• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

SDP chief Chee Soon Juan urges govt to raise wages across industries, reduce rental rates for businesses

by The Online Citizen
26/03/2020
in Economics, Labour
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0

Source: TOC

The Government should urgently enforce regulatory business measures such as increasing the wages of middle- and low-income workers as well as reducing the rental rates for companies, said Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan.

Noting that governments “across the world are taking bold steps to help their citizens” overcome their countries’ economic slump during the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Chee in a Facebook post on Tue (24 Mar) said that salary levels in Singapore should “commensurate with the cost of living in Singapore”.

At the same time, he argued that raising wages “will add a great burden for businesses” especially to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Thus, Dr Chee said that the Government should reduce rental rates for companies, “which it controls through government bodies like HDB, JTC, CapitaLand, Mapletree, and Surbana”.

“The Government is the biggest landlord and high rent is killing businesses especially SMEs,” he said.

Dr Chee also recommended suspending the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) until the end of the COVID-19 crisis, following which the rate should be slashed to five per cent.

“Increasing the GST to 9% (even if it is held off until 2022) is economic suicide. The move will only hurt spending and cause the economy to slump just when recovery needs to take place after the pandemic is over,” he opined.

The Government, said Dr Chee, should also consider return Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies to contributors at this point.

“A study found that the major portion of income of retirees come from their children. This is because their CPF funds are insufficient as they are retained by the government.

“With the anticipated deterioration of the economy, there will be more layoffs and pay cuts. Working couples will find it even more difficult to provide for their elderly parents and at the same time raise their children,” he said.

Additionally, the government should introduce a national retrenchment insurance scheme as layoffs are expected to increase during the crisis.

The proposed scheme, said Dr Chee, should pay out 75 per cent of a retrenched worker’s salary for the first six months, 50 per cent for the second six months and 25 for the final six months in the event that they are not able to be reemployed during the 18-month period.

A couple of netizens agreed with Dr Chee’s proposals, with one of them suggesting that the Government should “make it more expensive” for businesses in Singapore to employ foreign labour, given that foreign labour is known to be given lower pay than their local counterparts.

However, many netizens raised their concerns over Dr Chee’s suggestion to raise wages in particular at this point during the crisis, as many businesses are already struggling as a result of the effects of COVID-19 on the domestic and global economy.

Raising the wages of workers now, according to the netizens, may force businesses to “wind up”, or to resort to laying off more of their employees to stay afloat.

  

One netizen pointed out that raising the wages of workers at this point will “increase the cost of living”, which is already perceived by many Singaporeans as high.

Singapore topped The Economist‘s list of the world’s most expensive city — for expatriates — for the seventh consecutive year alongside Osaka and Hong Kong, based on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) “Worldwide Cost of Living 2020” report released on 18 Mar.

The report however noted that the gap between Singapore and other cities has been narrowed.

New York and Osaka are the base cities for comparison, as Singapore was found to be 2 per cent more expensive than New York but equally expensive with Osaka in 2020.

Last year, in comparison, Singapore was 6 per cent more expensive than Osaka and 7 per cent more expensive than New York.

Simon Baptist, Global Chief Economist at the EIU, told The Business Times: “While there was upward pressure in Singapore this year because of rising electricity costs and the strong currency, this was offset by flat or cheaper prices for other goods, such as restaurant meals and supermarket staples.”

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000
AFP

Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000

07/02/2023
Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats
Housing

Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

07/02/2023
Jamus Lim: House prices are too High
Politics

Jamus Lim: House prices are too High

07/02/2023
Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with
Opinion

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

07/02/2023
Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth
Singapore

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花
Labour

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000

Rescuers battle cold as Turkey-Syria quake toll hits 5,000

07/02/2023
Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

Hazel Poa proposes singles be allowed to buy 3-room HDB flats

07/02/2023
Jamus Lim: House prices are too High

Jamus Lim: House prices are too High

07/02/2023
Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

07/02/2023
Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
108

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
48

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
12

...

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
3

...

March 2020
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Feb   Apr »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz