employment market...

their way to go is to get a foreign talent lah... u think they'll expatriate locals to an off shore location? yes, they do, but how many can u possibly send? its an expensive way to operate.

not that i'm arguing for the mere sake of it lah... but i really don't want to simplify the problem to this extent. its complex.

we're hit by rising costs. that makes us less attractive as an investment location unless we're able to add tremendous amounts of value to the output. manufacturing is still a big slice of the pie and the short-term way to go, seems to still be attempting to attract foreign investments.

as far as value-added manufacturing is concerned, you are trapped by the ang mohs... the technology is THEIRS... micro-electronics for instance... memory chips is mostly korean and taiwanese... because these are rather easier technologies to master in the early days (and they managed to build up the capability with ang-moh help) than micro-processors (which is very cheem and STILL ang moh).

as for services, face it... local GLCs are in no shape to compete with foreign MNCs... financial services... DBS vs Merryl Lynch, Citibank and HSBC... once u remove the restrictions currently holding them back... and with the US FTA, we're set for MORE competition on home ground... it won't be sweet.

to compete effectively, the GLCs need to revamp their entire mindset and operations philosophy... its not an overnight process... u can't run a business with bureaucrats in this day and age.

thats how i see the GLCs... monolithic, sluggish, dinosaurs.

thinker SG

Originally posted by CX:

their way to go is to get a foreign talent lah... u think they'll expatriate locals to an off shore location? yes, they do, but how many can u possibly send? its an expensive way to operate.

not that i'm arguing for the mere sake of it lah... but i really don't want to simplify the problem to this extent. its complex.

we're hit by rising costs. that makes us less attractive as an investment location unless we're able to add tremendous amounts of value to the output. manufacturing is still a big slice of the pie and the short-term way to go, seems to still be attempting to attract foreign investments.

as far as value-added manufacturing is concerned, [b]you are trapped by the ang mohs... the technology is THEIRS... micro-electronics for instance... memory chips is mostly korean and taiwanese... because these are rather easier technologies to master in the early days (and they managed to build up the capability with ang-moh help) than micro-processors (which is very cheem and STILL ang moh).

as for services, face it... local GLCs are in no shape to compete with foreign MNCs... financial services... DBS vs Merryl Lynch, Citibank and HSBC... once u remove the restrictions currently holding them back... and with the US FTA, we're set for MORE competition on home ground... it won't be sweet.

to compete effectively, the GLCs need to revamp their entire mindset and operations philosophy... its not an overnight process... u can't run a business with bureaucrats in this day and age.

thats how i see the GLCs... monolithic, sluggish, dinosaurs.

[/b]

I fully agree with the points that you stated. Though foreign MNC and technology are fully entrenched, we must still strive on... Every business got risks and competition. It all drive down to the management and whether they can attract talent to value-add to their businesses.

As for rising costs, I think the respective authority should really do something to control and contain it. Some ppl might says that we are too dependent on the authority, and we must stand on our feets, but certain things are not controllable by us, the individual citizen. Its all bullshit to say that we must take care of ourselves on everything and not rely on the authority for spoon-feeding. Look at how the basic needs like housing and healthcare had boom logarithmly over the years comparatively to what an average individual is earning. I think there is really a growing gap among the different levels of earning.

Yes... I see that the GLC is monolithic, sluggish, dinosaurs too. I also see that the environment is so tightly controlled that individual does not have the "space" to innovate and to explore new ways of doing things. Some of them, high levels managment are ppl from the forces. This does not make sense to me... You can't drive a business like a top-down command structure like in the forces. Something is really really wrong.... Hope that the relevant authority can look at profit and loses and find ways to generate earnings and not everytime tax the common ppl. It seems like nowadays their "innovative" ways is to tax the ppl or increase prices to meet their required profit margin... If it keeps going this way... can't really imagine what will happen to our country...economically...

Atobe SG

Interesting article taken from the ThinkCentre.org :
http://www.thinkcentre.org

Quote:

You have to give it to the PAP

Any government receptive to the needs and welfare of its citizens would have pruned the costs of government and used the savings to alleviate hardships in the community. But not the PAP.

Goh creates posts to keep Ministers relieved of their ministries. Would someone tell us, who have to foot the bill, what is the necessity for and function of second Ministers.

We now have six Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office including the Prime Minister and of whom two have been designated as Second Ministers.

Do we really need two Cabinet Ministers to look after one Ministry?

Do they divide the work between themselves? Or is one overseeing the other?

The appointment of two Cabinet Ministers to a Ministry is unique - another first for Singapore.

