Relief for the jobless.Are we delting with the welfare sys?
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OCT 2, 2003
Relief for the jobless
Monetary aid given as long as person makes effort to get work
By Wendy Tan
OUT of work for almost a year and faced with mounting unpaid bills, a father of six, struggling to make ends meet, can now look to a new help scheme to get a job and pay his bills for up to three months.
Under the Work Assistance Programme, Mr Mohd Ini Sarli, 41, could get a cash allowance of up to $400 a month, as well as $60 more per child, to help defray the expenses of his school-going brood.
The scheme, which was rolled out by all five Community Development Councils (CDCs) yesterday, is targeted at low-income earners who have lost their jobs and have a monthly household income of less than $1,500.
The former driver may also get up to $90 each month to pay his utilities bill and another $35 for the service and conservancy charges for his four-room HDB flat.
In return, he has to be 'reasonable' in his job expectations and go for all interviews set up by North West CDC, which is helping him.
The CDC has deployed 14 staff members, five times the usual number, to help match unemployed Singaporeans with jobs and set up interviews.
Each job seeker will be looked after for one to three months. How much each job-seeker gets and how long he will be helped for under the new $40-million scheme will be determined on a case-by-case basis, said Madam Chin Tong Mui, deputy general manager of North West CDC.
Mr Mohd Ini said that the financial help he could get would not be enough, but it would be welcome relief.
The sole breadwinner in his family, he has a $1,300 utilities bill to settle.
He is also in arrears of more than $400 in conservancy fees and cannot afford to pay his son's kindergarten registration fee for next year.
The odd jobs he has been doing earn him barely enough to put meals on the table.
Madam Chin explained that the money given out under the new scheme is not meant to clear people's arrears, but the helping hand may be extended beyond three months if, despite all efforts, a job-seeker still cannot land a post, she added.
And those who are promised help for the full three months will continue getting the aid even if they find a job immediately.
'It's an incentive to get people to find a job as soon as possible,' said Dr Teo Ho Pin, mayor of the north-west district and an MP for Holland-Bukit Panjang GRC.
But those who turn down job referrals or fail to show up for interviews will soon find themselves out of the scheme, warned Dr Teo.
He said: 'We'll act as a surrogate parent and help support the family during their difficult time. But we want to see real effort and quick action in getting a job.
'We won't waste resources on recalcitrants. If you abuse the system, you'll have to help yourself after the three months.'
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Copyright @ 2003 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved -
i wonder how they define recalcitrant?
something popped into my brain immediately.. that dude who had $800,000 in CPF and could not feed his family..
how do they help him then? i don't think he wants handouts.. he just wants access to his own money, and only for a while..
welfare system would be good actually, there will be some who will fall outside no matter how comprehensive the employment market is..
btw, another cynical part of me is calling out: when's the next elections?
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Does the CPF system work in the manner that it was originally intended ?Originally posted by the Bear:i wonder how they define recalcitrant?
something popped into my brain immediately.. that dude who had $800,000 in CPF and could not feed his family..
how do they help him then? i don't think he wants handouts.. he just wants access to his own money, and only for a while..
welfare system would be good actually, there will be some who will fall outside no matter how comprehensive the employment market is..
btw, another cynical part of me is calling out: when's the next elections?
Can the CPF system work in a situation in which a shrinking population size has to support a greater number of retirees withdrawing their CPF ?
Can the CPF return the funds to the Singaporean Account Holders, when these funds are utilised as a cheap source of money to fund the Singapore infrastructure program, and any other long term investments ?
Many Singaporeans would prefer to utilise their own CPF then be dependent on Government 'hand-outs' that are bound by terms and conditions that are insulting to the dignity of the hard working Singaporeans, who are left jobless not because of their own doing.
" RECALCITRANT " - why use such a term ?
Does MOM expect a Project Manager to take on the first job available as a toilet janitor ?
Does MOM expect a Secretary to take on the first job as a Hotel Chamber Maid ?
Does MOM expect such skilled persons to lower expectations and to be realistic to such a level ?
What if, it is through no fault of a person in the late 40's or 50's being unable to find any job, when it is the Employer that decline to accept persons in these Age Groups ?
Who will determine when someone is " RECALCITRANT " and how is a person determined to be so doing ?
It seems that the Government is on the one hand trying to show its generosity with money that RIGHTFULLY belong to Singaporeans, and on the other hand, being MISERLY while doing so.
Meanwhile the Government can be generous to themselves by paying the salary of SIX Ministers Without Portfolio to be in the Prime Minister's Office.
