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Tag: FT

  • MOM: Retrenchment In Singapore At 7-Year High Since 2009 Financial Crisis

    MOM: Retrenchment In Singapore At 7-Year High Since 2009 Financial Crisis

    The number of workers laid off in Singapore hit a seven-year high in the first nine months of 2016 – the highest since the global financial crisis in 2009, figures released on Tuesday (Dec 13) by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed.

    A total of 13,730 workers were retrenched in the first nine months of this year, an increase from the 10,220 retrenched during the same period last year and the highest since the first nine months of 2009 when 21,210 workers were laid off, according to the ministry’s quarterly labour market report.

    During the third quarter, 4,220 workers were retrenched, down from the 4,800 laid off in the previous quarter but higher than the 3,460 retrenched in the same quarter last year.

    Professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) were more likely to be made redundant, the MOM report said. These workers formed the majority (73 per cent) of Singapore residents laid off during the quarter, and those with tertiary qualifications also formed the bulk of resident layoffs.

    The overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.1 per cent. Among Singaporeans, the unemployment rate was 3 per cent in September, down from 3.1 per cent in June, and among residents, it was 2.9 per cent, down from 3 per cent.

    However, more job seekers were taking a longer time to find work, with the resident long-term unemployment rate rising to 0.8 per cent in September, up from 0.6 per cent a year ago and the highest September rate since 2009.

    Total employment shrank by 2,700, the first decline in more than a year, MOM findings showed. The decline was primarily due to contractions in the manufacturing and construction industries, affecting mainly work permit holders. Over the first nine months, total employment grew by 14,500, but it was the lowest such growth since 2009.

    “The contraction in total employment, heightened redundancy levels and decline in job vacancies to unemployed ratio reflect the current subdued global economic conditions and ongoing economic restructuring,” the ministry said.

    It added that tripartite partners will continue to help affected workers look for new jobs.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Uniquely Singapore Or Another Fiasco?

    Uniquely Singapore Or Another Fiasco?

    There are more than 2m foreigners in the island of 3.5m population. Several hundred thousands of these foreigners from half past six countries and half past six universities are gainfully employed, happily employed, replacing the supposedly better qualified Singaporeans in their jobs. And the Singaporeans, the experienced and well qualified, the young graduates, are crying for jobs. They are unemployable, underemployed, they are mismatched!

    And all we heard of is that it is all because of mismatch. And these jobless Singaporeans are told to go overseas to find their rainbows. Not in Singapore. They are mismatched, they are misfits in their own countries. Their hundreds of thousands dollar education and degrees are useless, cannot eat, cannot find a job. They are only good enough to compete overseas, forget about in the US and Europe if they can’t even find a job in home town, unable to compete with half past six degree foreigners.

    They should go to third world countries to sell their skills and earn cheap currencies. And don’t think of coming back, don’t think of earning and saving enough to be able to survive back home. The cheap currencies they earned will become cheaper when brought home to spend in the world’s most expensive city. They are failures in Singapore and how could they expect the third world countries to hire them and pay them well? Even if they wanted to, they could not afford to.

    Singapore is not for Singaporeans. Singaporeans are only good enough to work in third world countries. And the govt knows that and are helping them with a lot of courses and training programmes to equip them to survive in third world countries. Probably they will teach them how to lower their expectations, how to live life in a third world countries, how to get use to third world standard of living, how to tighten their belts.

    Singapore is good only for foreigners, especially those from third world countries. These are the highly skilled and trained talents Singapore needs, with half past six degrees. Though they came from half past six universities, they have no mismatch problems. They matched beautifully with the needs of this first world city. The proof, a few hundred thousands of them are already here, employed in jobs that mismatched Singaporeans cannot do.

    Did anyone say Uniquely Singapore? With so many silly mismatched PMETs, what more proof is needed to confirm that Singaporeans are daft? The daft Singaporeans don’t even know why they are unemployable, why they became mismatched, misfits. The only thing they know, is that they are told that this is the reason. And everyone accepts this silly reason with no further question asked. Several hundred thousands of half past six foreigners are fit, not mismatched and taking over the jobs of the misfit Singaporeans. To laugh or to cry?

    And we are boasting about having three of the world’s best universities run by foreigners, the bulk of the academic staff and administrative staff is foreigners. I am waiting for the Parliament to be taken over by foreigners and pronouncing that Singaporeans are misfits to be in Parliament and should go elsewhere to live. This is only a matter of time.

    Where is the real mismatch?

    Chua Chin Leng aka Redbean

    *The writer blogs at My Singapore News.

     

    Source: www.tremeritus.com

  • Lee Hsien Loong: New Citizens Can Help Write The Singapore Story Together

    Lee Hsien Loong: New Citizens Can Help Write The Singapore Story Together

    Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on new Singapore citizens to play their part, as they now help to write the Singapore story together.

    He was speaking at a citizenship ceremony held at the Teck Ghee Community Club, in his Ang Mo Kio constituency this morning (Oct 24), where about 200 new citizens from Ang Mo Kio and Sengkang West received their citizenship certificates.

    “Add your own distinct experiences, skills, abilities – contribute to the Singapore story and together, make a better future here for all of us,” said Mr Lee, as he addressed the new citizens.

    The Prime Minister noted that many of the new citizens come from different backgrounds, but spent time in the country and decided to make Singapore home.

    Mr Lee said that he hoped that this was not just because Singapore is a comfortable or safe place to bring up their families, but because they believe in what Singapore stands for: A multi-racial society, a nation of opportunity, a fair and just society, and a place where tomorrow will always be better than today.

