Unemployment In Singapore......!
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Care to share your experience with regard to the topic
It's been a very lousy feeling especially if your are 40yrs and above.Been to several interviews and already know the answer...
What can we do as the employer are on the upper hand?Does the government really care about its people hardship?Or sure they listen and their lipservice will be better than those ladies@geylang
Just hope that election will not be around the corner or I will give a thumd down for the government
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The problem in Singapore is that the expectation is wrong. In all other countries, it is taught to young kids that
a) Working for government will not earn you big bucks
b) Working for other people will not earn you big bucks
c) The best workers work for themselves.
Everyone knows this, except for Singaporeans. And the government prefer to mislead everyone on the island by paying government ministers so much. SO it leads to the mentality of working for other people. Hence, when bad times come, the population wont go off and look to start their own business. They wait for job offers to come.
This is our main problem .. the lack of the entrepuneral spirit. Even when Singaporeans migrate, most of the time, they work for someone. Its this mentality that will forever cause any unemployment crisis to be unbearable. -
the wise one has spoken. there's a whole lot of truth in that. but then again, entrepreneurial spirit aside, if you start a business you would almost have to start depending on your domestic demand initially, then grow big enough to go overseas. maybe the small domestic market is a concern, and even a cause for unemployment?Originally posted by kenhor:The problem in Singapore is that the expectation is wrong. In all other countries, it is taught to young kids that
a) Working for government will not earn you big bucks
b) Working for other people will not earn you big bucks
c) The best workers work for themselves.
Everyone knows this, except for Singaporeans. And the government prefer to mislead everyone on the island by paying government ministers so much. SO it leads to the mentality of working for other people. Hence, when bad times come, the population wont go off and look to start their own business. They wait for job offers to come.
This is our main problem .. the lack of the entrepuneral spirit. Even when Singaporeans migrate, most of the time, they work for someone. Its this mentality that will forever cause any unemployment crisis to be unbearable.
another wise man also told me recently that the government takes care of singapore as a whole, so they miss individual hardships. maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong, but he's wise.
just my two cents worth... -
For once our “Know-All” Politicians from the Ruling Party that form the Singapore Government was stumped by the reported sharp decline in our economy during the Second Quarter of 2003.
There now seems to be a noticeable silence, or deliberate low profile being kept, or lesser high profile public appearances of politicians making further condescending speeches.
Our Finance Minister, the future PM, patiently wait for further signs on the wall before he is willing to show his brilliance - if there is anyone left to admire him after 2003.
Why do we accuse the bosses or employers of a poor attitude of taking “advantage” of the jobless situation ?
The bosses / employers are no better than ourselves as workers, or the jobless too - as most of the bosses / employers are nervous and highly concerned with the present state of affairs.
With the passing of each month, when more jobless join the ranks of unemployed, the businesses of the bosses / employers will soon be affected – in one-way or another.
With a Government that contradicts itself on so many issues, most bosses / employers are confused as to what to expect, or how to plan their own manpower requirements.
Neither can those who are employed be certain of the permanence of their job, and fearful as to when the axe will fall on them; and neither can many of the unemployed make any plans to get themselves out of their predicament without any strategic decisions from the Government with regards to the CPF savings that have been held relentlessly away from the unemployed.
It is amazing that while the Government allowed the use of CPF monies for the investment in the highly volatile stock exchange, they will not allow CPF to be used to assist the unemployed to fund their period of unemployment.
Can the Citizen fend for themselves without depending on the Government ?
Starting a business will require the Citizen to communicate with the Government – the Registrar of Companies and Businesses to start with, and who has the confused audacity to demand that the CPF Medisave Account is paid to-date before a Sole Proprietorship registration can be approved; and for each subsequent annual renewal, the renewal fee will be made through the CPF - WHY this unnecessary complicated linkage ?
If one is to start up a business as a Food Operator (or Hawker), one will have to be in communication with the Environment Ministry, Health Department, besides the Registrar of Companies and Businesses.
If the Premises is the size of a Food Court or Restaurant, then one will get entangled with the Fire Department.
If the Food Operator desire to work on a 24 hour basis – as a Pub or Food Court, the Police will have to be pacified.
Can we survive without the Government being involved ?
Unfortunately, the Government has made themselves involved in the Lives of all and sundry in Singapore.
They continuously monitor the ground, taking straw polls, and sensitive to the coffee shop talk of the topics and events of the day.
Singapore as a physical entity is small; its population of 4.5 million is small when compared to our larger neighbors.
Its petite size has both advantages and disadvantages, and depending on oneÂ’s effort in understanding oneÂ’s desired objective, and tailor it to the different niche areas that is unique to Singapore, one can still make it through this hard times.
Brainstorming is the key word.
Too many unemployed tend to work their problems out silently, alone and despair.
Try to shake this off, and see the situation from a different angle, start a fresh, sit on the opposite side of the table – from where you are used to sitting, and the world will look different. -
To Kok-Eh
the wise one has spoken. there's a whole lot of truth in that. but then again, entrepreneurial spirit aside, if you start a business you would almost have to start depending on your domestic demand initially, then grow big enough to go overseas. maybe the small domestic market is a concern, and even a cause for unemployment?
