Re: More Lau Auntie and Lau Uncle having jobs..??
- From: Zanzibar <zanzibar_duck@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:33:30 -0800 (PST)
On Nov 30, 7:37 pm, "AleXX®" <cir...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
With the approach of the New Year, middle class Singapore is becoming
increasingly nervous about what is coming around the corner.
The economy has suddenly turned grim not only for the coming year, but also
several years after that.
But true to tradition, young Singaporeans will probably ring in the parties
with revelling and splurging, at least until reality dawns.
Behind the lights, however, the heartland is concerned about the coming
global crunch that will likely hit Singapore harder than its Southeast Asian
neighbours.
This city, more than others, is a trading and financial centre, and its
prosperity rests with the broad middle class being gainfully employed.
Those who have deeper retrenchment worries are Singapore's professionals,
managers, executives and technicians, who form the backbone of Singapore's
broad middle class.
With an army of lower-paid peers from developing countries ready to work for
less, they could be among the first to go, depending on sympathetic,
responsible employers.
For weeks now the government has been warning the 5.18 million residents to
prepare for a prolonged slowdown.
And last week a minister of state surprised Singaporeans when he told them
to get used to a weaker economy in the next 10 years. In other words, the
troubles were more long-term than just cyclical.
Possible impact on PAP
Any prolonged weakness will not augur well for the ruling People's Action
Party (PAP), which just suffered its worst election setback in May.
The PAP has stayed in power for 46 years because it was able to take care of
Singaporeans.
The "severe slowdown" on the horizon could test the leadership of the PAP
government and trade unions, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman
Shanmugaratnam.
"We have to prepare for the possibility, the very real possibility, of rough
times ahead, a severe slowdown in the global economy," said Tharman, who is
also Finance Minister.
In the event of a recession - the third in 12 years - it will be the first
without the presence of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in the Cabinet..
The New Year could bring a double whammy - a slowdown during a high
inflation that could exceed 5 per cent.
The real test for the political leaders is not whether Prime Minister Lee
Hsien Loong can eventually restore Singapore's economic health. He can when
the world recovers.
The question is how badly Singaporean assets and jobs will be affected by
the recession.
Another issue is whether the crisis will result in a wider income gap, with
the poor in worse condition than before.
"Will it render society less cohesive?" one commentator asked.
Several neighbouring countries whose interests are intertwined are watching
when it will end. What will happen to Singapore's open door immigration
policies?
The Republic has long been the region's top supplier of jobs for nationals
of about half a dozen countries.
In the event of retrenchments - as had happened in 2008 - they will severely
curtail inflow, but will deliver a blow to the aspirations of tens or
thousands of foreigners, including fresh graduates, who seek better paying
jobs here.
"It is fingernail-biting time for families scattered all over China, India,
the Philippines and Malaysia who have relatives working or seeking to work
here," said a financial analyst.
Caution advised
Secondly, Singapore has long been an exporter of capital and investment in
the region, and several developing countries have come to depend on it as a
catalyst of growth.
As the year draws to a close, the government has increased its advice to
citizens to be vigilant when buying stocks and properties, warning of market
instability.
They could end up losing a lot of money, said an analyst in a
government-linked corporation. A number of speculators have recently been
badly burned.
One by one, the political leaders have warned Singaporeans to expect more
retrenchments, lower salaries and bonuses next year as well as in the years
ahead.
Two out of three companies have just reported profit declines in the third
quarter and Singapore's non-oil export fell by 16 per cent. Electronics
dropped by 33 per cent.
Some economists are ruling out a return of the 6-8 per cent growth in the
years ahead for several reasons.
Fundamentally, Singapore is facing tougher competition abroad. Whatever it
does, others are doing the same or better.
At the same time, the restraint in recruiting more foreign workers in the
face of Singaporean objections is said by the government as a cause of the
slowdown.
It faces another pressure from voters that it cannot afford to brush aside:
take action to close the gap between rich and poor.
"This will result in more spending for a larger safety net for the poorer
class," said an economist.
A PAP backbencher explained: "It is quite clear that we are no longer
embarking on a growth-at-all-costs policy."
Meanwhile, there is a bit more disquiet in the workers' front.
"I have seen more people scanning the classified pages for jobs," said an
Internet commentator.
A former Reuters correspondent and newspaper editor, the writer is now a
freelance columnist writing on general trends in Singapore. This post first
appeared on his blogwww.littlespeck.comon 26 November 2011.
In this kind of recession or economic slow down situation is to happen
next year, it is highly likely that their retrenchment carried out
will be Singaporeans, first, and foreign talents, second, and work
perrmit holders, third, and employment pass holder, fourth..
This is because they know that the govt cannot interfere with the
decisions as to which of their employees will retrenched or retained.
This is given that large number of companies in Singapore have foreign
talents holding the top jobs, and also of their HRs which is also run
by the foieign HR .
Thus because of this foreign talents dominationg the HR and top posts,
it becomes easy for them to "collaborate" their decisions to dismiss
Singaporeans first..
This is also that because that their own foreign talents which cannot
be dismissed easily if they still have contractual period to fulfill
and complete.
..
.
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