~ By Kumaran Pillai ~ Ireland's former state telecom operator eircom applied for court protection to allow it to restructure its 3.75 billion euro (US$5 billion) debt mountain. A move eircoms officials said was "necessary and unavoidable" (here). The proposal allows the lenders to take control from the major shareholder Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT), a … Read more
~ By Gordon Lee ~ Last week, Professor Lim Chong Yah gave a public lecture in which he proposed a 50% rise in income for workers earning under $1500 a month – 15% in each of the first two years, and 20% in the 3rd year.1 Almost automatically, members of the Government lined up to … Read more
~ By Kenneth Jeyaretnam ~ Despite Prof Lim’s undoubtedly good intentions, the solution to wage stagnation for Singaporeans is not some central planning directive taking us back to the Soviet era. It is Singapore’s lack of democracy that is holding us back. What we need now is thoroughgoing reform ofSingapore’s political institutions so that they … Read more
~ By Jolovan Wham ~ The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that is concerned about the rights and welfare of migrant workers in Singapore. We believe that migrant workers should be treated with dignity, respect, and fairness, and we welcome the opportunity to provide feedback on Singapore’s National Wages … Read more
~ By Dr Wong Wee Nam ~ There is nothing wrong for someone to look at his Central Provident Fund (CPF) statement and feel he is rich. It only sounds a bit out of place when it is made during a time of great income disparity and where workers, without the protection of a minimum wage … Read more
~ By Ng E-Jay ~ Professor Lim Chong Yah, the Albert Winsemius Chair Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University and one of the key architects who helped overhaul Singapore’s economic system and wage system in the late 1970s, has spoken out very strongly against the current malaise plaguing low income earners in Singapore. He … Read more
MEDIA RELEASE ~ By Professor Lim Chong Yah ~ I am honoured that my public lecture on ERII (also termed as shock therapy) has attracted the attention of so many concerned Singaporeans. At least two reservations should be explained by me to clear the cobweb of misunderstanding. The first serious and perfectly understandable and deeply appreciated … Read more
~ By Tan Jee Say ~ I am glad Prof Lim has clarified that his "wage shock therapy" is intended to restore half of the wage increase that Singapore workers would have got if not for the "unlimited influx of cheap foreign labour" into Singapore; because of these cheap foreign workers, he estimated that Singapore … Read more
~ By Prof Lim Chong Yah ~ Paper presented at the Economic Society of Singapore Distinguished Speaker Public Lecture Series on 9 April 2012 at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. This is part 2 of Prof Lim's speech and part 1 can be found here. TOC thanks Prof Lim for allowing us to republish his lecture in … Read more
~ By Prof Lim Chong Yah ~ Paper presented at the Economic Society of Singapore Distinguished Speaker Public Lecture Series on 9 April 2012 at the Orchard Hotel, Singapore. This is Part 1 of Prof Lim's speech and Part 2 can be found here. TOC thanks Prof Lim for allowing us to republish his lecture in full. … Read more