We have a right to know. Who says the PAP does not look after their own?

signed
J B Jeyaretnam

Unquote

http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2053

thinker SG

Originally posted by Atobe:
Interesting article taken from the ThinkCentre.org :
http://www.thinkcentre.org

Quote:

[b]You have to give it to the PAP

Any government receptive to the needs and welfare of its citizens would have pruned the costs of government and used the savings to alleviate hardships in the community. But not the PAP.

Goh creates posts to keep Ministers relieved of their ministries. Would someone tell us, who have to foot the bill, what is the necessity for and function of second Ministers.

We now have six Ministers in the Prime Minister's Office including the Prime Minister and of whom two have been designated as Second Ministers.

Do we really need two Cabinet Ministers to look after one Ministry?

Do they divide the work between themselves? Or is one overseeing the other?

The appointment of two Cabinet Ministers to a Ministry is unique - another first for Singapore.

We have a right to know. Who says the PAP does not look after their own?

signed
J B Jeyaretnam

Unquote

http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2053[/b]

Ya... not a bad webside... Here is another story...

More then 89,000 unemployed Singaproeans are searching for jobs, among them 13,000 are graduates. Unemployment is expected to rise above 5 per cent. Working hard or long hours for low pay or no pay may not save the job anymore. Read the story of a young graduate and his retrencehd father both on the search for job and how he feels!

Early morning. I crawled out of bed and make my way to the kitchen, which is bathed in half-light. Father is reading his newspaper and having his coffee. I proceeded to take a shower. Another new day has begun.
I towelled myself dry and opened the toilet door. Only a newspaper and a cup of coffee, half drank and still warm, greeted me from where father was sitting just now.

He had gone out to work as a packer. A tough job no doubt what with having to stand from morning till evening. Lunch break is the only time when he can rest his tire legs.

It has been almost a year since I graduated but I am still without a proper job. My father used to think that by working hard and supporting me through university, he will have an easier life in his old age when I graduated and get a well paying job.

But with the bad times, I was not able to get a proper job and some months back, my father was retrenched from his clerical job. The income I am earning in my temp job was not enough to support the household so father had no choice but to work as a packer.

This packer job does not come easy for father. It took him months of job searching to land this job, as most times, employers will just reject father straight away when they know his age.

Just the other day, I overheard my father complaining to his friend over the phone about how tough his packer job was. I feel so sorry for father.

How I wish I could give him the luxury to finish his cup of coffee and newspaper in the morning.

CX SG

sigh... gone were the days when a uni degree guaranteed a decent paying job...

nowadays, grads are diving for scraps man... and its not that they're fussy or complaining or anything... but many of them are already up to their arse in debts once they graduate... study loans and all that crap.

and many of their parents are also in difficulties and in their 50s... its not a pleasant situation when the children is unable to even assist their parents!

i've had just about ENOUGH talk from the nonsense gov't... we're all on our own man. Evil or Very Mad

kenhor SG

Actually, A uni degree does not guarantee much in the west as well. Germany has 11% unemployment and lots of those unemployed are degreed people.

What is important is the kind of jobs that the PAP regime create for our people. Sadly, the mentality that the PAP regime has imparted on the people is that working for people / PAP earns good money. That is definately a falsehood in every other country in the world.

In fact, some elected governments are better run by experienced people who made it successful in their own profession, who became government ministers / members because of their willingness to sacrifice their income for the good of the community.

So the "scholar" is best for our PAP regime and how they skim the cream off the top of our people is mismanagement of limited resources.

If they try to label it as following the confusian (sp) way, they are sadly mistake. In the old days, there were scholars. They spent their entire lives studying for the exams. Those who passed are made officials and judges and ministers. There are the 90% who failed. What did they do? Well, they helped out in their fathers business, became ordinary merchants etc.

But those who passed became the ruling class. They set the laws and became the judges. However, they did not become merchants. They ruled the country and dispensed justice. They did not compete with the merchant class.

So we can see that our so called scholar theory holds no water. We take the best for the government service .. that I don't agree, but the PAP can justify confusianism for that. But if they go on that path, then the PAP regime has no right to use the same scholars to lead corporations and compete with the ordinary merchants.

Thats one of the problems facing our people now. The feeling of helplessness that unless you are a scholar, you are doomed as even being a businessman will not succeed if you are a mere ordinary peon.

And the PAP regime took it one step furthur. By bringing in FT, they ensured that they get the same tax revenue without the neccessary political baggage that citizens come with.

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