Only 6.1% of workers after SPUR skills upgrade got pay raise
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February 10, 2010 - Temasek Review
Only 6.1 per cent of workers attending SPUR got a pay raise after undergoing skills upgrading
Written by Our Correspondent
Only 6.1 per cent of workers attending the skill-upgrading courses sponsored by the government under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) receive a pay rise upon completion.
SPUR was introduced in January last year to help save the jobs of Singaporeans and PRs when Singapore was mired in recession. It aims to help companies to save manpower cost and better manage their excess manpower as well as to reskill and upskill local workers including those retrenched, upgrading their skills and converting to new jobs.
It provides for up to 90 per cent of funding for the courses which are applicable for both citizens and PRs.
According to a survey done by the Manpower Ministry in January this year, 57 per cent of those who attended skills upgrading courses offered by SPUR felt that they have increased their skills and productivity and 34 per cent felt that they have boosted their employability.
However, only 6.1 per cent received a pay rise after attending the SPUR programmes and 4.6 per cent were promoted.
While SPUR may help to save the jobs of some workers, its long-term benefits remain obscure so long employers are unwilling to reward their workers with higher pay.
The root cause of the problem lies in the ruling party’s pro-foreigner labor policies which had allowed employers to hire foreigners easily.
Though there is a quota of local workers to be filled, the numbers can be artificially increased by getting foreign workers already on their payroll to apply for PRs.
With no independent trade unions to fight for their rights, Singapore workers are forever at the mercy of the big companies and businesses.
No matter how much training and upgrading they go through, their pay is unlikely to increase by much due to their inherent lack of bargaining power.
The report also revealed that the number of “economically inactive” workers have increased, including some 11,000 “discouraged workers” who have given up searching for a job altogether.
These workers without a proper job are not included in the statistics for Singapore’s unemployment rate of 3 per cent which paints a rosy picture of the real situation on the ground.
The Manpower Ministry should reveal the complete statistics for the number of Singapore citizens who are technically without a job across all age groups for the public to judge for themselves if its labor policies are indeed having a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of Singaporeans.
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If the foreigners keep coming, don't think will make any difference upgrade or not. There will always be another cheaper, faster and better" foreign replacements.
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Many of those who have gone for the SPUR programmes told me they still cannot get jobs.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
Many of those who have gone for the SPUR programmes told me they still cannot get jobs.
Perhaps they were given the wrong skills.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
Perhaps they were given the wrong skills.
Partly gotta do with employment of foreigners. If we continue to have the despots around we will see situation getting worse than before. Singaporeans are not waking up! -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
Partly gotta do with employment of foreigners. If we continue to have the despots around we will see situation getting worse than before. Singaporeans are not waking up!The ruling elites will still benefits until the day the foreigners run us over.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
The ruling elites will still benefits until the day the foreigners run us over.
Frankly, with them around the employment market for locals will not get back to before. They are just evils messing with the rice bowls of the people. They are so chek ark. -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
Frankly, with them around the employment market for locals will not get back to before. They are just evils messing with the rice bowls of the people. They are so chek ark.Not right. They are playing with the people life for their benefits.
But with a sleeping majority the awakening will be a rude one.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
Not right. They are playing with the people life for their benefits.
But with a sleeping majority the awakening will be a rude one.
Those zombies are still happily living within the fence expressing they are contented that there is no war, no protest, no riots in Sg. These zombies are so superficial and short-sighted. -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
Those zombies are still happily living within the fence expressing they are contented that there is no war, no protest, no riots in Sg. These zombies are so superficial and short-sighted.So sad would be the day when the flag turn full red.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
So sad would be the day when the flag turn full red.
flag turn full red = bloodshed? -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
flag turn full red = bloodshed?PRC flag.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
So sad would be the day when the flag turn full red.
It is OK to make the flag full red, because we are too small to bargain as well (So we Singaporeans have no or few rights in the national, looking @ a bigger scale where our government is actually a "local" - a.k.a not aliens from other planets citizen in the eye of the global village)
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
PRC flag.
probably, sg will be the firsr colonial country for china. -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
probably, sg will be the firsr colonial country for china.when singaporeans become dodo.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
when singaporeans become dodo.
what is dodo? -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
what is dodo?A docile/passive bird that where hunted to extinction in Mauritius centuries ago.
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....
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
A docile/passive bird that where hunted to extinction in Mauritius centuries ago.
Best described some locals. -
Originally posted by Fantagf:
Best described some locals.66.6% to be exact.
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Originally posted by Chew Bakar:
66.6% to be exact.
IN kopitiam forum these 66.6% voters are blamed for what we are suffering now.Wonder how many of them are awaken now.
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Originally posted by Fantagf:
IN kopitiam forum these 66.6% voters are blamed for what we are suffering now.Wonder how many of them are awaken now.
Hopefully more but I won't bet on it.