Six Ministers Without Portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office, to assist ONE Prime Minister.
Each of these Ministers being paid salary that is more than 200 times of the average Singaporean salary of approximately $2,500 per month. -
hmm i smell australia...
land of welfare, funded by hard working taxpayers..
but of course it's different here.
bear raised a good point. i'm sure many of us are in financial unrest, but our CPF balance sits so smugly in wherever they are sitting! -
another question would be:
what the hell are "Ministers of State"? what do they do? I mean, hey! Minister of State for Education.. so what the hell is the Minister of Education doing? Tuanging?
seems to be more of them than fleas on a stray dog... -
wtf i posted in the chit chat forum, how'd the reply get here?
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Even the effort from a "Grass Root" Organisation - NORTH WEST CDC is facing difficulties in "job matching" those unemployed.
The telling part is that "job matching" only go so far as to find the first available job for an OVER QUALIFIED jobless person to find some miserable pay to tide over the period.
How long more does a Singaporean Jobless Person need to hang on to such an unchallenging and unrewarding job before one is truly GAINFULLY EMPLOYED ?
$40m plan to help jobless, but where are the jobs?
Today
October 2, 2003
SINGAPORE
By Teo Hwee Nak
RIDING on the catchy slogan Get a job quickly the North West Community Development Council yesterday, Oct 1, kicked off the scheme that many Singaporeans are counting on to clamber out of the depressing maze of joblessness.
Backed with a $40 million war-chest, schemes to counsel and job-match and even an unprecedented, three-month financial assistance, the Work Assistance Programme still faces some daunting odds and unresolved issues.
That much became obvious even as the gritty counsellors from the North West CDC converted their Woodlands head office into an interview room, opening as many as 14 counters. Within three hours, the crowd of job seekers had swelled to more than 70, with more streaming in during the lunch hours.
The determination was obvious – both on part of the job-matchers and those seeking one. But money and determination cannot always change the face of a job market.
The numbers from North West CDC, which has been trying to job-match its residents for two years, showed what it must grapple with. And the Mayor of North West District, Dr Teo Ho Pin, only confirmed what many have feared.
Since November 2001, some 10,500 job seekers have sought the CDC's assistance.
Only 3800 have been successfully placed while some 3000 have waited in vain for more than six months.
"The supply of jobs is a problem. We can't find many jobs suitable for our residents. Seventy-five per cent of them have below secondary education but were used to earning $1700 to $2000. It's very tough to expect them to take up a $600 job overnight," said Dr Teo.
Some, like 40-year-old Mohd Noor Mohd Dimen, were game even for that. The former front-desk hotel receptionist, who has not been able to find a permanent job for three years, has resorted to odd jobs that pay as little as $480 a month. Saying he felt "demoralised" and "rejected" he was at the CDC office yesterday to try his luck again.
But what do you do when no jobs are available? There are already 6600 job seekers on CDC's list and more are streaming in. In contrast, the number of jobs in its database stands at 1700.
Dr Teo, aware of the situation, was not immediately willing to commit to a targeted success rate with the new scheme. "The take-up rate is not dependent on me, but on the employers and the job seekers," Dr Teo explained.
Then he added: "Let's just say that if I get 500 of them a job, I'll be very happy. That's the challenge I'm prepared to take."
Analysts have observed that the new scheme, which includes a monthly allowance of up to $400, would force some job seekers to be less fussy.
After all, as part of the package, the job seekers would have to accept any reasonable job offer that came their way.
Dr Teo said the CDC would not be too tough on those who have turned down job offers as most people were now sincere about finding work.
More surprisingly, he revealed that although the assistance comes with a three-month cap, those who find a job within the first month would continue to get their allowance for the next two.
But why continue to pay people who had already secured a monthly salary instead of using the money to help the jobless?
"So be it lah. Don't be too calculating," said Dr Teo.
In any case, it appeared that this would be a happy problem, since the bigger worry was that there were simply no job openings.
For example, 51-year-old Tan Kok Seng, who has been unemployed since his retail business folded 10 months ago, turned up for the interview with his wife. For months, the CDC has been writing to him about job fairs, but that has not helped.
"At my age and without a skill, it's very hard for me to find a job," he said with an air of resignation. "I want to go for training but I don't know what courses to take. I'm willing to accept any salary, but no employers want me. I don't know if this new scheme will make any difference."
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/031002to.htm -
i like this line.Originally posted by Atobe:"So be it lah. Don't be too calculating," said Dr Teo.
now he should use it in against the higher-ups more.