SUPERMARKET chain Sheng Siong is poised to slice about $567,000 per month from its wage bill as a result of the Government's new cash grant to subsidise companies' wage bills.
the gahmen should pay only halve to pr ,$150 max. please remember singaporean is always going to come first . wake up is not late to change the quantum..
Such a pity the ST reporter excitedly told the story today of a big company and other similar organisations saving hundreds of thousands of dollars but not a word about about the hundreds/ thousands of SME's who are facing the fact that its going to be CHEAPER and easier to let some of their staff go.
Look at the sums: Credit back per employee is $3600 for the year. Salary for staff , say $30,000 for that year.(not counting CPF etc etc)
So..what would you do. Take the $3600 ..or... SAVE $30,000 if it were your business.
Sadly, the more people I speak to, the more tell me..that they WANT to be in business this time next year....and the only way to SURVIVE..is.... to let people go.
Its rough, but its the hard cold truth.
The numbers of people being let go will be high. But this is the sad fact of business. We should cry for the hardworking MSE who built up his business by sheer hard work.
So if he has to let 3 or 4 go in his company..he will do it.
if you employ a worker, you save up to S$300/month on his salary. if you retrench a worker, you save 100% on his salary.
How effective will the Job Credit Scheme be? It is essentially a bonus for employers who does not need to retrench workers. It does not stamp out the root cause of retrenchment all.
Moreover, with regards to wage depression on bottom-tier jobs, is the income gap between Singaporeans and Foreign Workers really $300/month?
Last but not least, while Workfare Scheme has been boosted with a Special Payment, there is still no unemployment benefit to tide Singaporeans through this hard economic period.
‘ The jobs credit will amount to 9 per cent of the Central Provident Board cuts and will cost the Government $4.5 billion. ‘ --- yup, it's a windfall for employers who does not need to retrench workers, and does little to dissuade those who really need to retrench. The $4.5 billion, a dip into the country's reserves, would be better used as unemployment benefits to help those Singaporeans already retrenched.
Would someone clarify if the Jobs Credit applies to PR too.. Did the reporter get it wrong? I have read the Budget Speech and it stated clearly that it applies to Singaporean and Singaporean only.
Help me understand... does a cap of $2,500 refers to max salary of up to $2,500? If so, would it be more of a work permit foreigner. I also understand that only foreigners with employment pass (ie earning more than $2,5K) can apply for PR? So lost.
Reading the Budget Speech it says.. "To sustain jobs for Singaporeans, the Government will introduce a Jobs Credit which will encourage our businesses to preserve jobs in the downturn. " If the Jobs Credit were to apply to foreigners (PR included), it does not serve it's purpose of sustaining jobs for Singaporeans only... I initially read the Jobs Credit as meant to serve as a safeguard for Singaporeans' employment. I am in no way discriminating against PRs as they pay their taxes as much as we Singaporeans do. If there is no distinction between Singaporeans and PRs, then the jobs credits are only helping companies more than helping Singaporeans.
January 24, 2009 Saturday, 05:05 AM