You are spot on. This is why Singapore will fail. Our government destroys any hope that you have in creating a niche domestically in Singapore. Can you name any industry in Singapore that is not dominated by a GLC or a MNC (invited by the government) .. they don't give you a chance to even start.
No government in the world has any business in competiting against our own businesspeople. However, in Singapore, we see how DBS kills off the family owned banks with the help of LHL. We see how our second carrier Silk Air is owned by the first carrier (SIA). We see how the government ultimately owns both telcos, both TV stations, the taxi company, the bus company, the public transport company, the grocery stores, the main property developer, main housing developer etc etc. We can't even open a simple mobile phone reseller, as the Hello shop will kill you off.
All these are avenues for the enterprising to be able to make it and create jobs for the rest of the populace. But sadly, the government has taken full control. And hence, its almost suicidal for anyone to try and take them on. Its probably easier to win against Microsoft at their own turf rather than take on the GLCs with your own company.
Thats ONE of the reasons why the unemployment crisis is happenning. -
Thanks for all the views......really appreciate it.
Yes it's all have to do with our government...! That's why we the citizen of Singapore are in for trouble if they could not come out with better solution to unemployment in Singapore.
Any thing that we do , we have to deal with the govt. policy.This cannot and that cannot ! This can but....?That can but....?
It's we as the workers and citizen that have to fend for ourself in this hardtimes. -
This came from our ST yesterday
Country Gross Annual Pay Net Annual Pay
Singapore US$72,879 US$59,291
Malaysia US$35,161 US$26,233
China US$45,270 US$36,235
This are the pay for a SENIOR MANAGER in each of the countries. Lets just use this data, I know its probably not too accurate as it did not have CPF deductions.
So the take home pay of a middle level executive Singaporean is US$59,291 .. thats about S$8,400 per month. The Malaysian gets RM8,300 per month.
In terms of cost .. that means that we are 2x more expensive than Malaysia.
So MNCs will definately prefer to hire the Malaysians (in Malaysia) for mid level staff. Hence we will see mass exodus of jobs going to Malaysia in the coming years.
I don't even want to look at China and India to compare. -
personally, times are probably going to get worse. the problem could be a long-term one of structural employment. labor costs are not as cheap as china, but locally we have nothing to offer in terms of talent and skill. perhaps what the government did wrong (if they had done so) was probably not to change the education system earlier, with the looming threat of china becoming a manufacturing powerhouse. i have seen how ntu is changing their learning approach by embarking on seminar style teaching (like smu). this should have been done long ago, and not only tertiary education, but secondary schools as well.Originally posted by mboy69:Thanks for all the views......really appreciate it.
Yes it's all have to do with our government...! That's why we the citizen of Singapore are in for trouble if they could not come out with better solution to unemployment in Singapore.
Any thing that we do , we have to deal with the govt. policy.This cannot and that cannot ! This can but....?That can but....?
It's we as the workers and citizen that have to fend for ourself in this hardtimes.
entrepreneurial spirit? it can't be taught. it's a mentality, attitude to life that is learnt everyday. sadly, the society we are brought up in don't allow us to do just that. is there too much at risk? i should think so. moreover those who have succeeded without taking this tried-and-proven way are few. so who's willing to risk it?
in all fairness, not everything should be blamed on the government. but if you deem an incompatible education system with the changing times, and individuals' personal beliefs and mindsets to be intricably linked to government policies, then whoever is behind them is to be blamed -
I am not sure if the Government is "NOT to be blamed for all that is happening with the current situation" in Singapore for the lack of entrepreneurship.
To start with, although the Government has always advocated that "Market Supply and Demand" shall be the criteria for the allocation of national resources - including labor, the government's hand is always at play to manipulate the market mechanism.
Students are guided or allocated by the quota system into the various streams of technical and academic at the secondary levels, and the sciences and general studies at the tertiary institutions.
The citizens below 45 years old are NOT allowed to apply for any hawker licences, and are required to take on menial works (a.k.a factory hands) when they do not qualify for administrative work.
Those who are below 45 years, and unable to get their own licences, will "borrow" the licences of older folks - who are not the real stall holders.
Any enterprising ideas from any individuals, who form a company, will soon find themselves facing the onslaught of a GLC breathing down their back - as in the automotive workshops facing the might of NTUC Comfort Automobile Workshops, General Automotive Services, and also from Singapore Technologies Automotive - all with major workshops in the Sin Min Area; or the private Prime Supermarkets facing the might of NTUC Co-operative Supermarkets and Neighborhood stores.
Even the consulting sector of professional engineers and architects are also facing the competition from Government Linked Companies such as those from PWD, PSA and now HDB; let alone some other Government Linked Companies competing with the private Building and Construtcion Companies, and Private Home Developers such as City Development and Far East Corporations.
The Government will have the upper hand, as it is the one who draft the laws and legislate the same into Law, and come up with regulations to move the population in the direction that it sees fit to suit their Master Plan.
Is the Government blameless in the present inertia in the population being entrepreneurial ?