This article describes a problem faced by young people in many countries. They are paid a low salary, in spite of spending a lot of money to get a good education.
This situation is caused by the failure of government around the world to set and enforce standards on worker's remuneration and their inability to provide a conducive environment for businesses to operate viably. Some businesses find it hard to survive, and cannot pay their workers well. Some businesses are highly profitable, but still exploit their workers. The government fail to do their job and prefer to leave matters to be sorted out by the market.
This situation is caused by the failure of government around the world to set and enforce standards on worker's remuneration and their inability to provide a conducive environment for businesses to operate viably. Some businesses find it hard to survive, and cannot pay their workers well. Some businesses are highly profitable, but still exploit their workers. The government fail to do their job and prefer to leave matters to be sorted out by the market.
Yes, the situation is bad for young people.
ReplyDeleteBut like many other "not so good" things in Singapore, does these collectively pose an issue to the ruling party?
The issue of PAP losing its 2/3 majority or voted out in elections?
Given my perception of the situation, I had thought that it would happen in the last election but it didn't. In fact far from it.
@ ANON 9.04am
ReplyDeleteJokes - Changing Singapore (light bulbs)
How many Singaporeans does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer:
We don't know. But certainly a lot more than 40%.
I think the situation highlighted in the article stems not so much from insufficient government intervention, but too much government intervention in job markets.
ReplyDeleteLabour laws in some european countries require substantial benefits (healthcare provisions, pensions, monthlong vacations etc) for permanent employees, and significant barriers to retrenching existing employees even for non-performance.
All this means that that many companies are unwilling to hire permanent workers due to high costs and high risks relative to temp staff, who aren't covered by such labour laws.
Which is not to say that workers shouldn't have at least some form of protection, but it is also clear that government labour policies need to be clearly thought through to avoid unintended consequences.