5/02/2012

Workers say no to wage hike



While the workers of the world rose in protest over their low wages, the workers here were celebrating their good fortune. All of them looked so happy, and so rich. And they expectedly rejected the shock therapy of Lim Chong Yah that offered them a 50% pay rise in 3 years. Unbelieveable!

I think the workers are reading Lim Chong Yah’s therapy selectively. For one, Lim Chong Yah is no ordinary academic and he is definitely Not mad. How could an eminent economics professor make a recommendation that the workers and the super talents all objected in unison as if it is flawed? How could they counter with the argument that the rising cost of production due to higher wages would make the companies not competitive? It cannot be. The money paid to the workers must come from somewhere to balance it. And this is the part that no one wants to talk about. Where is the money coming from?

What Lim Chong Yah did not say directly is that the fat cows are too fat and can afford not to stuff in more food for the next three years. With their current intake, they could continue to be fat cows. The real objection to Lim Chong Yah’s proposal is likely to be this, that the fat cows want to eat more and more and their current intake is not enough. That is why if raising the worker’s wages did not come with a salary freeze at the top it will spell disaster. And that is right. But Lim Chong Yah did not ask for this disaster. He is asking the fat cows to take a break and stop taking more for a while.

When rejecting Lim Chong Yah, one must look at his full recommendations, not just raising worker’s wages alone. But workers are workers, just lead them and they will follow happily.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Can Be Done"...LOL (let's change May 1 to May Fool's Day)
Thank God he's minister without portfolio

Anonymous said...

So that means Lim CY is a dud, not a talent and that we had a noise maker sitting at the MWC all these years? So taxpayers had been scre**d for so long.

Anonymous said...

I have predicted elsewhere that the unions will reject Professor Lim`s proposals just like the peasants in Tolstoy`s Ressurection when they rejected the Count`s offer to give them the land on which they and their ancestors have slaved because it was dangerous to own the land.

Anonymous said...

Well, workers don't think. In the farm, the pigs do the thinking and will tell the workers what is good for them.

Anonymous said...

Between the two Lims...Zorro Lim won

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

The highest outgoings of any enterprise is the labour costs.

Raising wages without an increase in productivity first might be possible in some mythical land in someone's imagination. Here on the third blue-green rock from the sun, humans have agreed to pay each other in free exchange what the items being exchanged are worth.

In every interview I've conducted, applicant's always over estimate their ability and what they are worth. It's a natural human trait.

Singapore has slipped in the global productivity rankings. There is a falsehood running in the system that causes people to believe that they can get more just because they say so.

Welcome to the market economy on planet earth. Have a nice day.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

You again, Matilah, commenting without reading.

The farce now is that salary increment no need productivity but wage increase needs.

But if you read Lim Chong Yah's proposal, the company's wage bill is held constant, which means no increment(except the middle group). So where is the need for productivity?

Why doesn't anyone want to see the true picture but keep misleading everyone to look at one corner of the page?

Let me repeat what Lim Chong Yah said. The top management is overpaid. Take their increment to pay the underpaid workers.

Anonymous said...

They don't want to understand - LimCY says the low wage category are grossly underpaid for their productivity level.How come ministers can double, triple, quad their salary without any increase in their productivity ?Continue to make stupid policies,mistakes(& they say they will learn from their mistakes!Pay them super well to learn from mistakes???)If workers make mistakes,just sack them

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Obviously the good professor has never succeeded in the world of private enterprise.

The market is the market: low paid workers -- plenty of them. Top performing management: more rare, therefore remuneration is disproportionately higher.

That is the way of the world folks. Wanna earn more? Make yourself and what you do WORTH MORE...i.e. your own personal productivity must increase.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Another flawed comment from Matilah. Today you don't get paid in crazy banana money by working hard or working smart. Only the not so smart do that. The smart ones just get into the gravy train and the gravy will keep topping up, work or no work, productive or no productive.

You are ancient.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

My way has worked for me, and continues to work for me.

You can throw all the insults you like.

I'll just enjoy the money :-)

Living well is the BEST revenge

Anonymous said...

''Top performing management: more rare, therefore remuneration is disproportionately higher.'' .... this is only applicable in real free market place. In a totally undemocratic country where the opposition are nabbed for frivolous reasons, & the emperor says he deserves that much $$$ from tax payers bcos he has rated himself supergood , what 'top performing mgt' are we talking about ?There are plenty around who are better & cheaper than them & who will rise to serve the country if .....