    “This is what we have been celebrating this year at SG50,” said Mr Lee, who pointed out how the country’s forefathers slogged so that the next generation can have better lives.

    “We commit ourselves to continue to build on what they have done, to continue striving always to do better, always to take Singapore forward.”
    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Many Expats On Localised, Perk-Free Packages

    Many Expats On Localised, Perk-Free Packages

    Some people assume that Western expats get luxurious perks and lead a glamorous lifestyle here but two of them say the reality can be different.

    Ms Elaine Young, 43, left Scotland 12 years ago to be a writer here.

    She buys her groceries at NTUC FairPrice and her clothes from Uniqlo, and eats at hawker centres near her Tiong Bahru rental apartment.

    Ms Young says: “I wish I could walk into Burberry and buy anything I want but the reality is I wear basic clothes like an average person here.”

    She did not imagine the cost of living here to be so high.

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    PHOTO COURTESY OF ELAINE YOUNG

    And she did not know she had the option of renting an HDB flat since property agents serving expats here often recommend private properties.

    “Had I known about renting HDB flats then, my husband and I would have done so to save more money,” she says.

    She and her husband, who is an Asia Pacific sales director with IHS Energy, pay about $6,500 a month for their three-room apartment.

    SAFER

    Apart from the haze and high cost of living, Ms Young says: “I’ve never felt safer and the people here are lovely.”

    She has made many local and expat friends, and they organise outings and dinners for the weekends.

    Ms Young intends to move back to the UK to look after her mother in a few years.

    She says: “We love living here but are well aware that we are guests in the country. It’s home now but not forever.”

    Thirty-year-old Dane Jesper Rasmussen, an operations manager in a shipping company, says he usually eats at hawker centres.

    He jumped on the opportunity to work in Singapore the moment he saw his company post the opening and has been here for more than two years now.

    Mr Rasmussen had another motivation to move here: His girlfriend, whom he met in Denmark, is a Singaporean.

    She was stationed in Denmark for three years in the same shipping company.He had never been to Singapore although he travelled around South-east Asia over a few years before his move here.

    So, the high cost of living here came as a surprise to him, especially since his experience with South-east Asia mainly involved Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

    MOST EXPENSIVE

    Singapore is the world’s most expensive city, according to research by the Economist Intelligence Unit this year.

    During the first three months alone in Singapore, Mr Rasmussen overspent because he did not know about hawker centres and cheaper supermarkets.

    His girlfriend returned from Denmark and took him to hawker centres and food courts, showing him ways to save money.

    He says: “It’s great to have someone local to show me around. Had it not been for her guidance, I would still be spending a lot of money on the wrong things.”

    He rents a two-room condominium unit in Farrer Road and pays about $3,400 a month.

    Mr Rasmussen says that sometimes it is hard to adjust and make new friends as an expat because people know that he won’t be here for long.

    “Many have their own groups of friends and sometimes it’s hard for them to invest time in a person who will leave.”

    Both Ms Young and Mr Rasmussen have noticed expats switching to localised packages to secure a job here. They also say that many expats here do not live a life of luxury.

    “Like Singaporeans, each individual earns a different amount of money and leads different lifestyles,” says Mr Rasmussen who spends his weekends visiting his girlfriend and her family in Woodlands.

    I’ve never felt safer and the people here are lovely.

    – Ms Elaine Young from Scotland has been working here for 12 years

    Like Singaporeans, each individual earns a different amount of money and leads different lifestyles.

    – Mr Jesper Rasmussen, who is working as an operations manager in a shipping company

    Expats who are on localised package do not get perks

    Most Western expats no longer receive big income packages.

    “Today, a sizeable percentage of the expat community move here on a localised package,” says Dr Yvonne McNulty, founder of Expat Research.

    Dr McNulty is a scholar-practitioner by training. She is on the associate faculty at SIM University and is co-author of Managing Expatriates: A Return on Investment Approach (Business Expert Press).

    She adds that half of the expats here receive localised packages that do not include perks such as extensive allowances, a car and sponsorship of school fees for their children.

    “These expats who are here on a localised package don’t live in big houses and it isn’t easy for expats to rent in the heartlands,” she says.

    According to the HDB website, the quota for subletting to non-Malaysian foreigners is set at 8 per cent at the neighbourhood level and 11 per cent at the block level.

    INCOME

    For expats on a localised package, their accompanying spouses need to find work to supplement the household income.

    “Because the quota for foreign employment has been changed, it has become harder for expats and their spouses to find jobs,” says Dr McNulty.

    International schools are expensive and expats with children also face problems when trying to get their children into local schools.

    “The cost of putting them in local schools is about $12,000 a year, so it is still very costly.”

    Dr McNulty also says that while some may have started on expat packages, they switch to localised packages later to remain in Singapore.

    “Firstly, it could be that it is a critical point for their school-going child such as the Primary School Leaving Examinations.

    “Or, they do not foresee getting a job back in their home country.

    “Or it could be because they find living in Singapore good for the family because it is safe.”

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Miss Singapore 2015 Is From Myanmar, Only Obtained Citizenship In 2007

    Miss Singapore 2015 Is From Myanmar, Only Obtained Citizenship In 2007

    Miss Charity Maru, also known as Charity Lu Lu Seng, finally tasted victory on Wednesday night.

    The 24-year-old freelance translator beat 13 other contestants to be crowned Miss World Singapore 2015 at the One Farrer Hotel & Spa.

    But her joy was quickly tainted by criticism online that she is not the best person to represent Singapore at the international finals on Dec 19 in China.

    Miss Maru is a relatively new citizen, getting her pink IC only in 2007.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg